Editor's note: This is the last article of a five-part series on leadership strengths and weaknesses. Follow the links at the bottom of each part to read the entire series. Sign up for the Church Health Today e-mail newsletter for more each week on effective churches.

We have seen the openness of church leaders who are reaching the unchurched. They shared unashamedly what they perceived to be their strengths and their weaknesses.

Weakness #6: Too little time for prayer

The leaders of the effective churches and of the comparison churches spent an average of five hours per week in prayer. The effective church leaders, however, were highly self-critical of their time in prayer. Nearly two-thirds of those we interviewed readily identified their lack of time in prayer as a weakness.

The pastors noted the relationship between being too task driven and spending little time in prayer.

"I know in my mind and heart that I should pray more," said a Texas pastor, "but I get so involved in visions and goals for the church that I let prayer get neglected."

Still, on the average, these leaders spent nearly 45 minutes a day in prayer. I suspect that quantity exceeds the time in prayer of the typical American churchgoer.

Weakness #7: Paying too little attention to details

"I'm a big-picture person," a nondenominational pastor from Minnesota told my research team. "I'm willing, even eager to delegate details to others. On the one hand, that's good, because I can provide the big vision for the whole church. But sometimes I get in trouble because I don't follow up with those who are supposed to be taking care of all the details."

Again, some of the greatest strengths of leaders can turn into weaknesses if they are carried to an extreme. A leader who is too task driven can neglect pastoral ministry and prayer and become too impatient. And a "big-picture" leader can become ineffective if he never pays any attention to detail.

Weakness #8: Moving too fast

This weakness comes as no surprise after hearing the first seven weaknesses. A leader who has tendencies to be impatient and task driven is more likely to move too rapidly for many churches. Nearly six out of 10 leaders noted this issue as a leadership weakness.

We heard numerous tales of horror from the leaders about their leadership moving too far ahead of the rest of the people in the church.

"I was so excited about reaching the unchurched in our community," a Georgia pastor told us, "that I came up with about 10 major changes in the church in one year. I lasted in that church for two and a half years before the deacons asked me to leave. I was devastated and finally destitute."

The Southern Baptist pastor learned his lesson. "I'm learning to stay just ahead of the people, but not to move so fast that it scares them to death," he said. The maxim is well stated: A good leader stays far enough in front of the people to lead but not so far in front that he is mistaken for the enemy and shot in the rear.

Weakness #9: Poor relational skills

Only one strength was also stated as a weakness. Many of the leaders of these churches have both strong and poor relational skills. How could one leader be both good and poor in interpersonal skills?

"I tend to be pretty friendly to visitors, particularly unchurched people. And I'm also outgoing to church members on most occasions. The times that have gotten me in trouble is when I've lost my cool with church members who tried to hijack some things we were trying to do." These words came from a Colorado pastor who expressed concern over his occasional outbursts of anger.

Though these leaders did list poor relational skills as their ninth weakness, our evaluation of how they relate to others was quite positive. The leaders seemed pretty hard on themselves for infrequent temper flare-ups.

Weakness #10: Time management

Our research team was surprised that the leaders of effective churches would note time management as a leadership weakness. But, as we have seen of numerous points in their self-assessments, these leaders tend to be highly self-critical.

Where do they struggle in time management? They worry about their lack of family time. They express concern that they spend too little time in Bible study and prayer. But, more than any issue, they say they need to spend more time in personal evangelism. Even though the leaders on the average spend five hours a week in personal evangelism, they typically feel that they do not do enough.

"I know you surveyed me and interviewed me because our church is reaching some unchurched people, and I'm grateful for that. But I know that we can do a lot more. I'm just not happy with my time commitment in this area," said one pastor.

Perhaps the struggle, more than a sign of weakness, is an indication of leadership strength. Can anybody truly say that they have mastered their use of time? The fact that these leaders struggle in many areas could be indicative of their desires to improve in many areas.

Weakness #11: Failure to develop a strategic plan

Slightly more than half of the leaders told us that they did not plan well for the long term. Some of them articulated specifically their failure to develop a strategic plan for their church's future.

"Sometimes, I think I'm making up the rules as I go," an Illinois pastor told us. "Every attempt I make to develop a three- or five-year plan seems to fall flat. It seems like I deal with the crisis of the moment."

One of the reasons the leaders expressed concern over this perceived weakness was related to their passionate desire to reach the unchurched. "I need something to keep me on focus to reach people for Christ," the Illinois pastor continued. "If I could just get a plan in place, I think I would have a more intense and intentional focus to reach the unchurched."

Weakness #12: Failure to communicate well

"You would think I would learn, but sometimes I just don't get it," a nondenominational church pastor confessed. "Three of my biggest problems in ministry occurred when I pushed an issue without communicating to key people in the church, or even the whole church. The problem is that I did this not once or twice, but three times."

The task-driven personality of these leaders sometimes fails to take communication issues into consideration. The very ambition and desire to reach people that sets these leaders apart from others can also work against them.

"When I move so fast that the people don't know what's going on, I run into obstacles, criticisms, and apathy. I'm trying to learn," one pastor told us, "that you just can't communicate too much."

Read more in this series: Leaders admit top 5 weaknesses; Five more leadership strengths; Humor: Real-life leadership principle; 23 real-life leadership principles: Vision;

Thom S. Rainer, Ph.D., is the president of Church Central Associates LLC and is founding dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Considered one of the leading experts on the church today, he is the author or co-author of 16 books on the church and has written articles or reviews for more than 30 publications. Dr. Rainer has also served as a pastor and interim pastor in 10 churches and has consulted with more than 300 churches, denominational entities and other religious organizations.