My family and I moved to Northern Thailand just after New Years.  I
left behind a sizeable personal staff of very competent people.  At one
time I had three people on staff totally dedicated to helping with my work
plus others to help as driver, etc.  In Thailand I have a few friends but
no staff at all.  Sherry and I have spent the last three weeks moving
things from  a container, buying a vehicle, ordering LPG, water and ice
deliveries and dealing with different licensing issues, all without
knowing Thai.

Then this week the sink began to fall off the wall and the shower tap got
snapped off and began pouring water.  I really don’t know anything about
plumbing, but everyone I tried to call wasn’t able to come so there I was
up to my ankles in water having to do something I knew nothing about.

Which raises an interesting point about personal growth. The first
essential ingredient in growth is incompetence.  We face a challenge we
are unprepared to handle and have nowhere to turn for help but to  dive in
and try to deal with it ourselves.

Nathan found the turnoff valve on the street outside our house and shut
down the water.  I went to the hardware to get replacement parts and once
I saw that they were threaded I realized that behind the exterior putty
aound that broken faucet were threads.  I could confidently take a wrench
to the outer works without fear of simply snapping the PVC pipe off.  The
lady at the counter helpfully handed me teflon tape for drip free
connection.  In the end, I fixed the broken tap in the shower perfectly,
and totally dismantled the fallen sink as well.  In the end, I was proud
of the quality of the work and developed a new (and necessary) competence
now that I am our family’s handyman.  In short, I grew because I overcame
my incompetence and fear and closed the gap with new learning.

Don’t be afraid of doing things you don’t know how to do.  That’s where
the growth lies.  Perhaps more importantly, don’t hesitate to assign your
leaders to handle responsibilities they are not “competent” to do by
training.  Experience is the best teacher.  Send them to school by
challenging them in new areas.