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Personal Style: How do I serve?
Each of us is given a unique personality, which is our preferred way
of relating to and dealing with the world around us. When we serve in
ways that don't fit with our personal style, it is like writing with
the wrong hand and can lead to decreased efficiency in our service --
and motivation suffers. When we know and acknowledge our personal style,
we can seek out opportunities for ministry that help us obtain a good fit.
In understanding personal style, we'll look at:
- How are you energized?
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This scale describes how you receive and focus your emotional
energy, and the way you prefer to interact with tasks and people.
Task-oriented folks are energized by doing things; they are
comfortable with others who share their commitment to task, and
may become frustrated or feel awkward when having to deal with
many relational activities.
People-oriented folks are energized by interacting with people,
and measure results in terms of relationships; they prefer to work
with other people in a 'team' setting. Both of these indicate a
particular approach or priority of operating, and simply indicate
a preference.
- How are you organized?
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This scale describes how you prefer to organize yourself.
Those who are unstructured prefer to have many options and flexibility
of choice; they enjoy moving between a variety of activities.
People who are structured tend to plan and bring order to their
lives -- these are the folks who seek decisions and closure, and
enjoy details. Once again, these descriptors indicate a preference
to style of organizing.
Both of these descriptors together help us understand our personal style:
- Task / Unstructured:
- you like general guidelines, versatility, helping wherever
needed, and tangible results. Consider an area of service
that allows you to fulfill a variety of responsibilities.
- Task / Structured:
- you like getting the job done, focusing on results,
following an agenda, and appreciate clear direction.
Consider serving in an area that clearly defines its
goals and how the task is to be accomplished.
- People / Unstructured:
- you enjoy spontaneous situations, are very conversational,
relate well to others, and tend to be flexible. Consider
a position of service that gives you the freedom to respond
to people spontaneously.
- People / Structured:
- you like defined relationships, feeling secure in familiar
surroundings, project warmth, and enjoy familiar
relationships. Consider a ministry position that enables
you to interact with people in a more stable or defined
setting.
It is important to note that each of these personal style combinations
is not an all-or-nothing descriptor of your style; you may be strongly
people-oriented and less strong in your structured organizational
style. This means that not all People/Structured folks share the same
intensity of that particular style!
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