What Is Your Style?
An old adage says 80% of the work in the church is done by 20% of the people. From my experience it is more like 90% of the work is done by 10% of the people. We have to admit that there is something wrong with this model. I Corinthians 12:12 says, “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.” The body of Christ (the church) is like our human bodies. It has many different parts but every part is vitally important.
If only 10% of our human bodies worked, we would be considered comatose. When only 10% of the body of Christ works, we consider it normal.
Is it a wonder that the church is making so little impact in this world? The church is not being successful in utilizing its work force. The basic reason is the leadership of the church places people in positions they are not wired for. A person is set up for failure when he is placed in a position that does not fit his gifting, passion, and style. Typically church leaders choose workers according to their availability and willingness. This is one of the worst ways to utilize the church’s work force.
If you want to be successful in the work God has made you for, you must understand the style God has placed in you. A person’s style refers to his default mode; the way he is wired. There are four types of people style. The paradigm looks something like this:
Task People
Structured Structured
________________________________________________________
Task People
Unstructured Unstructured
I believe your hardwired style will fall into one of these four categories. Let’s look at each of these.
Task oriented people are ones who will focus on a task and be driven to accomplish that task. They are typically very devoted workers and keep focused on the goal. They usually buy into the leader’s vision easily. Their fault is they tend to get so focused on the task they overlook the people involved in the organization.
People oriented people are ones that love people. They would rather talk to a person than do a task. These people bring warmth and life to an organization. They are easy to spot. They care a lot about people. They take the time to get to know people, their hurts, and their needs. These people tend to be late because they get so focused on people that they lose sight of the task of being on time.
Structured people are people who work best in a structure. They need someone to tell them what to do and how to do it. They can do the same task repeatedly without loosing motivation. These people are the workforce of an organization.
Unstructured people are people who work best with no structure. Give them the goal and the vision and they will creatively build a method to accomplish that mission. Unstructured people are typically leaders.
What does this look like? A task-structured person is one who needs to be given a task to do and a structure in which to do it. These people could be an organization’s maintenance person or secretarial staff.
A task-unstructured person is one who needs to be given a problem in the organization and the freedom to creatively find a solution to that problem. These people are part of an organization’s leadership team. They will build programs that support the goal of the organization.
A people-structured person is one who loves people and needs a structure in which to use his gifts. These people are very important to an organization. They leave a lasting impression on visitors and tend to unify the existing members of the organization. These people make good ushers, greeters, etc. in a church.
A people-unstructured person is one who loves people greatly and needs to be given the freedom to lead people in the purpose of the organization and the leader’s vision. These people are not very versatile but a very powerful and necessary to the health of an organization. These people are leaders.
All of these people styles are vital to any organization. None are less important than another. Leaders often shy away from using certain people styles because they do not understand them. I am a task unstructured person. I do not understand people oriented people. I appreciate them and know they are important to our organization so I give them the freedom to do what God has called them to do. I trust them completely because they know our purpose and buy into the vision God has given me.
You will never be successful in God’s work until you understand how God has hardwired you. You must understand your style. When you find your place in the body of Christ and use your gifting, passion, and style to fulfill your “kingdom assignment” then you find success in God’s kingdom.
© Dr. Steven L Smith
If only 10% of our human bodies worked, we would be considered comatose. When only 10% of the body of Christ works, we consider it normal.
Is it a wonder that the church is making so little impact in this world? The church is not being successful in utilizing its work force. The basic reason is the leadership of the church places people in positions they are not wired for. A person is set up for failure when he is placed in a position that does not fit his gifting, passion, and style. Typically church leaders choose workers according to their availability and willingness. This is one of the worst ways to utilize the church’s work force.
If you want to be successful in the work God has made you for, you must understand the style God has placed in you. A person’s style refers to his default mode; the way he is wired. There are four types of people style. The paradigm looks something like this:
Task People
Structured Structured
________________________________________________________
Task People
Unstructured Unstructured
I believe your hardwired style will fall into one of these four categories. Let’s look at each of these.
Task oriented people are ones who will focus on a task and be driven to accomplish that task. They are typically very devoted workers and keep focused on the goal. They usually buy into the leader’s vision easily. Their fault is they tend to get so focused on the task they overlook the people involved in the organization.
People oriented people are ones that love people. They would rather talk to a person than do a task. These people bring warmth and life to an organization. They are easy to spot. They care a lot about people. They take the time to get to know people, their hurts, and their needs. These people tend to be late because they get so focused on people that they lose sight of the task of being on time.
Structured people are people who work best in a structure. They need someone to tell them what to do and how to do it. They can do the same task repeatedly without loosing motivation. These people are the workforce of an organization.
Unstructured people are people who work best with no structure. Give them the goal and the vision and they will creatively build a method to accomplish that mission. Unstructured people are typically leaders.
What does this look like? A task-structured person is one who needs to be given a task to do and a structure in which to do it. These people could be an organization’s maintenance person or secretarial staff.
A task-unstructured person is one who needs to be given a problem in the organization and the freedom to creatively find a solution to that problem. These people are part of an organization’s leadership team. They will build programs that support the goal of the organization.
A people-structured person is one who loves people and needs a structure in which to use his gifts. These people are very important to an organization. They leave a lasting impression on visitors and tend to unify the existing members of the organization. These people make good ushers, greeters, etc. in a church.
A people-unstructured person is one who loves people greatly and needs to be given the freedom to lead people in the purpose of the organization and the leader’s vision. These people are not very versatile but a very powerful and necessary to the health of an organization. These people are leaders.
All of these people styles are vital to any organization. None are less important than another. Leaders often shy away from using certain people styles because they do not understand them. I am a task unstructured person. I do not understand people oriented people. I appreciate them and know they are important to our organization so I give them the freedom to do what God has called them to do. I trust them completely because they know our purpose and buy into the vision God has given me.
You will never be successful in God’s work until you understand how God has hardwired you. You must understand your style. When you find your place in the body of Christ and use your gifting, passion, and style to fulfill your “kingdom assignment” then you find success in God’s kingdom.
© Dr. Steven L Smith