leaders lead…
quiet time the last couple of days have dealt with leadership issues. here’s my take on the issue, Leaders Lead. first, a leader has followers. Maxwell says something like this, “look behind you. if no one is following you are not leading.”
second, leaders take responsibility. i love sports. specifically i love college football. as i have noticed over the years the great college coaches take responsibility. i have heard Bear Bryant, Vince Dooley, Bobby Bowden, and others after a bad game say, “i’ve or we’ve got to do a better job of coaching.” there was a guy at UGA that responded to a question one time with this, “i’m not on the field, i don’t do the blocking and tackling, what do you want me to do?” needless to say he didn’t last long. leaders don’t throw others under the bus. don’t make excuses.
third, leaders communicate. i think that a huge amount of problems on church staffs comes down to communication. you cannot communicate too much. the leader doesn’t have to be answering questions or open up discussion but s/he must communicate. when there are changes being made and there is no communication then fear and anxiety begins to fester. when that happens then people start to talk and speculate (gossip) among themselves. even bad news from the right source can and will heal a lot of wounds.
leaders make the tough decisions without making excuses. don’t apologize for making the tough call. if the decision is bathed in prayer. if the decision comes after godly counsel. if the decision will move the organization along…make the call. i was umpiring a baseball game several years ago. some of my good friends were playing. a ball was hit up the middle. my friend made an unbelievable play on the ball and tossed it to the second baseman who turned and made a great throw to first base for an apparent double play that ended a rally. my call was that the second baseman failed to touch the bag, not even in the neighborhood as is often the case in the upper leagues. i called the man at second safe. my friends got quiet irate, a couple even cursed me. there was a wall between us, but i made the tough call. if you are not willing to make the tough call then don’t get into a leadership position.
finally, there are a lot of things i could say, but Maxwell, Covey, and others probably say it better, so i’ll just leave you with this, a leader has integrity. reading a book on persuasion. i like it. he talks about saying and doing the right thing. i was offered a job one time. it was a sales job. the fifth chapter of the training was titled, “how to lie to get in the door.” that is the truth. didn’t take the job. this guy makes the point if you’ll lie to get in the door, you’ll lie about your product and it creates distrust. live with integrity pastor. you have the most important product in the world – Jesus – abundant life – eternal life – make sure someone doesn’t miss the way to heaven because you went through the wrong door.
