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April 13, 2020 ♦ Issue 29 |
| Seeking Excellence Not Perfection
Amanda Maggard is the president and chief executive officer for AdventHealth Zephyrhills and AdventHealth Dade City hospitals in Florida. She oversees strategic direction and operational performance for both hospitals. Maggard has 15 years of experience within the AdventHealth network and agreed to share in her own words one of the leadership lessons she’s learned along the way: Throughout my life—both personally and professionally—I have struggled with perfectionism. On the surface, perfectionism may sound like a “cop out” of a self-described weakness. However, I’ve seen the tremendous impact that wrestling with the pursuit of perfection has had on me, at times. Mental spirals re-playing mistakes; paralysis from feelings that I’m not good enough; anxiety over a lack of external validation. |
| | "If my expectations of myself are unrealistic, then I won't be able to encourage, coach and mentor those around me." |
| In addition to the impact these mental gymnastics have had on me personally, this type of thinking also risks having an effect on how I lead my team. If my expectations of myself are unrealistic, then I won’t be able to encourage, coach, and mentor those around me.
I’ve studied this topic more over the past few months and have been struck by the critical distinction in striving for excellence versus perfection. As leaders, wives, mothers, friends, humans … we will never reach perfection on this Earth. If we spend our mental, physical and emotional energy striving for an unrealistic goal, we will be unable to achieve what God has laid before us. I love the power in the statement Paul writes: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” I am thankful for a God who not only accepts, but embraces our weaknesses and uses them to highlight His strength. |
| | — Amanda Maggard, president and CEO, AdventHealth hospitals in Zephryhills and Dade City, Fla. |
| | Listen to the Podcast
Listen to our discussions with women leaders who share what makes a good leader, finding and becoming effective mentors, "the divine gift of womanhood" and having difficult conversations in the workplace. Listen on Spotify and iTunes. Please subscribe and give positive reviews and ratings to raise the podcast's visibility and encourage others to listen. Email ideas for future podcasts to co-hosts Natalia Lopez-Thismon and Natalie Boonstra at flourishthepodcast@gmail.com.
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| Flourish: Special Edition (Available Now)
How are you coping with all the changes the coronavirus pandemic has brought to your workplace, household dynamic and even how you worship on Sabbath morning? Listen as mental health therapist Nerilyn Rosario shares how we can care for our mental health during this time of uncertainty in this episode, "COVID-19 and Social Distancing." |
| | | | | AWL's Prayer Circle
Heavenly Father and our God, Please fill our hearts and minds with your peace, “The peace of God, which passeth all understanding” (Philippians 4:7 KJV). In these uncertain times, we look to you, O Lord, “Whenever [we are] afraid, [we] will trust in You” (Psalm 56:3, NKJV). In our times of sorrow or anguish, remind us that you are only a prayer away. “And the Lord, He will not leave you nor forsake you: do not fear nor be dismayed” (Deuteronomy 31:8, NKJV). For you, O Lord, have been our hope, our strength and our courage. You, O Lord, have been the sustainer, the provider, the waymaker—the giver of everything that is good. Now please do for us what we cannot do for ourselves; rebuild our hope, renew our strength and rekindle our courage. How? Through the reading of your Word, through the listening to your Word, through the living by your Word, and by the telling of your Word. Help us, O Lord—bless us to be a blessing to others. With thanksgiving and pleading for the forgiveness of our sins, in Jesus’s name, “Hear us, O Lord, hear us, O Lord, incline Thine ear to us and grant us Thy peace” (SDA Hymnal, #684 – Hear Our Prayer, O Lord). Amen!
— Carolyn R. Forrest, associate secretary-director for Secretariat and the Office of Human Relations, North American Division, and an AWL Committee member |
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| Meditations
"So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." — 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, English Standard Version |
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| | Question
What Bible verse is encouraging you, sustaining you and keeping you sane during the coronavirus crisis? Share your verse with us by posting it on Facebook or emailing us at connect@adventistwomenleaders.com. |
| AWL is a community of women affirming, encouraging and celebrating God's goodness to those He has called to lead. |
| AWL Committee: Bonita J. Shields, chair; Celeste Ryan Blyden, secretary/director; Natalie Boonstra, Brenda Dickerson, Carolyn R. Forrest, Tamyra Horst, Natalia Lopez-Thismon and Ann Roda AWL Support Team: Michele Joseph, managing editor; Carla Conway, graphic designer; Frenita Buddy Fullwood, event coordinator |
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