Leadership will always suffer times where difficulties create discouragement. How do leaders survive these times and grow stronger as leaders?

Here a few suggestions to consider.

To be forewarned is to be forearmed. Knowing adversity will come to leadership helps in preparing beforehand to deal with those times of discouragement.

Focus on a specific area. We might phrase it more accurately; “one at a time.” Discouragement is usually the result of feeling overwhelmed with the enormity of problems.

Learn the value of walking away. There are times when taking a break from the situation and clearing the mind helps leaders in assessing what needs to be done.

Seek counsel with other survivors. One of the most effective ways to handle the adversity of life is through the encouragement of others who have survived the same.

Remember to seek the good in all situations. Advice is always easier said than done, and this is no exception. However, there are always lessons learned that benefit leaders.

Leaders cannot avoid, must not ignore, and should never neglect adversity. Instead, learning to survive the fallout when adversity exists makes leaders stronger.

“Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.” Sam Walton

Last week I discussed a thought connected to the result of a father’s belief in his son. Imagine the follow up when people believe in themselves.

We can see the importance of believing in ourselves and how much can be accomplished when we do.

However, the thought today involves the need for us as leaders to develop others in ways to create confidence in themselves.

Express confidence. It is amazing what a word of encouragement can do in helping others accomplish great work.

Give responsibility. Do not micromanage others. Give them a responsibility and allow them the opportunity to achieve the task.

Handle failure appropriately. This is a needed art in leadership. Expect times when people will fail. Help them learn from it, evaluate, and pick up and move forward.

Express confidence. If we begin and end with telling others how much we believe in them and what they can accomplish, greatness will be the result.

Several years ago, a very good friend, Paul Myers, shared a statement I have never forgotten: “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”

For a number of years I used to take a familiar saying and turn it around to prove a point. I did this so long, I almost forgot the original thought and meaning. I used to say, “Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow.”

Sadly, this is how we often approach life generally, and leadership particularly. We become masters at procrastinating. We tend to put something off until tomorrow that we should do today.

Why?

We could probably list a number of answers. However, what we need is an understanding of the opposite; “why put off until tomorrow what can be done today.”

There is no better time than now when it comes to…

Leading others to Christ,

Telling someone you love them,

Helping someone mature spiritually,

Strengthening the weak, and

Learning how to improve as leaders.

We must fight the desire to procrastinate and use the present to achieve greatness.

Few areas of life are more challenging than taking time to just breathe. I am amazed at how often God has a way of working in our lives to help us see the need to “stop and smell the roses.”

I have seen a strong work ethic from both family and friends. On both sides of my parents, family life was about some level of farming. My grandparents, as well as aunts and uncles, relied on raising a garden for food, hunting and fishing for meat, and milking cows for financial means.

As I recall, there was never a time when something did not need to be done. Life was full…and busy.

I understand the reality of the old adage “the older I get the faster time goes by.” As I age, and the pace of life steadily increases, I realize more the need to take a moment to catch my breath.

Leaders will always have something that needs to be done. We need to establish proper priorities and develop a strong work ethic, but occasionally, we need to take a moment to catch our breath.

Friendship is a beautiful relationship of mutual trust and support.

I have witnessed the powerful effects of true friendship. The relationship between two people who share such mutual trust and support is unmatched.

Leadership is not always seen from the perspective of friendship. Leadership is often accompanied by loneliness and seen as a lonely position. We often hear the idea expressed, “It’s lonely at the top.”

While this may be true in many corporate or political settings, it does not have to be true in every situation.

Spiritual leadership is about pointing people to heaven, helping others see the light of Jesus. If we are going to fulfill this responsibility we must be involved in the lives of others, developing friendships.

Jesus was called “a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Mt. 11:19). Maybe we can see just how much we need to understand friendship and the connection of friendship to pointing others to Jesus.

When leaders develop relationships of mutual trust and support, the friendships that blossom provide a source of strength and encouragement for addressing all challenges.

Most importantly, we will help one another get to heaven.

Dealing with the various emotions associated with the loss of a loved one can be very interesting and challenging.

One minute you feel perfectly fine; then, almost without warning, something happens and emotions are out of control.

I am told this is normal and I know emotional stability improves with each passing day.

Through this experience a number of leadership insights have been seen and learned.

Considering the emotional roller coaster each person faces in life, I realize leadership can be needed more on a “one minute at a time” basis, rather than “one day at a time.”

Changes often occur from one minute to the next and leaders need to be prepared to lead even when the changes are emotionally driven.

Stability results when leaders give themselves to resolve the various issues whenever they occur.

I am thankful for the examples of leaders around me whose leadership has provided stability through some of the greatest challenges I have experienced.

Leaders must strive daily to achieve greater stability in their own lives to help provide stability for others.

“My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.” Jim Valvano

This quote expresses the thought behind my ministry. I am thankful for the fact my father believed in me and my ability to share in the ministry. In some ways, he spent his life preparing me for this work.

He laid the foundation in helping me memorize scripture at a very young age. He had me read to him from God’s word each morning before school.

When I decided to go to school to prepare myself to preach, my dad was the first in my corner and one who expressed his confidence in me to accomplish the intensity of the program.

He loved the fact I was following in his footsteps, not because he was involved in ministry, but because nothing is more satisfying than a life of ministry. He would know; he lived it.

Thank you for sharing the brief journey of the week in the relationship shared with my father. He was one great man and an incredible leader.

Thank you dad for helping me get here.

My admiration for the man who was a model for my life as a husband, father, grandfather, and friend continues to grow as I contemplate my life with him.

A model provides an example worth following or emulating. Considering the memories of a life shared with such a good man, I realize the model my father provided for me.

He served as a model of the Christian life. He was not perfect and he did not claim to be. He portrayed the life of a man who worked with his imperfections and made every effort to improve how he approached life.

He served as a model of a preacher. It thrills me to know how he loved to preach. I do not mean enjoyed it, but he lived to preach. He was always digging deeper and we often talked about what he was studying.

He served as a model of grace. The one word I remember hearing my dad speak about was grace. He believed, lived and trusted in God’s grace and demonstrated it to others. He held on to God’s promise.

I hope to provide the same model.

One week ago today, we laid my father to rest. The past week has given me much time to reflect on a life of memories shared as his son.

I am thankful for the godly man who was my father. His influence continues to shape who I am and who I am is the direct result of his leadership.

I never really understood the idea of wishing for one more opportunity to talk to him…until now. There are so many questions I would ask and so much appreciation I would express.

I am thankful that the last thing I said to him on the phone just a few days before he passed away was “I love you.”

I agree with the thought expressed numerous times over the last week concerning why we wait until someone we love is gone to tell them how we feel.

I have learned the value of preplanning for all that must be done after passing from this life.

One week later has increased my gratitude for the blessing I have been given in my father and the need to be a blessing to my children.

The idea of legacy involves what someone leaves behind. One of the great exercises in leadership training is writing our own eulogy and then live what we want others to say about us when we die.

Let me share a few ideas left behind by my father.

For more than 30 years he read the New Testament through every month, the Old Testament through twice each year.

He was a preacher of the gospel for over 50 years.

He was married to the same wonderful woman for 60 years, father to 4 children, grandfather to 9 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

He developed a series of lessons to share the gospel in a simplistic way with others and led an untold number of people to know their Savior, Jesus Christ.

He lived in and by God’s Word; it flowed in and through his preaching. He knew THE book!

He lived with an eager anticipation of the reality he now enjoys.

He died with the Bible opened to the passage he had been studying for his next sermon. Take a moment to read Philippians 2:16.

This was a small part of the legacy he left behind for us.