Leaders admit top 5 weaknesses

Dr. Thom S. Rainer and his research staff didn't know what type of response they would get to the question: "What do you feel your greatest weaknesses are in the area of leadership?"

Would the leaders of effective churches recognize weaknesses? Would they admit them? Would they be reticent to share their weaknesses if they did admit them?

Somewhat to our surprise, not only did these leaders recognize and admit their mistakes, but they were happy to share their weaknesses with us. If anything, our sense of their comments was that they were too hard on themselves. Sometimes we could not get them to stop talking about their deficiencies.

A majority of the leaders of the churches that reach the unchurched listed 12 weaknesses. The most frequently mentioned weakness may surprise some people, but the fact that it was at the top of the list did not surprise the leaders we interviewed. Let us examine the first five weaknesses mentioned among these effective leaders.

• Weakness #1: Pastoral Ministry
• Weakness #2: Lack of Patience
• Weakness #3: Dealing with Staff
• Weakness #4: Dealing with Criticism
• Weakness #5: Always Task Driven

To read the full article follow this link.

Thom S. Rainer, Ph.D., is the president of Church Central Associates LLC and is founding dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Considered one of the leading experts on the church today, he is the author or co-author of 16 books on the church and has written articles or reviews for more than 30 publications.