It’s up to you!

We’ve heard John Maxwell say over and over again: “Everything rises and falls on the leader”.  As most of us starting out a new year, I’ve been taking a look over my life.  What’s working – or not?  What’s growing or fading away?  Where are we headed – or have we gotten distracted?

It’s easy to look over life and place the blame on everyone and everything else.  It’s humbling to sit in prayer and ask God to show me where I went wrong, where I need to grow, where I’ve gotten distracted.  Very humbling…

But also empowering.  As a daughter of the King, a spouse, a parent, a volunteer at my church, I remember that I am a leader.  So I am responsible for what is happening in my life.  I can hold on to hurts, disappointments, judgments, fears, insecurities, and be this victim of my circumstances…or…I can take accountability for my space in this world.  And by taking accountability I have to also embrace that “everything rises and falls” according to my leadership – my commitment to walking in excellence.

We can look at a church service and critique it, we can look at our kids and mutter in frustration, we can look at our teams and sigh – we all have been giving this ability to pick things apart so that it never reaches our expectations.  But if we stop there we have only criticized and placed blame – not taken accountability.  Bottom line – identifying the “scape goat” is not being a leader.  It’s being the victim.  It’s being far less than what God called us to be.

So the next time you find yourself judging others life work or your kids behavior or anyone or anything else that touches your world, I challenge you to push the pause button.  Ask yourself measurable questions.

Questions like:

Have I communicated the vision?

• To my team, my family, my staff

Have I communicated the plan to build the vision?

• What is it going to take – specifics like money, skills, talents, how much energy and time?
• What are the boundaries – what are we not going to allow or go or do?

Have we remembered that it’s about the people?

• Do they know how important they are?
• Do they really know and understand that it takes all of us working together and not as a bunch of islands trying to do it themselves?
• Have we built them up to believe in themselves?
• Have we equipped them with resources as well as our own strength?

If those in your world are acting out, going down a path you never intended or causing you feel ill equipped – then do something about it.  You have the power to add whatever resources you need to finish the race!

Tagged: Leadership

Posted in: Uncategorized