I grew up as the only girl with four brothers. From the very beginning of my life God was teaching me how to be a woman in a room full of men. I’m often asked, “You seem so comfortable being at the leadership table with men. Why?”

Truthfully, across my ministry career, I have been the blessed one. I have served with godly men—leaders and world-changers in the culture. I have been respected, valued, and treated as a valued ministry partner with the men God has allowed me to serve alongside.

That being said, I’d be lying if I said sometimes the reality that I am the only woman at the table doesn’t occur to me, tempting me to question my position, to feel inadequate, insecure and to simply want to hold back. Whether you are in the business world, on church staff, or find yourself on a team with all men, here are a few things I’ve learned:

1. Lay your ego aside.

It’s a myth that in order to sit at the table with men, you have to be extra-competitive, extra-strong, extra-smart, or extra-anything. It’s a myth that you have to win at all costs, prove yourself, exalt yourself, or be better than everyone else at the table. Jesus said to live you must first die. To be first, you must be last. Get over yourself and come to the table as a servant and only then can you lead.

2. You are a woman.

Just because I’m surrounded by men doesn’t mean I am one. You don’t need to lose your femininity to work with men. In fact part of what you offer is your unique perspective as a woman. You have insight and perspective that complements and adds to the overall strength of the leadership table. With that said, it’s probably not a good idea to burst into tears because you didn’t make your projected revenue for the quarter or you missed the deadline on a major project. Accept responsibility but also accept that God created you as a woman and has placed you in a place of leadership. (It is okay to shed tears over spiritual things or matters of the heart!)

Few seminaries are teaching ministers the skills they need to counsel church members who may deal with mental health crises or psychological distress, according to a study by a Baylor University psychology professor.

The study, led by Baylor psychology and neuroscience professor Matthew Stanford, surveyed 70 seminaries in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. While 59 of the seminaries broach the topic of mental health in some way through existing courses, only 21 had courses specifically devoted to mental illness and counseling.

The findings were published in the August issue of the “Journal of Research on Christian Education.” The research cites anything from depression and anxiety to bipolar disorder or schizophrenia as potential mental health concerns that ministers should be prepared to deal with.

Stanford said mental health counseling should have more focus in seminary education because many people seek out guidance from a pastor or member of the clergy in a time of crisis. Members may also solicit a minister’s help in coping with a loved one living with mental illness.

“Our mental health care system is such a mess; finances are a problem, there aren’t enough mental health care providers, there’s a lot of stigma and shame associated with mental illness,” Stanford said. “There’s so many barriers to mental health, but it’s easy to access pastors, so when you’re having problems, who’s the most educated individual around that’s supposed to care for you? It’s a pastor.”

AT $3.2 BILLION the Dallas Cowboys are the most valuable franchise in the National Football League, says FORBES. This is the eighth straight win for the Cowboys. Congrats to owner Jerry Jones. Well, sort of.

The week after FORBES put the Cowboys on top, Sporting News ranked Jones as the worst of the 32 general managers in the NFL: “an ongoing disaster that has doomed America’s most valuable franchise to mediocrity.”

As owner, Jones has every right to be the Cowboys’ general manager. But it hasn’t worked for 18 years. That’s a sad thing, both for Dallas fans and for Jones himself.

Jones bought the Cowboys in 1989 and installed Jimmy Johnson, his former teammate from the University of Arkansas football team, as head coach. Johnson built the Cowboys from a 1-15 record to a pair of Super Bowl wins in 1993 and 1994. At which point Jones, upset that Johnson was getting too much credit, told the press that anyone could have coached the Cowboys to those Super Bowl wins. Jones then fired Johnson and named himself general manager.

After a 1996 Super Bowl win under Coach Barry Switzer, the Cowboys fell into mediocrity. They’ve stayed there.

How many entrepreneurs, owners and CEOs, like Jones, choose their egos over potential greatness? The list is depressingly long. One is reminded of Apple cofounder Steve Jobs. In the early days Jobs was so ego-soaked that he’d steal credit for the inventions of others. He hired John Sculley as CEO and almost immediately tried to undermine him.

But then Steve Jobs did an amazing and rare thing: He outgrew his fatal flaws. He morphed from an immature egomaniac during the 1970s and 1980s into a superb team leader until his death, in 2011. What caused this transformation? His Apple ouster in 1985? The struggles of his successor company, NeXT? His purchase of Pixar, where he learned the power of a light-handed management style? Marriage and children? (By all accounts, Jobs was a devoted husband and father.) Whatever got Steve Jobs to trade in his ego for lasting greatness, it worked.