As a leader sometimes you have to “take the hit” for the well being of the group you are leading.
There is a tension in leadership between being liked and making hard choices that have the potential of upsetting people. Choices of…
1. Direction – even though you talk and talk there are some who will never understand the direction you want the organization to go in. There are several reasons for this. The top two reasons are…
a. People are creatures of habit and they unintentionally will go back to the way they have always done something. This is a natural thing to do.
b. People do not listen. They may hear what you are saying but if it doesn’t match what they want to do they discard what you have said no matter how compelling you have made it.
2. Organization – when habits begin to form that will hurt the stability of an environment (or go against the plan that was put into place) and you have to approach those issues, it can be a very difficult thing to do. No matter how nice you try to put things it seems there is always “that” person that thinks you were talking directly to them.
3. To apply the brakes – When you have to put the brakes on something that doesn’t fit with the direction your organization is going. It is hard to tell someone no, especially if you love and care for them. But sometimes you just have to say, I know you feel the Lord is leading you that way but He has not shown me that is something our organization should do.
These choices are hard to make because you know you will have to take some hits for making them. But if you are praying and following God to the best of your ability, He will give you the strength you need to endure the hits that happen to you publicly, privately, and behind your back.
Remember, it may seem easier to play it safe… but if you play it safe your organization will suffer and will never be all it can be.
So, man up, make the choices you need to make for the betterment of the organization God has put you in charge of. After all He is stronger than any hit that could come your way…
no matter how painful it may be.
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