Stop Aiming After You Shoot By Pastor Jim Graff

I love the story of a retired banker who decided to move to the country and buy a farm. He wanted to fit into his new community, and he quickly discovered that the farmers around him enjoyed shooting. He figured if he could become a great marksman, he might earn some respect.

One day, people noticed a target painted on the side of his barn. Right in the middle of the bull’s-eye was a bullet hole. It was a perfect shot, and people were so impressed that they began asking him to join their shooting team for the county fair. Finally, someone asked why he wouldn’t compete, and the banker admitted the truth.

“I shot the barn first,” he said, “and then I painted the target around the bullet hole.”

I think that is how a lot of people approach leadership. We stay busy, work hard, accomplish things, and then look back at whatever happened and paint a target around it. But highly effective teams do not work that way. Strong leaders and coaches identify the target first, then align the actions of the team around that objective.

Aim Actions at Objectives

One of the most important lessons we have learned at Faith Family Church is that activity and effectiveness are not the same thing. There was a season when we were seeing many people give their lives to Christ, but our baptism numbers did not reflect the number of salvations we were experiencing.

We decided that needed to change. Our previous baptism high had been somewhere in the low 200s, so we looked at what God was doing and set a bold objective; let’s believe we can baptize 500 people in a year.

Once the objective became clear, our actions began changing. We examined our processes, looked for barriers, evaluated how we communicated baptism, and considered how we helped people take their next step. We did not quite reach 500 that first time, but we came very close.

The breakthrough was not merely the number. Setting the objective forced us to think differently. Most people are far more talented than they realize, but they are often far less focused than they need to be. That is where leadership and coaching make such a difference. Good leaders help people turn potential into progress by making the target unmistakably clear.

Focus Requires Saying No

Pastor Michael Graff made an important observation during our conversation: focus is just as much about knowing what not to do as knowing what to do.

That is difficult for anyone who leads people. Pastors see needs everywhere. Coaches see players who need development. Business and nonprofit leaders see opportunities that could be pursued. Team leaders hear good ideas from talented people. Before long, we can be doing dozens of worthwhile things while struggling to give our best energy to the few things that matter most.

Every team needs to periodically ask: Does this contribute to our mission? Does this move us toward our objectives? Is this still producing the result it once produced? Are we spending energy on something because it matters, or simply because we have always done it?

Amy Duffley shared a powerful Olympic story that illustrates this. Matthew Emmons was an elite marksman competing in the 2004 Olympics. He was positioned to win, aimed carefully, fired, and hit the target. The problem was that he hit the wrong target.

That is a sobering leadership lesson. You can execute with excellence and still miss the objective. A team can work hard, communicate well, and perform with tremendous skill, but if everyone is aiming at the wrong thing, excellence alone will not produce the desired result.

Churches can do that. Athletic teams can do that. Companies, schools, nonprofits, and volunteer organizations can do it too. Excellence matters, but excellence aimed at the wrong target is still a miss.

Continually Reengineer

That is why highly effective teams continually evaluate and reengineer. One of the best questions I have heard leaders ask is, “If I fired myself today and came back tomorrow as the person replacing me, what would I change?”

That question forces us to look at our work without immediately defending it. We naturally know why certain decisions were made. We remember the challenges that shaped our systems, and we can explain why things are done a certain way. But sometimes history becomes an excuse for inefficiency.

Fresh eyes ask better questions. Is this still working? Could we do it better? Has the culture changed? Have people’s needs changed? Has the team changed? Is there a better way to accomplish the mission now than there was three years ago?

A “best, never rest” attitude refuses to confuse consistency with effectiveness. Strong leaders honor what has worked in the past without becoming trapped by it.

Inspect What You Expect

Continual improvement also requires rhythm. Pastor Michael pointed out something I have tried to practice for years: you can expect what you inspect, not simply what you expect.

I cannot personally inspect every detail of Faith Family Church every day, nor should I. The same is true for any leader or coach. Leadership is not doing everyone’s job. It is making sure the right people know what success looks like and that the mission-critical areas are being evaluated consistently.

Some things need weekly attention. Others need monthly, quarterly, or annual evaluation. The closer a leader is to a particular responsibility, the more frequently that area should be reviewed. Good evaluation is not micromanagement. It is stewardship.

Regular meetings reveal things you will never discover from reports alone. You begin seeing who solves problems, who only identifies them, who takes responsibility, who avoids it, and who may possess leadership potential you had not noticed before.

Some people will surprise you with how capable they become when you give them meaningful responsibility. Jesus changed the world through ordinary people, and that should encourage every leader. Our churches, teams, organizations, classrooms, and communities are filled with people who possess extraordinary potential when they are developed, focused, trusted, and given the opportunity to grow.

In Acts 6, the apostles entrusted meaningful responsibility to seven men. Those assignments were not insignificant, and several of those men later exercised tremendous spiritual influence. The same principle applies today. The person managing a small responsibility now may become the leader shaping an organization, ministry, team, or community tomorrow.

That is why developing people may ultimately have more lasting impact than your own individual performance.

Leaders and coaches, do not settle for being busy. Clarify the target. Make sure your people understand why it matters. Align your actions with the objective. Inspect what is mission-critical and have the courage to stop doing good things that are keeping you from the best things.

Then ask yourself one final question: If my team keeps operating exactly the way it is operating today, will we arrive where we say we want to go?

If the answer is no, do not paint a new target around your current results. Change the aim. Develop the people. Adjust the plan. Create the rhythm of evaluation you need and lead your team toward a target worth hitting.

The strongest leaders are not the ones who can explain yesterday’s results. They are the ones who can clearly identify tomorrow’s target and help everyone around them aim at it together.