Leaders will always encounter times of discouragement, but how do we survive and grow stronger?
Here a few suggestions to consider.
To be forewarned is to be forearmed.
Focus on one area at a time.
Learn the value of knowing when to walk away.
Seek counsel with other survivors.
Remember to seek the good in all situations.
Leaders cannot avoid, ignore, or ever neglect adversity. Instead, learn how to survive the fallout when adversity exists and become a stronger leader.
As leaders, we need to see the value of helping others believe in themselves.
Sam Walton said, “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.”
How can we achieve this?
Express confidence. A word of encouragement motivates people to accomplish great work.
Give responsibility. Responsibility shows we trust them to achieve the task.
Handle failure appropriately. Help others learn from it, evaluate, pick up, and move forward.
Express confidence. If we begin and end with telling others we believe in them and what they can accomplish, greatness will result.
Perhaps you’ve heard the statement, “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” A dear friend, Paul Myers, shared this thought with me about 10 years ago.
Procrastination can be destructive to leadership. Why?
Because 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.
Improving ourselves as leaders.
We must fight the desire to procrastinate and use the present to achieve greatness.
Have we ever considered how often God works to help us see the need to stop and smell the roses?
In life, something always needs to be done. Life is full…and busy.
We’ve all heard the adage “the older we get the faster time goes by.” As we age and the pace of life steadily increases, we must realize the need to take a moment to catch our 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 relationship of mutual trust and support. We have all witnessed the powerful effects of true friendship.
Leadership is not always seen this way. Leadership is often seen as a lonely position. We hear the idea expressed, “It’s lonely at the top.”
However, if we are going to fulfill the responsibility of spiritual leadership we must be involved in the lives of others, developing friendships.
Jesus was called “a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Mt. 11:19). When leaders develop relationships of mutual trust and support, friendships blossom that provide a source of strength and encouragement for life’s challenges.
Most importantly, we help others get to heaven.
I recently received another lesson about salt from my friend, Wayne Roberts, and I thought I would share it.
“To take something with a grain of salt” refers to an Ancient Roman recipe for an antidote that protects against all kinds of poisons. The recipe was to take two dried walnuts, two figs, and twenty leaves of rue; pound them all together, with the addition of a grain of salt. It was believed that if a person took this mixture fasting, he will be protected against all poisons for that day.”
Leadership training is a valuable resource for protecting the church from possible “poison.”
Thank you, Wayne.
Dealing with the stages of grief is both interesting and challenging.
One minute we feel perfectly fine. Then, almost without warning, something happens and emotions are out of control.
A number of leadership insights are learned through this experience.
1) Considering the emotional roller coaster one faces, leadership is often a “one minute at a time” basis. Changes occur quickly and leaders must be prepared to lead even when emotions run high.
2) Stability results when leaders give themselves to resolve issues whenever they occur. Leaders must strive to achieve greater personal stability in order to provide stability for others.
A model provides an example to follow or emulate. Spiritual leaders must model several areas for others.
Model a Christian life. We are not perfect, but we can portray an example of those who work with our imperfections and improve how we approach life.
Model leadership. Not only should we love to lead, but we should live for it. We need to dig deeper and speak often about helping others learn to lead.
Model grace. The one word others need to hear from us is grace. We must believe in, live by, and trust completely in God’s grace. Hold on to God’s promise.
May we always live the model of Christ before others.
Everyone needs someone to believe in them, especially a father. Jim Valvano once said, “My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.”
I am thankful my father believed in me and my ability to do ministry. In some ways, he spent his life preparing me for this work.
While I am thankful for the foundation he laid, knowing he had confidence in me to accomplish the work was encouraging.
No one achieves anything of value alone. We need others to believe in us and express confidence in our abilities.
Great leaders see it and know how to build that confidence in others.
Great faith is always amazing. Leaders need great faith. They need faith that is so big the only answer is God.
I’ve met a few leaders like this over the years. Recently, I was blessed to meet an elder that shared a moving story about how God showed up in incredible ways to provide a Christian Camp.
The most impressive aspect of his character was his humility. While others expressed thanks for his role, he never accepted it. He knew only God made it happen. Over and over he said, “It was God’s dream. It was God’s work.”
When leaders possess the kind of humility to acknowledge the power of God at work in this way, we are privileged to see great faith in action.