什麼是你的特長？

對任何組織而言，檢視特長是追求進步的不二法門，這不僅是要與他人作比較，也可發現如何使現在的作法更精進。可能你在工作場所已參與了這樣的評估。但我想若我們每個人也評估自己的「特長」，應該也是明智之舉。

幾年前我曾經在一個非營利組織工作多年，一位高級主管問我，對自己未來在這組織有什麼展望？這問題讓我很驚訝，因為我並不想「攀爬組織階梯」。擔任作者和編輯的角色，我覺得志向完全得以實現，我有信心我已經處在支持組織目標的最適當位置。

那時，我的「特長」是很快就了解我最適合做什麼，以及什麼是對工作及組織最有意義而且有益的。努力去獲取較有名望的職位，意味著減少時間去做我享受的工作，卻要承擔更多行政責任。雖然我明白那是崇高的追求，但我清楚地了解那不是我要走的路徑。章伯斯（Oswald Chambers）是我最喜愛的作家之一，他在多年前說過：「好是最好的敵人。」升遷固然是件好事，但對我而言卻不是最好的事。

我發現聖經直接對我們每一個人論及「特長」。以下就是一些例子：

我們來到這世界是有特別的目的。在我們出生前上帝對我們的生命就有特別的計劃。我們所做的事－－以及我們擅長做的事－－並不是意外。「我的肺腑是你所造的；我在母腹中，你已覆庇我。我要稱謝你，因我受造，奇妙可畏；你的作為奇妙，這是我心深知道的」（詩篇139篇13-14節），「我們原是他的工作，在基督耶穌裡造成的，為要叫我們行善，就是神所預備叫我們行的」（以弗所書2章10節）。

當我們與別人協調地分工合作，我們憑藉著特長得以發揮最佳功能。在任何組織中，有些人擔任較顯眼、有聲望的角色，其實為了要達成共同的使命，每項工作都是重要的。「但如今，神隨自己的意思把肢體俱各安排在身上了。若都是一個肢體，身子在那裡呢﹖但如今肢體是多的，身子卻是一個。」（哥林多前書12章18-20節。）

當我們充分發揮我們的恩賜與能力，也就是特長時，我們的工作最有果效。當我們使用我們獨特且天賦的技巧與能力，我們就能帶著熱忱與活力去承擔我們的責任。因此，我們將能得到別人對我們工作品質的肯定－－而且我們也能做得更多。「你看見辦事殷勤的人嗎﹖他必站在君王面前，必不站在下賤人面前」（箴言22章29節）。

勞勃．泰默西是領袖資產協會的傳播部副部長，這是一個總部在美國喬治亞州亞特蘭大的非營利組織。

There is wisdom for any organization to assess its best practices, not only for how it compares with others, but also to determine how it can enhance what it is already doing. Perhaps you are involved some way in doing that where you work. But I wonder if it would be wise for each of us to evaluate our “best practices” as individuals as well.

Years ago I had been working for a non-profit for several years when a top executive I was meeting with asked how I envisioned my future with the organization. The question caught me by surprise, because I was not intending to “climb the corporate ladder.” In my role as a writer and editor, I felt fulfilled, confident I was exactly where I was best suited for supporting the organization”s goals and objectives.

At that time, my “best practice” was to understand what I was most qualified to do and what I found most meaningful and rewarding. To strive for a more prestigious role would have meant doing less of what I enjoyed and assuming more administrative responsibilities. While I recognized those as noble pursuits, I had a clear understanding that was not the course I wanted to take. As Oswald Chambers, one of my favorite writers, stated many years ago, “Good is the enemy of the best.” A promotion would have been a good thing, but for me it would not have been the best thing.

I have found the Bible speaks directly to this idea of “best practices” for us as individuals. Here are several examples:

We come into this life with a special purpose. It is humbling to consider that even before we were born, God had a special plan in mind for our lives. What we do – and what we are good at doing – is not an accident. “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother”s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:13-14). “For we are God”s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).

We function best when working in concert with others. In any organization, some people have more visible, prestigious roles, but every job is important for achieving the corporate mission. “But in fact God has arranged the parts of the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body” (1 Corinthians 12:18-20).

We work most effectively when using our gifts and abilities to the fullest. When we are using the skills and capabilities that are uniquely and innately ours, we can perform our responsibilities with much enthusiasm and passion. In doing so, we will receive recognition for the quality of our work – and we will be able to do more of it. “Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men” (Proverbs 22:29).

© 2015. Robert J. Tamasy is vice president of communications for Leaders Legacy, Inc., a non-profit based in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.