I found a great article that highlights a ministry skill that is often missing in young leaders. Young leaders who are driven by vision and passion often forget that others often need time to allow an idea to germinate and blossom before committing their personal resources.
I have found as a teacher that I will often spend weeks mulling over an idea in my head, then when I present it to a group I am surprised at an apparent lack of response immediately.
As I continue to mature as a leader I am learning the value of timing in addition to the quality of ideas.
Great leaders understand the importance of timing, specifically when it comes to making decisions. There are right times to consider issues and right times to make moves. Conversely, even the right issue tackled at the wrong time faces certain defeat.
There is no formula for great timing. It is part instinct, part intuition, part paying attention to surroundings, part prayer life, and all of the above. But it is not guesswork. Leaders who have a good sense of timing seem very wired into their situations while, at the same time, wired into God for a perspective that transcends just what the leader and his or her advisers can see.
Leaders adept at timing know how to read audiences and situations. They have practiced this over the years, testing out their hunches and intuitions. They have learned how to monitor their own internal sensors and when to pay attention to the voices around them and the voice within. Leaders with great timing know how to test the water, sniff the wind, and commit just enough to gauge reaction before committing it all. They risk, but they do not gamble.
