Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Overcoming the Blahs of Leadership

My friend and colleague at Seacoast Church, Mac Lake wrote this blog post on When Leaders Fall Into Maintenance Mode.

His post resonated with me because I find myself slipping into maintenance mode quite frequently and I think for most leaders its a constant battle. This leader thing doesn't happen easily and even though some of us carry the spiritual gift of leadership, we still have to wage war on complacency and plain old burn out.

So, having just come out of a season of 'Maintenance Mode' I thought I would post a few things that helped me climb out...even if only until the next battle.
  1. Fasting- Im learning that this is probably the greatest weapon in our arsenal against spiritual and leadership complacency. Extended times of fasting are not simply natural acts, they can produce supernatural results in your leadership.
  2. Serving- Regaining a servant leadership mindset is important. We have to remember that to lead means you have to be out front serving, not pushing from the back of the pack.
  3. Being Present- For me, I get into leadership funks when I allow myself to hide in them. Force yourself to get together with leaders, mentors and talk about what you are going through. I could not make it without regular meetings with our regional Campus Pastors.
  4. Submission- I have learned that sometimes my leadership failures are tied directly to times when my faith is low. Understand that scripture says that your faith is authored and perfected by Jesus. Allow the gospel of Christ to be where you find your faith...not in your works (or lack of them) as a leader. Your worth is in Christ.
What about you? What would you add to this list? What things do you do to avoid maintenance mode?

1 comments:

Jonathan Davis said...

I have to work to keep the daily task in check. If I concentrate on those daily task, no matter how important, I lose focus on the real reason that I complete those task. In ministry, I get so focused on the technical issues that might arise during a service, that I forget about the hearts and minds, that most likely never heard the overly loud bass or guitar.