The Journey Has Begun!

The work at Case has begun! Work that would not be possible without your support! For your prayers, your financial gifts, your willingness to join me on this journey as we learn anew how to serve the needs of our communities; I give you thanks!

As we begin this journey, I thought some background about the field of positive organizational development might be helpful. Many of you will know the name, Peter Drucker. He was truly a visionary in the field of management. In his work, he sought to align strengths in ways that made the system's weaknesses irrelevant.

But, what you may not know is that he was a devout Christian who spent the last years of his life studying the church. He intuitively understood the reality that we have the capacity to do great things. As Jesus said: "Very truly I tell you, all who have faith in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father"(John 14:12). Yet we rarely tap into that power that is ours in and through Christ.

Drucker believed this was due in large part to a failure to lead from our strengths. It was his firm belief that while most people believed they knew their strengths, they were often wrong. And so, one of my first assignments is to develop a portrait of my "Best Self."

This exercise is designed to reveal and inspire leaders regarding competencies, qualities, skills and attitudes that they uniquely bring to their work and organization development. The assignment is one that seeks input from others that helps the leader to create a portrait of their human strengths. To that end, I am asking any of you who feel call to share one to three stories of when you saw me at my best. What was my positive contribution in each story? Should you write, please be sure to provide details so that I can understand context, what happened, and what my positive contribution was. Best-self stories often capture things that people say or do in critical times or everyday routines that make a difference. These stories are often unacknowledged publicly. They might describe a leader's approach to people, challenges, tasks, or context. Please email me your stories by November 12, 2012. In return, I will share the portrait that emerges and resulting action plan.

For those who would like to join me in creating their own "Best Self" portrait, this week's Holy Habit provides the guidelines. Should you have questions or want feedback, please do not hesitate to call or email.

Together in Christ,

Debbie Rundlett,  

General Presbyter