Optimism projects hope and confidence about the future or successful outcome of a specific area.

The contrast between leaders who are optimistic and those who are not seems to be associated with age and experience. As leaders age and encounter negative experiences in life, it can hinder optimistic leadership.

The challenge is how to overcome the pessimistic tendencies and keep hope and confidence alive. Among the many possibilities, here are a few suggestions:

1) Remember, “everyone” is not against us.

2) Stop trying to live in or change the past, because we cannot.

3) Be surrounded by optimistic people who cast a vision of hope.

4) Be realistic about personal expectations.

5) Learn to accept who we are as a person.

6) Express gratitude for what we have physically and spiritually.

7) Reflect more often on the positive areas of life.

The internet is loaded with ways to develop a more optimistic focus in life. As leaders, it is worth the time we take to share optimism with those who follow.

Try it and see how contagious it becomes.

Substance is a particular kind of matter with uniform properties. However, having a technical definition does not adequately describe the power behind this word in relationship to leaders.

Substance also involves a quality of being important, valid, or significant. Simply stated, substance is the stuff that makes up leadership.

What is the substance that makes up the character of our leadership? Integrity? Work ethic? Core values?

Is there something significant that stands out giving credibility to leadership substance?

Can others see the substance of our leadership?

Only you and I can answer these questions for ourselves. The substance of spiritual leadership must not be ego-centric, but people-centric. The quality that validates the importance of leadership is not built upon “I,” but “you.” The substance of great leadership uses “we.”

When our leadership is evaluated, we need to take advantage of the opportunity to ask ourselves hard questions to determine the substance of our leadership. This is where the true character of leadership is found.

As important and needed as leadership is today, it is worth our time to focus on the substance.

The midway point is always a point of evaluation. As we near the midway point, we need to reflect on the goals established for 2017 and determine where we are in reaching those goals.

This period of evaluation provides a critical step in our approach to the remainder of the year.

Now is the time to make necessary corrections, adjusting either our plans or goals. At least three areas require consideration.

One, do we have the necessary resources to complete our goals for the year? If we are not half-way toward our goals, then it is possible we need additional resources.

Two, are the right people in the right positions to implement our plans? At times, we need to determine if the right people are in the right positions. If not, we may need to make changes.

Three, have we communicated appropriately the vision and essential steps to achieve it? Communication cannot be overstated. Unless everyone understands the vision and the steps needed to reach it, any attempt to reach our goals is hindered.

Let’s make sure we do not miss the opportunity to evaluate accordingly.

To this point, we have considered three questions that all great leaders ask. There is a fourth question these leaders ask that is also significant to consider: “What might be missing?”

Mike Maddock, who writes for Forbes online, claims “great leaders are open to the fact (and it is a fact) that they are missing something.”

We do not have the space to list all the possible answers to this question. It should be noted that what is missing can range from the most simple of ideas to the most complex of leadership teams.

The value of asking this question, and for leaders to impress upon others the need to answer this question, demonstrates the kind of humility great leaders need in their leadership.

When humility is part of the leadership equation, along with an openness to the possibilities, then followers will provide answers.

A sense of creativity, innovation, and motivation will exist to provide a stronger morale in achieving short and long term goals.

We cannot underestimate the power of humility seen in God’s leaders.

Is this urgent or essential? What should we stop doing? These two questions provide the foundation for the questions that great leaders ask.

The third question Mike Maddock contributes in this Forbes article is another step in leadership development: “What makes you feel strongest?”

There is no doubt when it comes to great leaders needing to understand their strengths and weaknesses. They know the areas where they are weak and how to find the individuals who have strengths to complement those areas.

By doing so, great leaders continue to focus on their strengths. Numerous sources claim that leaders should focus 80% of their time in areas of their strengths and only 20% in areas of weakness.

While this may sound opposite to what we consider the right approach, great leaders tend to prove the theory.

Focusing on the areas of passion and strength makes a good leader great, and makes a great leader outstanding.

The challenge for us is taking the time to ask the right questions and make sure we provide the answers to deliver what is needed to reach our greatest potential.

Yesterday, we looked at the first of four questions great leaders ask. The article, written by Mike Maddock for Forbes, has powerful insight into questions leaders should ask. The first question involved answering the difference between what is essential and urgent.

The second question is one that also demands thought: What should we stop doing?

This question follows on the heels of the first question. Once a leader understands what is essential, there are certain elements to be eliminated.

These elements distract leaders and become time stealers, robbing leaders of the time to focus on matters of an essential nature.

Through the process of eliminating areas of lesser importance (what we should stop doing), leaders can focus their time and energy on the essential side of the “to-do” list.

The implication for spiritual leadership is significant. Spiritual leaders realize the need to prioritize life and work by recognizing the proper balance between what is urgent versus essential.

As we make our way through each question, please take time to consider the answers in application to the leadership needed in the church today.