Fr Jim Cogley
The following was a piece of advice offered by a very wise colleague many years ago that has served me well. Don’t try to do too much and never try to do everything. It has been pointed out that up to 90% of our stress is caused by 10% of our work; and this probably belongs to someone else! To be a leader is one thing while to be an administrator is quite another and the two don’t always overlap. A leader is a visionary who recognizes possibilities and potential. He/she sees what needs to be done, while an administrator sees that it is done. I am not an administrator and in my early years often got stressed over office work and keeping accounts. It took a while to get wise and know that there were people who loved administration, even more than I hated it, and that by me doing it I was depriving them of their gift. It is a myth, and even a form of pride, to think that we need to be good at everything, and wise to remember that everyone’s gifts need to be recognized, encouraged, and given an opportunity to be expressed. This forms an essential component of good leadership.