Describe your leadership style, and how you go about supervising and motivating those who serve under you.

I like to bring people along—whether I’m working with paid staff or volunteers—I want people to feel like they are a critical piece of the puzzle, that their opinion matters, that they see the end goal and why that goal matters, and that they have an opportunity to help bring us closer to that goal.

If people see the value in what you are doing, if they feel needed as part of your team, if they feel respected, then they—with few exceptions—will serve well. This is how I lead and motivate people.

For the most part, I have worked with people who are more than competent and rise to the challenge in a meaningful way.  I have had a few who did not do well in the positions/responsibilities they had when I arrived.  In those cases, I tried to help them succeed in their areas, and if that failed, we moved them to responsibilities in which they could succeed.  In a few cases, I have had people who really could not or chose not to succeed regardless of the conditions.  In those cases, we have had to remove them from that position. While not easy, their removal was best for the institution, and in the long run, for the individual.

Describe your spiritual gifts and how the Lord utilizes them in ministry.

Probably my strongest gift is that of administration—I see what needs to be done, and I see how to do it in a way that is efficient and beneficial within the available structure and resources. In higher education, I enjoy thinking through processes and evaluating procedures to make us more efficient. I love pulling together and completing huge projects—whether accreditation, or revision of catalogs, or development of new programs.  In the context of the church, and in particular with music ministry, I am able to visualize a service, see and anticipate distractions, understand the flow of the service to make it most effective, and put everything together in a presentation that gives the congregation the opportunity to truly praise God and respond to Him.

What is your personality type? What personality type do you work best with, and what type do you most struggle with?

Personality types have always interested me.  My doctoral dissertation explored using personality types in the church to review ministries to determine if we are being most effective with who God has put in our church.  I love personality type discussions! 

The particular categories of the different personality systems are obviously extra-biblical and therefore shouldn’t be considered authoritative in that sense, but they can help bring a clarity to why people have certain tendencies or respond in certain ways.  When we understand these differences and consider them in ourselves and others, I believe we can better accomplish what God has called us to do.  In the same way that understanding a person’s spiritual gift can give us direction as we think through the person’s place of service in a church, so understanding a person’s personality can help us better understand what ways they can best fulfill their God given purpose in life.

On the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, I am an INTJ—sometimes called the Architect. I prefer Introversion (midrange), Intuition (60/40 split with Sensing), Thinking (98% – I logically understand that I must calculate emotion into the equation, but I am fully a thinker!), and Judging (fully and completely!). 

For a free resource to learn more about this personality type—with all of its strengths and amazing qualities! (and perhaps a few weaknesses I am working to improve!)—I recommend you review the excellent information available at https://www.16personalities.com/intj-personality. 

I work well with and respect every personality type—I understand the differences and value those differences to accomplish different goals.  

If I had to choose a personality characteristic that most frustrates me, I would have to acknowledge my difficulty with those who are strongly Perceivers (opposite of Judgers). For reference, judging does not mean I’m judgmental!  It means I love checklists, and marking them off, it means I’m very time conscience and I work way ahead, it means I work hard and finish my work before I play (or start working on the next work!), it means I’m decisive and don’t mind holding to a position once the decision has been made. Perceivers are procrastinators—they like to keep their options open, so they never reach a decision unless forced to do so. They are typically late (by my clock!) and they cram everything into the last minute, which is part of the ‘not wanting to reach a final decision’! As someone who likes to be months ahead in planning and very strategic in my next several steps, the delaying traits of this group can frustrate me!

Have you completed the Clifton Strengths Assessment?

While I have far more experience with Myers Briggs, I have completed the Clifton Strengths Assessment with the following as my top five results: Achiever, Learner, Focus, Responsibility, and Analytical, all firmly seated in the areas of Executing and Strategic Thinking. For more information, please visit: https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/253715/34-cliftonstrengths-themes.aspx