Leading a temporary assignment

Scripture

“For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” (James 4:14)

Thought

There was a time when you weren’t the one in your chair. You didn’t always hold the title or position you have now. It’s possible to remember a time when you didn’t have the slightest clue what was expected for a role like the one you have now.

Someday, you won’t hold this position or title anymore. Maybe you will get promoted, or you will leave for a different job, or you’ll be let go, or you’ll quit. Someday, someone else will hold this position. They will organize the office you are in differently. Those books on the shelf? You’ll pack them in boxes or plastic tubs. The plant in the corner? It will dry out because you won’t be there to water it anymore.

The point is not to grieve “the end” or to have some George Bailey vision for what life would be like without you (I’m sure you’ll leave on your own accord and because you’re off to lead in bigger and better endeavors anyway).

The point is to recognize the to-do list you’re going to tackle today, the meetings you’ve got lined up, all the happenings and coming and going that it takes to lead whatever you’re leading.. someday you won’t do those things anymore.

Our careers are just a means to an end. They are just temporary assignments. Assignments to leverage for a greater purpose. Eventually you will be on the other end of this stressful leadership endeavor you’ve got going.

• Will you want to remember leading transactionally or transformationally?

• How will you want the people you’re leading to remember your temporary interaction?

• What will they remember about your presence and tone?

• Will they remember that you lifted them up and encouraged them, or that you just loved the sound of your own voice?

Will you leverage the current temporary assignment you’re in to develop people at a physical, mental, and soul level?

Or are you just in it to win games, make sales, record high test scores, enlarge your own platform, etc?

The days are dwindling. Every day that passes we are moving closer to the last day in this assignment. Don’t waste the day.

Call to Action

List all the things you are thanking God for in this current assignment (things you’ve learned, people you’ve met, skills you’ve acquired, character you’ve formed, and much more).