When You’re Not the Visionary: Recognizing How Your Unique Gifts Benefit the Institution
Editor's Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Regent University, its faculty, administration, or affiliates.
Our faculty met this morning to discuss Regent’s Common Read, We Believe. The chapter explored was Chapter 3, which focuses on the image of God—Imago Dei. We reflected on how every faculty and staff member reflects God’s image. Because God possesses limitless attributes, no two people express the exact same combination of giftings (Hobson & Edgar, 2016).
Understanding individual attributes and natural giftings is not limited to the Christian workplace. There’s a reason companies invest in team-building activities and personality inventories: people want to be known. Feeling seen by colleagues can elevate workplace culture to a new level (Haupt, 2024). It is easy to recognize the visionaries, dynamic speakers, or engaging writers. But colleagues with quieter strengths—administration, discernment, service—may feel overlooked or even unaware of their unique talents. Like the Israelites in Exodus, organizations need their Moses for vision just as much as they need their Aaron to organize and execute the plan.
A 2016 article from the Harvard Business Review, “Why Diverse Teams Are Smarter,” highlighted a McKinsey & Company report showing that companies with diverse teams were more profitable (Hunt et al., 2015). Diversity in ethnicity enriches the workplace, but diversity in age, gender, and professional experience also contributes to organizational success. Frank Neffke, Ph.D., with the Harvard Growth Lab, stated that “the value of workers isn’t dependent on their individual skills, but rather on how their skills complement those they work with” (Childress, 2020). Researchers at the Growth Lab concluded that employees are happier and stay longer when their skillsets complement—rather than duplicate—those of their teammates.
Consider a three-person executive team with complementary strengths. Executive 1 is an engaging visionary with entrepreneurial drive who is unafraid to make difficult decisions. Executive 2 excels in personnel management, talent acquisition, and discerning appropriate next steps. Executive 3 has a gift for clarity and execution—distilling conversations into actionable plans that can be easily communicated to colleagues. All three are strong communicators with high emotional intelligence. By acknowledging one another’s strengths, the team operates efficiently and cultivates an atmosphere of mutual respect and encouragement.
Creating a culture of respect and encouragement can significantly motivate a team. Workplace language often reinforces bias toward certain roles: “She’s a leader; he’s a support person.” Titles matter, and they should not be used casually. But guiding employees to consider how their influence and abilities contribute to the larger team fosters a sense of value. A team composed of three charismatic visionaries with no one skilled in execution would quickly lose momentum.
This returns us to Moses and Aaron. In Exodus 3–4, God speaks powerfully to Moses through the burning bush. God had a plan for His people and asked Moses to deliver the message and lead the mission. Yet Moses hesitated. Although God demonstrated His power through miraculous signs, Moses remained focused on his own shortcomings—fearing the people would not believe him and worried about his speech. After some back-and-forth, God responded:
“Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him. And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.”
—Exodus 4:14b–17 (ESV)
Moses is a compelling example of a modern visionary leader. God spoke to him and called him, yet in his humanity, he could not accomplish the mission alone. God provided Aaron and others to ensure the vision was carried out.
Be encouraged today to explore the unique gifts within your team—and within yourself. Cultivate a workplace atmosphere that recognizes the Imago Dei in every colleague. Explore spiritual gifts, personality patterns, charisms of the Holy Spirit, and other tools that promote authenticity and appreciation in the workplace.
Resources
These free and paid tools can help begin conversations about strengths, tendencies, and team dynamics. They serve as starting points—not definitive assessments. For comprehensive evaluation, consider consulting certified assessment professionals.
- LifeWay Spiritual Gifts Assessment (Free)
- 16Personalities (Free, Myers-Briggs–based)
- Many Parts Ministries Charism Assessment (Small fee)
References
Childress, R. (2020, February 11). Building teams with complementary skillsets may be key to reducing turnover. Associations Now. https://associationsnow.com/2020/02/building-teams-with-complementary-skillsets-may-be-key-to-reducing-turnover
Christian identity: Who do you think you are? (2019). In G. Hobson & W. Edgar, Imago Dei: Implications for Theology, Pastoral Care, Eucharist, Apologetics, Aesthetics (pp. 138–171). Wipf and Stock Publishers.
English Standard Bible. (2016). Crossway Bibles. (Original work published 2001).
Haupt, A. (2024, March 25). Are personality tests really useful? Time. https://time.com/6959682/are-personality-tests-useful/
Hunt, V., Layton, D., & Prince, S. (2015, January). Why diversity matters. McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/business%20functions/people%20and%20organizational%20performance/our%20insights/why%20diversity%20matters/why%20diversity%20matters.pdf
Rock, D., & Grant, H. (2016, November 4). Why diverse teams are smarter. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2016/11/why-diverse-teams-are-smarter
