We all make them. We say and do things we wish we had not, and there are no “easy” or “do-over” buttons. The opportunity to receive another chance depends on how we handle the mistake.
Acknowledge it.
Take responsibility.
Evaluate every possible solution.
Take appropriate action.
Act quickly!
When we approach our mistakes with humility and a decisiveness toward appropriate actions, there is opportunity for one more chance.
Is this not what God has done for us?
Who or what determines failure? Why is failure seen as negative? How can leaders deal with failure in ways to improve and benefit their leadership?
Consider a couple of steps:
First, recognize failure is inevitable. No matter who you are or where you are, failure takes place.
Second, acknowledge it and take responsibility. Do not ignore, deny, or cast blame when failure occurs.
Third, failure is not fatal. Winston Churchill is credited with saying, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.”
There is a powerful relationship between life and leadership.
The mindset of trying to do things on our own will ultimately fail. We need one another. There is a minimum of twenty-four “one another” passages throughout scripture. These passages teach us about the spiritual relationship and responsibility we have to each other.
When leadership engages these thoughts to strengthen relationships, the result brings a powerful boost to our leadership.
When we fulfill the responsibilities outlined by the New Testament writers, the church grows stronger.
Isn’t it time we built the kind of relationships to accomplish both?
Weeks clip by amazingly fast and before you know it we face a new year. But, before we get ahead of ourselves, lets consider the last three quarters.
Instead of adding another activity, responsibility, or assignment to our full-plate, what if we considered ways to eliminate something that helped simplify our lives?
The thought can be frightening, because it is challenging. However, if we prioritize life just a bit, we might find that removing areas on the fringe not only simplify life, we also de-stress it.
Imagine the benefit to our leadership.
What chance is there, out of all the people on the planet who have never even heard the name of Jesus, you and I heard it?
Why were we so blessed to hear the Gospel when many in the world hear an altered version if they hear it at all?
We need to recognize the responsibility that comes with this opportunity.
Should we keep it to ourselves? Can we really go through each day without considering those who walk through life unaware of what awaits in eternity?
We are blessed among all people. This blessing is one meant to be shared, leading others to a hope of something beyond.
A learner takes responsibility for the priorities, learning, and resources for achieving a capacity for self-direction. The idea expresses moving “from dependence to independence to interdependence” (Lois Zachary, The Mentor’s Guide, Facilitating Effective Learning Relationships, 3).
A number of elements are also essential for a learner-centered program: reciprocity, learning, relationship, partnership, collaboration, mutually defined goals, and development.
The design of each of these elements is to promote stronger relationships that motivate, inspire, and contribute to development and growth. This relationship is collaborative and channeled to achieve a support system of success.
Imagine what happens when people believe in themselves. Imagine what happens when leadership promotes this thought.
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.”
Develop others in ways that creates this kind of environment.
Express confidence. A word of encouragement helps others accomplish great work.
Give responsibility. Give responsibility and allow them the opportunity to achieve the task.
Handle failure appropriately. Help people learn from it, evaluate, pick up, and move forward.
Express confidence. Begin and end with telling others how much you believe in them.
Jesus taught, encouraged, admonished, and equipped twelve men to go and make disciples.
Think about how Jesus individualized each word.
Teach: People will only do what they are taught to do, and our teaching must include application. When provided, everyone learns how to fulfill the task.
Encourage: Encouraging others motivates them to work harder than before. When criticism is tempered with encouragement, people change.
Admonish: Warning, advising, or even reprimanding others is needed to prevent harm. The attitude behind admonition determines the reception.
Equip: Providing tools to fulfill each task and responsibility are vital to the success of followers, especially as we prepare them to lead.
What is our leadership designed to do? I once read, “A ship is safe in the harbor but that is not what it was designed to do.” Unknown
The answer is simple. We were designed to lead.
Too often I hear of situations where men are qualified to lead, but unwilling to step up and take the responsibility.
Why? Because they feel safe. Most want to avoid challenges, controversies, and confrontations.
Our leadership was never designed for such.
The Lord’s church needs leaders. Rise up men of God and lead!
Our God has called us to the greatest task on earth.
When Paul wrote Timothy, he used an interesting word translated entrust. The idea was to take what was entrusted to him and entrust it to others.
At the root of this word is the concept of placing before or into the hand of another. It represents responsibility. Whatever was placed into the hand carried a responsibility of placing into the hand of someone else that it might be perpetuated into the future.
When we apply the concept to leadership, this principle indicates a succession that leaders must consider for the future. How seriously do we take this responsibility?