Lessoned Learned
One of the lessons I'm learning lately is that leadership is, in part, the management of perception as much as it is the management of reality. That doesn't mean "spin" in the worst sense of the word. It just means that people see what they're looking for and hear what they're listening for. That has incalculable repercussions for doing church.
If people want to learn they'll get something out of message no matter how bad it is. If people come into it with a critical spirit they will find something to be critical about no matter how good it is. The attitude going into a message is much more important than the message itself.
Here is the pattern I've seen repeated countless times:
Someone forms a negative perception. They find things to feed that perception. The perception became reality for them. They share that perception with others. And the perception continues to grow until it becomes cancerous. It's often childish. It's often selfish. But it's their reality.
Someone says "I'm burned out" or feels underappreciated and everything passes through that filter.
So the challenge of leadership is to manage perceptions. I've learned that you can't ignore them. You've got to address them.
The fine art of leadership is knowing when to take constructive criticism on the chin and when to "return volley." We do lots of things wrong and have lots of room for improvement. But one mistake leaders make is always playing defense when it comes to criticism. Leaders need to know when to confront immaturity with a dose of truth and grace. Sometimes you have to put the ball back into the critical person's court.
That takes a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.
If people want to learn they'll get something out of message no matter how bad it is. If people come into it with a critical spirit they will find something to be critical about no matter how good it is. The attitude going into a message is much more important than the message itself.
Here is the pattern I've seen repeated countless times:
Someone forms a negative perception. They find things to feed that perception. The perception became reality for them. They share that perception with others. And the perception continues to grow until it becomes cancerous. It's often childish. It's often selfish. But it's their reality.
Someone says "I'm burned out" or feels underappreciated and everything passes through that filter.
So the challenge of leadership is to manage perceptions. I've learned that you can't ignore them. You've got to address them.
The fine art of leadership is knowing when to take constructive criticism on the chin and when to "return volley." We do lots of things wrong and have lots of room for improvement. But one mistake leaders make is always playing defense when it comes to criticism. Leaders need to know when to confront immaturity with a dose of truth and grace. Sometimes you have to put the ball back into the critical person's court.
That takes a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.
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