A Squash or an Oak: Which would you rather be?

Continued from last week....

As there are stages in growing a flower, so there are stages in leadership development. Lessons must be learned that will “grow” you as you move from one stage to another. In each stage you will come to understand who you are as a leader and discover more and more of your gifts and gift-mixes. You will need to develop key leadership characteristics that are vital to growth just as a flower must weather adverse conditions to fully grow and bloom.

In leadership, the inner growth of a leader is much more important than the visible signs of a developing idea. Inner growth has to do with self discovery and God discovery. As you ‘weather’ challenges and changes, you will have a growing understanding of who you are and greater understand who God is. That vital root system, based on relationship, is critical to life-time growth and development.

A leadership professor once asked his students: “Which would you rather be: a squash or an oak?”

The question confused students. They didn’t understand the connection to leadership.
“A squash,” he explained, “grows quickly from a seed, weathers the summer, but dies in inclement winter weather because it has no root system. An oak, on the other hand, withstands every storm and all weather patterns because of its root system. It is deeply embedded in the earth.”

So, get ready, my friend. Take the first step….you are a leader in the making. Just remember to build a strong root system with Christ as your foundation.

~ Margaret