Today I want to talk to you about the 80-20 Principle for leaders. The 80-20 Principle is not a new concept. It’s something we’ve heard before, and it’s well worn. But, if I can see something visually, it helps me apply it better. So, let’s take a look.
The principle states that 80% of your effort actually only delivers 20% of your results. Likewise, 80% of your results come from only 20% of your effort. What that means it churches, and for us as leaders, is that we often focus on the wrong things.
In a church setting we see this play out when it comes to people. 20% of the congregation is actually doing 80% of the ministry. And you as a leader, 80% of what you spend your time doing all week only has 20% return.
So, what should you do in response to all of this? Think about your average week. What things take up the most time and produce the least return? What things produce the greatest return, but require little effort?
The first thing you need to do is find things that you can delegate, but primarily you want to find people that you can develop to take these roles over from you and have them do those instead. Don’t delegate. Develop.
How could you do something to help you better focus on the 20% that leads to the largest return? How can you help your people do the same thing? Think about these things and decided what you are going to do about it.
