When leadership works

Yesterday I posted about my failure to create a culture of trust amongst our staff. Quite frankly, when I wrote that, I was considerably discouraged. However, I made the time to take these things to God. I spent time in worship, time interceding for staff needs, and time praying for wisdom and discernment. One of the things God spoke to me about (and has been, in part, through my pastor) was being humble enough to accept my responsibility, even as I address the issue. So this week we've had a staff meeting. It was (as many leadership issues are) a difficult time for me, as I truly wanted to lay into them and attack their lack of following. But God humbled my heart (it wasn't my flesh doing it, I guarantee), and I was able to communicate both my failures, and my pain at what they had done. Wow! Amazing! I did it God's way, and the results were better than I could have expected. We had an amazingly honest dialogue, each of us sharing some bits and pieces of our frustrations. As I laid my heart on the table a little bit, they proceeded to do so, too. There were apologies all around, which was important. There was forgiveness - equally important. And there was open dialogue about how we can handle this in the future. However, what was most important to me for the future was that it was honest, open, and w/o anger or attack. This sets things up for future discussions of this nature as they are needed... and they will be. As I shared with them last night: If they wanted a perfect leader, they chose the wrong guy. Even with all my years of experience, I continue to struggle to lead well. I can only do it by God's grace, as He enables me, as it's not my natural gifting.

Thank you to those who took a moment to pray. God showed up. If you could say a prayer for me to lead well in the future, it would be appreciated. On a related note, I encourage you to check out Seth Barnes' blog, "Radical Living in a Comfortable World." He's got some great posts on there recently about leadership. You can start with these two: Here and here.