Tag: SALT

Why?

Children ask many questions, specifically “Why?”. Children want to know the reasons behind what we say and do.

This question is also applicable when thinking about leadership.

Why are leaders needed?
Why do we need to make this decision?
Why are we making this decision at this time?
Why should “I” lead?
Why?

Take a moment to look through the gospel accounts and consider how to answer the questions Jesus asks, starting here.

Why are you worried?
Why are you afraid?
Why are you testing Me?
Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,” and do not do what I say?

Think about it!

Tools, Ability, Opportunity

Wonderful tools are available that improve our ability to lead. However, there are several questions we need to consider regarding our approach to leading with these possibilities.

Are we using these tools to help us improve our leadership?

How are we using these tools to benefit the lives of those who follow?

Do we make excuses for why we are not using these tools, or working to learn how to use them?

One day we will be held accountable for the tools, ability, and opportunities God has entrusted to us.

We cannot excuse ourselves by saying we did not want to learn how to use them.

The Design of Leadership

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.

Enduring Leaders

Endurance is often challenging. To endure involves bearing up under the load, far more than being patient.

While we are to be patient, to endure takes us to a level that challenges our ability to hold on, and hold on longer than we can imagine.

What will help us endure these challenges?

Remember, “If God brings us to it, He will see us through it.”

God is faithful. He is with us and He is for us (Rom. 8:31-39)!

No matter how difficult, do not forget that challenges are temporary.

With proper perspective we can endure, especially knowing our God is in control.

Leading with Prayer

I recently heard a question asked, “Do we believe in prayer?”

Most people can attest to God answering prayers in powerful ways.

Perhaps the struggle we have deals with the temptation to doubt when various trials arise and challenge our faith in God’s power to answer.

There is no magic formula, special words, proper position, or time of day that makes a difference in prayer.

For Christians, prayer is about the simplicity of a humble heart that trusts God to answer in His time, in His ways, and in our best interest.

We may not always understand, but prayer is foundational to powerful leadership.

Timing is Everything

Timing is everything. How many times have we heard this statement or one similar? Yet, it is true on a number of levels.

When addressing a delicate situation, timing is everything.

When faced with life changing decisions, timing is everything.

When waiting for answers to test results, timing is everything.

When confronting a family member, fellow worker or employee, timing is everything.

God reminds us there is an appointed time for everything (Ecc. 3:1).

If we step back, think for a moment, and ask ourselves, “Is this the right time to continue in this direction?” maybe we can handle whatever life throws our way.

Transparency

Terry Starbucker’s e-book Leadership From A Glass Half-Full: The 5 Lessons You Need To Learn Before You Jump Into The Pool talks about the seven most important words in leadership.

The phrase is simply, “I don’t know and I’ll find out.”

The reality is we do not like not knowing the answer.

Worse still is the attempt to bluff our way through areas we know nothing about.

The transparency of acknowledging we do not know something and the willingness to find the answer is critical to great leadership.

We gain greater credibility and trust is established when we are are honest.

Learn and live by these seven words.

Supportive Leadership

Support groups are generally associated with recovery: addictions, eating disorders, grief in the loss of a loved one, or from divorce.

A couple of questions should be considered for our leadership.

Who makes up the support group for leaders? Put together a core group of others who will share and contribute to the group’s design.

What benefit will they provide? They serve as a reminder that others have and do experience the same challenges, and they provide accountability.

Who makes up the group, the purpose of the group’s design, and what we apply to our own leadership is the determining factor to its success.

Procedural Leadership

Imagine a time, place, or organization that operates without a specific procedure to guide the direction of its purpose and outcome. Not only is it hard to imagine, we are more likely to realize a descriptive state of chaos.

By definition, a procedure involves a “particular course of action intended to achieve a result.” Procedures may be loosely or dogmatically applied, but procedures provide a binding web that holds it all together.

Why are these procedures critical? They tend to be constant.

Procedures remind us of the foundational basics that provide the backbone of security.

We also find a greater level of clarity through procedures.

Consequential Decisions

We make thousands of decisions each day, most of which hold little consequence. However, we do face times when decisions of great consequence must be made.

The challenge occurs when we must make last minute decisions as they relate to consequential matters.

What process might help us make the best decision in these situations?

The process should start with and be immersed in prayer.
Gather as much information as possible prior to the decision.
Consider the consequences of not making a decision.

Last minute decisions are not usually easy to make, but always make them based on how they impact others first.