As leaders, it should always be our desire and prayer to operate from strength. We certainly don’t want to do things that having us going from strength to weakness. Ron Edmondson shares 7 things that can weaken our leadership.
Originally posted by Ron Edmondson
There are times I’m a better leader than other times.
Sometimes this is my fault. Other times the cause is unavoidable.
If we can begin to identify what interrupts the effectiveness of our leadership, we can become better leaders. I have personally experienced some things in my own life which weaken my leadership. One of my goals is to consistently find ways to guard against them.
Here are 7 things which weaken good leadership
Distractions
As leaders, we do our best work when we are pointing people toward worthy visions. Some would say this is precisely what leadership does. It’s easy to get distracted with things which, while they may be good, don’t help move the organization towards the vision. In fact, they delay progress towards the vision. I’ve also learned I need to be leading in my strengths and if I ever get weak in my courage to say no to some things, the quality of my yes will be far less valuable.
Lack of discipline
It matters not if there is a great vision if we don’t discipline ourselves to reach it. This includes having good plans and good goals. Good objectives. Good systems and strategies.
Ceasing to learn something new
Leading others to grow requires leaders who are growing. When I stop the creativity I feed my mind, I cease to have anything new to offer the team I’m trying to lead. Life becomes rather stale – quickly. Whether through books, other leaders or conferences, I must find ways to continue learning.
Negative influences
It’s hard to be the only positive in a room full of negatives. Sometimes as a leader I’ve felt like more cheerleader than coach. It’s one reason I surround myself with people who have a good outlook on life. I don’t want all “yes” people, but if everything is always an immediate “no” – or “I don’t like it but I have nothing better to offer” – it is draining and is only going to bring down the strength of my leadership and ultimately the rest of the team.
Fear
Risk is involved in every leadership decision. And, I meant every. Leadership is taking people to an unknown. This always involves risk. Every time. And every risk involves a certain level of fear. This is completely natural. Fear keeps leaders from moving forward when they allow the fear to dominate the decision more than the opportunity of the risk.
Pride
Pride goes before the fall. Pride destroys. Absolute pride destroys absolutely. Okay, I embellished this popular saying, but you get the point. Prideful leaders are always weakened by their pride. No one truly follows a prideful leader. They may obey. They may even be infatuated for a season. But, they don’t follow.
Complacency and contentment
Leadership involves a sense of urgency. When we lose this we lose the inner drive to lead well. We become weakened by our own loss of personal momentum.
Success
All of us love to succeed. I think attempting to is a pretty good goal. We might even plan for it – what a novel idea. Sadly, though, sometimes a little success can usher in complacency. We can begin to think we’ve figured out a system to success. Before long, we don’t think we have to be intentional anymore – maybe not even have to try as hard as we used to try. We can become weak quickly by our own delusions of grandeur.
Those are a few things which have weakened my leadership. Let’s guard against them!
Recent Comments