Creativity Gift

The Overseer

Heart’s Cry Statement

Let me plan and manage projects and teams.

Highlights

Strong implementation planners and managers
Highly directive in administrative style
Values and utilizes systems and structures
May rely heavily on proven methods from the past
Make excellent deacons, staff leaders and ministry leaders
May require support in dealing with difficult interpersonal relationships

Who God Made You to Be

The Overseer is outgoing and wants to help people accomplish objectives. The Overseer is usually a logical implementation planner and manager who values gaining facts from the team and outside resources. The Overseer does not create vision and will not use vision to inspire people. The Overseer will receive a vision from respected and trusted authorities and create the systems and structures necessary to accomplish the given vision. The Overseer uses his or her outgoing personality, along with researched facts, to attract people and help them commit to the task at hand. However, once the facts are gathered and a plan is put into action, the Overseer may be inflexible to change the plan unless provided with overwhelming evidence to alter the Overseer’s established perspective.

While Overseers are outgoing, they can lack sensitivity toward others. If an Overseer is not careful, he or she may be accused of pushing people to accomplish the objective. Without intention, the Overseer can unconsciously view the task to be of greater value than the team. Under pressure or not sufficiently matured, the Overseer can communicate with a directive (almost dictatorial) spirit. Overseers usually do not have difficulty confronting people they believe are acting or serving inappropriately. They will be quick to make their expectations clear to their team.

The Overseer typically adheres to the organization’s established policies and values authority structures. In fact, they highly value the establishment of organizational structures. Where such systems are lacking, they may establish them if for no other reason than that they require them in order to be effective. If an established system is ineffective, Overseers will likely want to improve upon the system. They are effective critical thinkers and analysts. However, they tend to apply “what has worked in the past” and use these assumed proven systems in their present context. New methodologies and paradigms may threaten the Overseer’s need for stability.

What You Can Contribute To the Ministry

Within typical Church ministry structures, Overseers can be effective staff members, ministry leaders, or deacons; but they must have clearly defined areas of responsibility, goals and objectives. Overseers will build a support team that holds strongly to the traditional values of hard work, loyalty, and sacrifice. If Overseers are not permitted to make system improvements or are forced to function within a system that does not logically make sense to them, they may become frustrated and develop a negative or critical attitude. Because of their expressive nature, it is possible for this critical attitude to negatively impact the greater ministry.

How Leadership Can Support You

Overseers must feel that they are fully responsible for their assigned domain. They have a strong need to know where and how they “belong.” Because of this, Overseers value some form of commissioning for service. This sense of empowerment is crucial to their sense of authority, responsibility and accountability. Overseers may require help in learning to utilize less traditional personality types to round out a healthy ministry team. It may be wise to partner a less directive and more sensitive person with an Overseer when having to address serious team member issues.

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