My First Year in Review.
As I reflect on the past year, the. Greatest thing that is happened is being part of the doctoral program which has so far enriched my leadership in very significant ways. It’s been a great addition to my circle of friends to have the cohort members and to know them. Our first face to face cohort in Hong Kong was a great experience to meet the cohort members and to know them personally. I started this program at a time in my life when there’re many transitions in my leadership roles and at a time when our ministry organization is on a rapid growth path. I took over the overall Executive leadership of ministry in January 2019 as we embarked on growth into new territories and as we started registering the ministry in the US as a corporate entity. This plus my other church responsibilities have not made my workload lighter in addition to the doctorate program.
It’s was great for me to understand my enneagram personality type 3 as an achiever which helped me to understand myself more and helps me to figure out how to navigate through this season in my life. It was very easy to agree with this assessment of my personality because I have always been driven by the need for accomplishment and value external validation based on my success achievements. This combined with being an introvert is an interesting combination and my understanding my enneagram personality type has helped me a great deal to appreciate who I am as a person and not be stressed up by my low profile participation in public forums.
The books that we have read and blogged on have been such a great resource for me to have a greater picture of leadership and have enriched me as a person. Key among these books was Chasing The Dragon by Jackie Pullinger which was a challenge to follow the leading of God in pursuit His calling in my life. Jackie’s persistence in fighting the spiritual darkness in Hong Kong and her dependence on The Holy Spirit’s leading was for me both inspiring but also a reminder that what I do is God’s work and I can only success by relying totally on Him. Other books that have had a remarkable impact on me include: Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking Concepts & Tools (Thinkers Guide Library) by Richard Paul and critical thinking can help me make better decisions; The Dark Side of Transformational Leadership by Dennis Tourish helped me to see the dangers of too much power and dependence being vested in the overall leader but also the importance of a leadership model that allows and values feedback from the followers; Simple Habits for Complex Times by Jenniffer Gerber helped me to appreciate the need to allow for the possible opportunities by using the right questions as opposed to restricting myself and the organization to only the probable solutions, Jenniffer also helped me to appreciate the power of taking the humble posture through questions to allow others to come on the table with ideas that enrich the solutions; and Dare to Lead by Brene Brown on the need for courage as a leader but also to be vulnerable. I really appreciate the selection of the course text books and take the opportunity to thank the faculty for putting together a great Doctoral program.
As I grow in my leadership this program is also significant Spiritually. I am on a growth path and this program has enriched my journey of faith with my Lord Jesus Christ. The emphasis on developing and continually reviewing the Personal Leadership Development Plan (PLDP) has served to help me reflect on my relationship with God, my spiritual discipline, the important people in my life and the importance stories/events in shaping my value system which have all been helpful in my spiritual journey. The discussions in our Monday zoom classes are enriching and the interaction with a such a diversity of church and ministry leaders enriched the spiritual and learning experience. I look forward to another year with great expectation for more growth in my leadership and spiritual transformation process.
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