“He [David] cared for them with a true heart and led them with skillful hands.” (Ps 78:72 NLT)

For the last year, I’ve served as the 2019 Oklahoma Writers’ Federation, Inc. (OWFI) president. As of today, my tenure as president is over, but not my involvement in OWFI or my local writing community. (In last week’s blog post, I wrote about the transition I was facing. You can read that post here.)

For years, I believed I couldn’t be a leader because I’m introverted and quiet. I don’t like making decisions, but I do believe in standing up for people and doing the right thing. Over the years, I’ve held various leadership positions that, in hindsight, I know prepared me for this one.

Someone once asked me if it had been hard to accept the OWFI presidency. The answer is both yes and no. Yes, in that I wasn’t sure if I could do it. Could I manage so many people, all of whom are volunteers? Would I make the right decisions? No, in that I felt it was the right thing to do. OWFI needed a president, and my friend Sabrina Fish saw the potential in me and my leadership ability and asked me to step up. So I did. And my sense of duty and love of the organization and its people overshadowed any doubts I might have had.

During my time as president, I’ve learned many lessons. Some were harder to learn than others, but all sank deeply into my heart.

• Leaders ask for help. There’s no shame in asking questions when you don’t understand something or in delegating a task to someone whose skill set exceeds your own.
• Leaders surround themselves with a good team. Having a good team reduces stress and makes everybody look good.
• Leaders praise their team and give credit where credit is due. This builds morale.
• Leaders are compassionate. I’m certainly not perfect at this, but I tried to empathize with my team and carry their burdens when I could.

My time as OWFI president provided numerous opportunities for growth, and it opened doors I wouldn’t have had the chance to walk through otherwise. While my tenure wasn’t without a few bumps and snags, I’m grateful for each one and the potential for growth it represented. During the past year, God continually provided the courage and confidence I needed to make decisions, encourage others, stand up for what’s right, and admit when I’d made a mistake. By trusting in God and looking to him to guide me, I know he’ll show me where to use these lessons in the future.

Dear Jesus, thank you for the opportunity to grow as a leader and to make lifelong friends at OWFI. I pray you will help me use the skills I’ve learned for the next phase of my life. Amen.