John Gallagher

This week, I was reminded of a verse in Hebrews 11:3 that says: “By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.”

Not sure why, but it brought a visual to my mind of an armoire in my home office. The armoire has many drawers. Each of these drawers has a piece of my current life inside:

1) Business files

2) Office supplies

3) Electronics equipment (digital camera, cords, ipod, etc.)

4) CD’s, etc.

The picture reminded me of a leader and our character. You see, inside of the armoire are just the nuts and bolts (‘stuff’) of our life, but the furniture piece that is visible (our character) can be a beautiful piece. Our lives tend to be compartmentalized, but our character is what people see and hear on the outside.

Character, to me, can be defined as what you do when others are not around. In any event, it is visible (like the outside of the armoire) and we can’t compartmentalize our lives.

You see, as leaders:

1) Our lives are made up of many ‘drawers’

2) Not everyone gets to see what is inside those drawers…but they usually know.

3) BUT, folks always see the outside…our behaviors…our attitude…our consistency. We can’t hide that inside a drawer. It is a piece of furniture that is visible to everyone.

So, what can people see of your character (armoire)? Do you have a little ‘polishing’ to do on the outside? Do you have any drawers in your life that need cleaned out?