The Wisdom of Foolishness

Leadership is learning. Learning to lead comes from the discipline of self-observation and self-reflection. A great leader knows not only how to grow from their own mistakes but also from the mistakes that others make. Some might question this approach to leadership because although you need to allow enough space for those you are responsible for to make their own mistakes, their is a point where the leader must guard the organization from disaster. In some ways this is true but in other ways, pre-mature intervention and unnecessary control might forfeit an opportunity to learn a powerful lesson. Sometimes we have a greater chance to be success not from following in footsteps of those who have made great decisions, but by doing the opposite of those who have made poor decisions. The discipline of self-observation and reflection compels us to ask the question,"What drives my decision-making process and how would this affect me if I was in a similar situation?" The writer of Proverbs 24 wrote,"

I went past the field of a sluggard,
past the vineyard of someone who has no sense;
thorns had come up everywhere,
the ground was covered with weeds,
and the stone wall was in ruins.
I applied my heart to what I observed
and learned a lesson from what I saw:
A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—
and poverty will come on you like a thief
and scarcity like an armed man. (vs 30-34).

There is tremendous wisdom in this proverb. And what rings the loudest is the idea of applying what is observed to the heart, which means that learning must become transformational. There are somethings that you learn that should literally change your life. Even something as strange as gaining wisdom from foolishness.

Leading Unconsciously

Integrity: {the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.} My definition has always been doing the right thing when nobody is looking. But I believe that my definition is too narrow. Because most leaders have the luxury to work independently from those they lead. So I would amend my definition in this way; to doing the right thing when even when you think no one is looking. And there is a big difference. Because as soon as you think no one is looking you have already failed as a leader. Indeed, this is a brittle ridge to walk on because there is always danger in doing something just because people are looking. Many leaders smile, wave, and dance in front of the camera but everyone knows that they are walking time bomb of rage. Ethical behavior must be motivated by the desire to do what is right all of the time. Well, even deeper, to do what is right for others, all of the time. Service is providing a moment where people are exalted from their current situation and experience the liberation of feeling empowered to live better. This desire comes from a genuine motivation to see others develop their talents and skills to the highest level possible. And our influence as leaders will be drastically hindered if people see us doing something that is inconsistent with the caliber of leadership we are modeling. In other words we should always been seen as someone who is reaching higher. As someone who is always trying to go to a higher level...living in the place were we plan to be even though we aren't there yet. Whether we aware of it or not, people are watching us. They are watching to see if we are who we really are. As a leader, ask yourself this question, is what I've done today, what I would want those I lead to do as well? Somebody will always be looking at what you do, so it might as well be the one whose investigation and scrutiny will help you the most, yourself.

Did They Hear What You Said?

As a leader it is important to say the right thing. It is important but also impossible. God is the only one who is infinite and all-knowing. He is the only one who knows all things. He is the only one who understands reality. As Dr. Bruce Bauer says, "God is the only one who see things the way they really are." If we desire to do God's will, we must be dependent on God for wisdom and understanding. What we say is not always a reflection of what we know. Sometimes we may think we know something but then speak as if we do. This is a common practice among may leaders. Putting your poker face on. "BS-ing" through conversations and situations that require time and thought. Only left to clean up the mess later and count on our authority to give us credibility. Yet there are other times when even though we have no idea what to say, God gives us the words and the perception to navigate through the unknown. These are the times when we walk away thinking, " I have no idea what I just said but it worked!" When we know we are trying to live up to what God requires of us we can trust God to manage are reputation and our influence with those we lead. As I said before, it is important for a leader to say the right thing and in many ways this is almost impossible, but if God is leading us, it is possible that those we lead, will think that we did.

The Risk of Being Honest

"The tongue has the power of life and death,
and those who love it will eat its fruit." {Proverbs 18:21}

Successful people use their time wisely. Leaders choose their words wisely. And at the same time, the power of a leader is summed up in the value of his or her words. What you say is just as important as what the hearer thinks about the speaker. Many times we create opportunities for success simply by what we say or do not say. Presidents are elected by what they say. Coaches win championship by what they tell their players. Preachers of the Gospel depend on what is said to their partitioners. But the practice of using-words-wisely is not only for the leader-lead role only, its for every relationship in life.

It is in the simple relationships, the day to day interactions with strangers that give a leader the ability to lead. One must understand who they are leading before they and understand themselves as a leader. This is why honesty is not just a report of the truth but the totality of all the dynamics of a relationship experience without a predetermined outcome. In other words, being honest means taking the risk of sacrificing your own image for the sake of building up someone else and not worrying about how things will turn out.

Being honest is like shooting a bow and arrow. You have to be patient and get close to your target and hold your position (which is most often the most painful part) until the right time and then you can let go...and there is silence until the impact. On the contrary, people make the mistake of believing that being honest is like a machine gun. Just shoot until hopefully you hit something. But usually you do more damage to everything around the target and make a whole lot of noise in the process letting everybody know what you are doing.

Being honest is risky. Leadership is risky. But a good shepherd is willing to give their life for the sheep.

Eliminating the Red tape

I discovered lately a problem that many organizations have that prevent them from ever reaching their goals and accomplishing their mission. They just don't care. And I think this problem can be broken down in three ways; they don't care to know, they don't care to look, and they don't care to accept. First they don't care to know. Many leaders primarily consumed with the issues that directly involved their time and in the process of delegating responsibility, they leave somethings that my appear to be of minor importance for other people to handle. I'm not talking about actually doing those things but making sure they are done right. Organizations, especially churches, are in denial about what people really think about their services. Taking the time to ask someone what they think is to small of a task for leaders to deal with (I'm being sarcastic of course) and their for they simple don't care to know. Secondly, they don't care to look. Leaders often miss the little things that make the biggest difference. You could have the most brilliantly designed restrooms with expensive decorations amenities, but if you don't have any toilet paper...you've got a huge problem. What tags along with not caring to know is not ever finding out! Without habitual evaluation by simply looking around and checking things out and seeing if people are in need of basic accommodations, a leader can force themselves out of the loop that the people they are leading. Finally, some don't care to accept. This boils down to being honest about the condition of the organization. Most leaders are afraid of reality. They spending most of their time dealing with what might happen or what already happen, that they have no idea whats happening right now. There is nothing wrong with setting goals and having an agenda of how to accomplish them, but if a leader can not accept the true condition of their organization by the process of knowing and then looking, they will never know if they are being successful or not. I've used the work simply several times on purpose because it really is simple. Taking the time and initiative to evaluate yourself on a daily basis and accept the reality of where you are and the current moment and making adjustments based of what you've found. Once you have accepted where you are you can move to where you want to be. I have found that most organizations and especially churches are guarded with proverbial "red tape" in order to eliminate having to cater to the new comers and needy people in the church. But but not being aware of who you are "really" doing you eliminate people altogether. Many churches have a desire to invite people into their fellowship but make it darn near impossible to do it. Eliminating the red tape means leaders should make sure they are not unknowingly doing things to prevent people from having the experience they desire for them to have, by making sure that the know what is going on...at all times.

Finding the right team

Often in sports, managers and coaches build their teams around their most talented players. They even go as far as building their offensive and defenses in order to allow their franchise player to have the freedom to operate in their strengths. Sometimes, after being loyal to the organization for many years, it become obvious that the chances of them winning a championship is very slim and the find another team to join. Many athletes join team know that they will not be the star or will have to play for less money. But all they car about is reaching the person goal they have set for themselves. As a leader, it is important to know you role. You may be a star and the organization you work for has built their program around your gifts but sometimes that doesn't guarantee that goal is being reached. Some of us are simple satisfied with just having a good team...doing alright but never really reaching a place where you are performing at the highest level. As in sports, many times a player becomes better when they finally learn how to discover the gifts of those around them and sacrifice there stats for the good of the team. How many of us are willing to do that? On a practical level. Are we will to preach less, talk less, or plan less? Are we willing to step down and allow others to do things that we have not control over? How much confidence do we have in our team? How much do they have in us? Because sometimes its better to work for the team you have been given that be traded just so you can keep control. The right team is where God wants you to be. Where ever He sends you, is where He wants you to be. We just have to decided if we want to be the star or win a championship.

It comes with the job

Many think that positions of leadership come with great privileges and perks. But true leadership requires a sacrifice and often the cost is high.  Jesus was and still is the greatest leader the world has ever seen and if you look carefully at His work on earth, you will find that every successful moment was accompanied by criticism and rebuke. Sadly, many leaders today desire to be successful but they refuse to suffer through the pain that comes with it.  In fact, many leaders avoid doing anything that will bring any negative backlash.   Jesus said that anyone who desires to follow Him would have to pick up their own cross as well. In other words, if they want be anything like Him in regards to their leadership qualities, they will encounter ridicule and strife.  As leaders we are called to be true to the mission that God has given us no matter what it might cost us. We must have the courage to press through the hard times and work even harder to accomplish what we have been commissioned to do and to be. And when we are attacked for doing what is right, we should remember, that it comes with the job.  And that is a great indication that we are heading the right direction.