Clay in the Hands

Have you ever heard of the 80/20 principle?  I am sure you have.  If you haven’t, you may be in the 80% group.

The 80/20 principle states that 80% of the work gets done by 20% of the folks.  That applies in most any organization – but especially in a volunteer organization.  20% of the folks give 80% of the money, do 80% of the work and take on 80% of the responsibility.  Like I said above, if you have never heard this, then chances are, you are in the 80% group.

But my mind is not focused on an organization today.  Today I am thinking more personally.  This principle also applies to our leadership.  Typically, leaders spend only 20% of their time working in the area of their strengths.  Which means, 80% of the time we are doing things that don’t pay many dividends.  That is not to say we are slacking off or wasting time, it just means that many of the tasks that we must do, or choose to do, are not in the area of our strengths.

So here is my challenge to you today from one leader to another – focus on your strengths today.  What drives you?  What are you passionate about?  Where do your skills lie?  Now, how can you work in that area today?

Today, you need to turn the 80/20 principle on its head.  This may mean you have to choose not to do something in favor of doing something of greater importance.  It may mean you have to delegate some things in order to focus on your area of giftedness.

I realize for most of us that this seems a bit “pie in the sky” – that it is easy to say but harder to do.  Well, it is.  If it were easy, we would have the 20/80 principle.  But the mark of an effective leader is how well one navigates this principle.  We can try and blame our ineffectiveness on circumstances or budget or any number of things, but an effective leader finds a way to work within his or her strengths.

How effective will you be today?