Taken The Peoplemap Inventory…Now What?
John Daugherty, Pinnacle Associate
Many church leadership teams – pastors, staff, deacons, elders, sessions, boards – have been involved in coaching and consulting and taking the People Map inventories and training. They have gained insight into their own strengths and “Achilles heals” or challenges, as well as recognizing those among their peers and fellow leaders.
People Map is a valuable tool for all kinds of leadership applications, not just faith-related organizations. What makes the application of the insights particularly “spiritual” is when one might examine biblical spiritual gifts with the strengths and challenges of the People Map categories.
In church and faith-based applications leaders might have also taken Spiritual Gifts surveys and inventories. Many are available from various sources and give insight to the gift or gifts one might have discovered as people of faith. The Bible tells us that all believers have been given the gift of salvation, but that the Holy Spirit also bestows “gifts” or strengths in order to better serve the work of the kingdom of God and the church.
The five primary lists of these Spiritual Gifts are: Romans 12:6-8, I Corinthians 12:8-10, I Corinthians 12:28-30, Ephesians 4:11, and I Peter 4:4-11. Each list describes some unique items, but there are also overlapping gifts among the lists. Common gifts include: Prophet or Prophecy – bringing a word from God for equipping the church and the engagement of the other gifts; Service, Serving, or Helps – these involve the use of many gifts and talents for the purpose of meeting the needs of people in the church and the community; Teacher or Teaching – studying, explaining, encouraging and instructing for the building up of the body, the church; Pastor or Exhortation – shepherding, encouraging, teaching, guiding and protection for the church; Leadership and Administration – organizing, reporting, managing funds, leading or guiding the church.
People Map types are Leader Types, People Types, Free Spirit Types and Task Types. Leader Types are influential, they work hard, are competitive, bottom line kind of people and like to be in charge. People Types are friendly, feelings are important, avoid conflict, accessible, and like harmony. Free Spirit Types are unconventional, spontaneous, flexible, expressive, and enjoy a good time and keep things open. Task Types are organized, precise, no surprises, thorough, enjoy routine, and wants things to be predictable.
While there are no direct correlations between Spirit gifts and People Map types, one can begin to see how some types might find themselves gifted in various ways. For example, Task and Leader types may find themselves exhibiting gifts of prophecy, preaching, bringing the word of God for equipping and encouraging the body. Task and People types might be found as teachers and pastors growing and guiding and protecting the church. People, Free Spirit and some Task types might be found meeting the needs of others and showing compassion and creative ways of involving the community through service and care. In reality, there are ways that each People Map type may find themselves expressing any one of the various Spiritual gifts.
The value of being aware of both People Map types and Spiritual gifts is in strengthening the impact of leadership teams and groups like deacons and pastoral leaders. Deacons are responsible for meeting the needs of the congregation and assisting pastoral leaders. An effective deacon team will have all four People Map types involved and various Spiritual gifts expressed. In many churches all deacons are assigned a small section of the congregation for their care and nurture. Not every deacon is equally strong in service or people skills, but every deacon can serve out of their strengths while being aware of their challenges. The deacon team can be organized in a way that best utilizes the skills and gifts recognized among the team. For example, those with strengths in leadership could be responsible for the over-all effectiveness of the deacon body. Task types could be assigned record keeping and accountability measures for assuring all church members are being served. People types could coach others on better listening and compassion skills. Free spirit types could bring a level of creativity for organizing and dreaming of more effective ways to serve and love the church and the community.
I suppose what I’m trying to say is, the most effective leadership and member care teams will be aware of both their Spiritual gifts and their People Map strengths and skills. In God’s grander scheme, we are all wonderfully and fearfully made in order to be the presence of Christ among our fellow believers and in the community being the best version of who God has created and gifted us to be.
At Pinnacle Leadership Associates we are available to assist your church and leaders to know who they are, what strengths they possess and how to express those in the life and ministry of the church.