A quick read through several vision and mission statements, as they connect to a variety of organizations, highlights the need to understand the difference between these two words.

It is not uncommon, in an effort to provide a vision and mission statement, to get the ideas reversed, and rightfully so, since they are interrelated.

The mission of an organization, specifically the church, describes “what we do.” The foundation is built on the purpose of our existence and the mission directs every decision for all related activities.

The vision of an organization, again, as it relates to the church, describes what we desire to see accomplished as a result of the mission. The vision takes into consideration the image of the future that connects our long-term desires with achievable goals.

We must communicate both the vision and mission if we hope to achieve any level of success.

Several resources are available to help with these ideas. John Kotter’s book, Leading Change, along with Simon Sinek’s book, Start with Why, are two great places to start.

Defining success presents numerous challenges. The bottom line often determines the success or failure of a job, generally based on financial reports. An examination of the bottom line does not, however, always give an accurate assessment of success or failure.

When we gage success strictly “by the numbers” we often miss how God works to achieve His will. In the eyes of God success is found when husbands loving their wives as Christ loved the church, when wives submit to their husbands as to the Lord, when children obey their parents, and when fathers train their children in the instruction and discipline of the Lord.

Success will be found in the moral and ethical conduct of Christians in the community and workplace. God measures success not in the number of souls added to the church, but in the simplicity and power of the message preached to every creature. When Christians feed on the word of God, mature in the faith, and the pattern of leadership is followed, God sees success.

A beautiful picture of success is painted when we look through the eyes of our God.

People generally find what they look for, or so we are told.

We find truth in this thought because when we look for the worst, we find the worst. When we look for the best, we find the best. In most cases, the idea rests on a solid foundation.

Occasionally, even though we look for the worst, or best, we find the unexpected. We find the opposite.

This is especially true when leading people. When we look for the worst, or best, in people, that is often what we find. People tend to live up to our expectations. If we expect little, we get little. If we expect nothing, we get nothing. Of course, when we expect greatness, we get greatness.

Once in a while, however, when we thought we had everyone figured out, we are thrown the proverbial curve ball.

But, for a moment, consider the outcome if leaders led with intentionality and a purpose driven by the desire to look for only the best in people, and create the highest expectations.

We might just be surprised at the incredible results. Avoid negativity.

A Google search often reveals more information than we can imagine and certainly more than we intended. In fact, most searches produce millions of potential areas related to our initial interest. The major issue at hand is where to begin. The task usually involves learning how narrow the search field or how to select from the major website options presented, which can be daunting.

Leadership development often presents the same problem: where to begin. To illustrate, Google search “Leadership Development” and notice more than 31,500,000 possibilities arise.

When we learn to specify areas of leadership development within the scope of the church or areas of spirituality, we find the field narrows.

Again, we discover the same struggle: where to begin. Perhaps we can begin by narrowing our search with two questions: 1) what needs exist, and 2) what piques our interest.

The priority of where our leadership begins rests on the need. However, we will also find that areas of interest keep us motivated to grow in leadership.

When we pour ourselves into these areas, what we find assists the direction of our leadership.

We make thousands of decisions every day. Generally, the majority of decisions have little or no consequential value. However, some decisions carry long-lasting, if not eternal, consequences.

Theodore Roosevelt said, “In a moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing to do, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”

Roosevelt’s thought deserves consideration, especially when we consider the impact on leadership development.

The foremost priority, when the moment of decision arises, is to do the right thing. We should add the necessity to do what is right for the other person. When others are the priority, the decision to do the right thing is clear.

Roosevelt’s statement indicates the worst decision to make is to do nothing. Jesus spoke about the eternal consequences of this decision in the “Parable of the Talents.” Regardless of the reason, to do nothing in leadership paralyzes everyone. Closely associated with this problem is the unnecessary delay in the decision.

The moment of decision is crucial and our consideration of the long-term consequences shape the proper direction.

Consider the value of time and energy connected to our leadership. People are not more incentivized by monetary or physical rewards than time and energy.

When people feel the only value they provide for an organization is from a financial position, then the long-term structure crumbles. We all recognize the time and energy we contribute to growth has value.

The same is true in every relationship. Think about parents who shower their children with gifts, but fail to shower them with time and energy. While children love receiving what they want, we all know the gift does not last long and the feeling at the moment fades quickly.

When time and energy are provided, however, children respond. Their response carries a long-term feeling of joy and, more importantly, a relationship of trust.

If we can emulate the same in our leadership environment, the response is the same. Consider the benefit to the church when Christians see leaders give of their time and energy. The result is huge in raising the level of trust and the desire to achieve the vision set forth by leadership.

We tend to be suspect of people, most events in our lives, and the world where we live, generally speaking. Two thoughts flow from the title of today’s post.

The first connects to the relationship of a leader with those who follow. When leadership exists without the suspicion of motives and actions on the part of followers, we find a situation described as unsuspecting leadership.

The second, however, relates to the character of the leader as it is seen by followers. When a leader’s character exemplifies the kind of integrity that is built on values of godliness, then the motives and actions of the leader are not questioned by followers. They possess an unsuspecting leadership.

The beauty of biblical leadership is found when both ideas are present in the relationship. The result displays trust, not a trust that is superficial, but one that provides transparency and strengthens the core of the church.

Developing this relationship takes time. Quality and durability are rarely the reward of implementing something quickly, but the result of time-honored, detail-oriented, values-based, and spiritually-focused effort.