I’m a firstborn, type A, strong-willed, extrovert who loves to lead, but after just a short while into my leadership journey, I recognized these character traits weren’t adequate to make me a good leader.  And, I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to just be a ‘good’ leader?  I want to be a great leader, who makes a powerful impact for the kingdom of God.  After a few knocks in the leadership ring, I knew I wasn’t enough to fulfill the calling God placed on my life.  So, if I could give any advice to a young Christian woman in leadership, it would be to invest in yourself. 

You have to pour in, so there’s something to pour out…

When Paul was instructing young Timothy on leadership he encouraged this trail-blazer with these words:

Different translations express this phrase “Study to show yourself” as: “be diligent”, “work hard”, “do your best”, “make every effort” … No matter how it’s said, the message from Paul is clear;  Leadership requires a lot from you.  To lead well, you need to continually study, working hard to prepare yourself, so you can fulfil the calling on your life.

You have to invest in you!

This is an aspect of leadership I’ve struggled with.

I mean, I graduated Bible College, what more did I need?  A lot more! Continually, increasingly more.  Whether you attended Bible College, University, Sunday School or Leadership Training you need to keep investing in yourself.  Once is not enough.

The other reason I struggled with this aspect of leadership is that I’ve a hard time spending money on myself.  I’m better now, but because I struggled with self-esteem issues, I had a hard time seeing myself as worth the investment.  Until you see yourself as worth the investment, you won’t be able to grow.  It might help for you to understand this truth:

When you invest in you, the dividends are paid to those you lead.

Here are 7 practical ways to invest in yourself:

1. Read or Listen to Books on Leadership
   

   Don’t just read fluff.  Take the time to get into the deeper issues and read something that will challenge your thinking, spur you on to greatness.  For me, books by John Maxwell are the best, most inspiring books that are easy to implement.  If you’re like me and spend a great deal of time travelling, make sure to check out Audible.  I ‘read’ more books now by listening to them than by sight.

2. Research Online
   

   We’re so blessed to live in a day when we have access to limitless information at the end of a simple google search J  If you’re a pastor, speaker, preacher, or teacher… know your message.  Don’t just ‘wing-it’ or tell a lot of stories to fill in the time.  Take serious Paul’s admonition to Timothy at the end of the verse mentioned, to “rightly divide the word of truth”.  You can’t do this is you don’t take the time to research. Become a life-long student of The Word.  Whatever your area of leadership, make sure to stay researching and go in deep.  Don’t be ‘that’ superficial girl!Here’s my favourite place to research Scripture:  www.biblehub.com It even has a phone app.

3. Listen to podcasts on Leadership
   

   There are so many great podcasts out there, but we have our own resident expert in Canadian Christian female leadership guru; Andrea Crisp with her ever-inspiring, Couragecast. Check out what Andrea has to offer you at: www.andreacrisp.com

4. Attend Conferences on Leadership
   

   Make sure to fill all of you up: spirit, soul and body.  Take time to grow in all these areas to stay a balanced leader. Don’t only go to leadership training, only to workout weekends or only to spiritual retreats.  Mix it up!

5. Get Certifications in your area of Leadership
   

   Try and choose certification programs that provide opportunities for a continued learning experience, like the John Maxwell Team I’m a part of.  In John’s program, you have unlimited, endless access to the online university.  There are so many speaking, coaching, sales, marketing, and leadership, training courses in his online school you could seriously keep studying for decades.  If you’re interested, let me know.

6. Find someone to mentor you
   

   This shows your teachable heart more than most things.  Coming under a more seasoned leader (who might even be younger than you), shows God your humble heart and desire to grow in your calling. About four years ago, I recognized I wasn’t good at altar calls.  I felt so awkward and just didn’t know how to effectively call people to action. I took the initiative to contact Peggy Kennedy and ask her if I could follow her around.  Thankfully, she said yes!  Some things are more caught then taught.

7. Find someone you can mentor
   

   It’s often in my preparation for mentorship meetings that I learn so much more!I know this might seem opposite to my message of ‘invest in yourself’, but it’s been my experience that when I pour into someone else what God and others have taught me, I get filled up and have more to pour out.  It’s a strange phenomenon, but we’re blessed when we become a blessing.  Don’t keep it to yourself and horde what you have. Willingly share it with others.

We can’t get things out of balance here and think that we do it all on our own strength. As the great leader Zechariah said, it’s “not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit says the Lord.” (Zechariah 4:6) As a female Christian leader, you need to study to show yourself approved by God.  It’s then, when you’ve done your part, that God will add his ‘super’ to your ‘natural’ leadership abilities and those streams of living water will gush out of you, impacting others!

[bctt tweet=”You have to pour in, so there’s something to pour out! Invest in Yourself.” username=”@sherry_stahl”]

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Sherry Stahl is an International Speaker Certified with the John Maxwell Team, Author of Water In The Desert & the Soul H2O Devotional taken from her refreshing blog. She’s a race car enthusiast, happily married to her artist hubby Todd Stahl, author of 40 Days In The Man Cave.

Learn more about Sherry Stahl and read her blog!

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