2020 Was The Optimal Leadership Environment

As a leader, uncertainty is your life. It’s your sweet spot.

Here’s a euphemism: 2020 has been challenging, and many of us have been thrown.

Now it’s time to prepare for 2021. Ready?

You don’t need to read the terms and conditions for 2021 to click “accept.” Because the LORD is with you and because He has called you to be a leader.

I was listening to North Point’s Andy Stanley give a word of encouragement to leaders on a recent EntreLeadership podcast. It woke me up. As he reflected on what it’s been like to lead in 2020, he said:

“This is why you’re a leader. If we’re just running a ride at Six Flags, that requires a little bit of skill and some management. But uncertainty is why the world needs leaders. This is why you were born. This is when your intuition is more important than ever. So congratulations! It is the optimal leadership environment because management doesn’t work, because all the rules have changed, the schedules have changed, and everything is upside-down. There is so much uncertainty. The only thing that counts in this much uncertainty is CLARITY. And as a leader, that’s your number one responsibility in a time like this. People will follow the people that offer clarity in the midst of this uncertainty. And this is, in some ways, the essence of leadership. This is your moment, and you feel like you’re spinning in the wind like everybody else - that’s ok. This is your moment. Step up and be clear in the midst of this uncertainty. You’re going to survive, and ultimately you’re going to thrive, you’re going to figure this out, AND you will be better for it.”

WOW! Can you fill the wind of encouragement filling your tattered sails? Use this moment to reflect on these questions.

What do I feel the Lord is inviting me into to accomplish?

What do I need to call myself and my team to? Like Sean Feucht's new book Brazen says, "Be a voice, not an echo."

What have I not been clear about?  God’s nature and sovereignty? The height of our calling? The stakes of leading well?

What support do I need to complete my assignment well?

The future is real. It’s bright.* And you’re in it.

Take these last 30 days of 2020 and give them as much energy and intentionality as we often do the first 30 days of a new year.

*Proverbs 4:18 The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. 

-Dave Helmuth
(purchase my book, "Worship Fertilizer: (the first hundred)" HERE)

2020 Was The Optimal Leadership Environment (Nº 263)