Welcome back!
Leaders you must hold yourself to a higher standard than anyone else on your team. Whatever areas of immaturity you have are going to be exposed. Whatever secret sins you have will ensnare you. Whatever liberties you are taking with your position will come to light. I have known far too many leaders who had no moral compass and no shame. Some of the gems from those misguided souls were:
“I like to take people out and get them drunk, get as much dirt as I can, and then use it against them later.”
“I sell a little bit of my soul everyday. I find it really helps.”
“If you don’t do anything about the problems, they will fix themselves.”
“I don’t ever want anything to be looked into, because I don’t ever want anything to be found.”
“I like to destroy relationships between people. Then I can do what I want with them.”
“Dumb it down, you’re making us look bad.”
As was inevitable, the deficient strategists who uttered the nonsense above are no longer in their leadership positions. When you sell your soul, the devil eventually shows up to collect.
Leaders you MUST have your own robust self-development program to avoid the temptation (or for some the seductive siren call) of abusing your position for personal gain. If Jesus came to serve and not to be served, what makes you think you are entitled to anything different than that? Work to fix your own dysfunction, pray to have any blind spots revealed to you, and take your responsibility to protect your team extremely seriously because it is, in fact, that important. Do NOT be the leader who refuses to address any issues, because their hidden transgressions are greater than the entire rest of the team put together. If dirty backroom deals are your specialty, be prepared for the day the light gets shined on your mess. You might as well get yourself together now while it’s still voluntary. Get your self-respect back.
When you have the courage to immerse yourself and your team in an environment of growth, it builds esprit de corps and momentum. People show up every day excited to be working on their goals, rather than dreading or resenting coming in. They are focused, and get their regular responsibilities taken care of so they can get to the fun stuff. Pretty soon they encourage, support, and correct each other as they pursue their goals, and what that happens it is a thing of beauty. The best environments I have ever been a part of are all about doing the main job well, while aspiring to greater heights. Together.
Until next time, I’m praying that you’ll go take a good long look in the mirror and face the truth about what changes you need to make. You already know. It’s time to grow a set and get on with it!