Leaders produce results, not excuses!

This was a hard one for me for years. I would have a task with a specific goal and for legitimate reasons outside of my control I would fall short from achieving the goal. This will happen to all of us and our choice is how to deal with it. I used to settle with the outcome of falling short and blame the out-of-my-control completely understandable thing that caused me to miss the mark. The truth of the matter is this though, I could have had more margin and I could have come up with another plan to make it happen. Leaders accept obstacles as speed bumps not roadblocks. Leaders find another way. When leaders don’t have enough time or resources, they innovate and come up with some way to achieve the necessary results. Leaders produce results, not excuses. Granted, there are times that a leader steps out and takes a great risk that doesn’t pan out. In those times, a leader owns it and says, “What’s Next?” When is the last time you made an excuse for not achieving a goal? What else could you have done to produce the necessary results?

Reproducing yourself

If John can paint a house in 3 hours and Steve can paint a house in 4 hours, how long would it take Steve and John to paint 7 houses if they worked together? Didn’t you hate these questions in school? (The math nerd in me secretly loved these questions – the answer is 12hours) John and Steve can paint a house faster than John can on his own. If John had gone and gotten Steve and 4 others to help, the house would be done even sooner. This is where most of our leadership is. We go and get more people to help accomplish a task, probably not painting a house. You get the job done faster and you did it with others so the experience was much better and you developed some relationships while working. You feel good about the people you got involved, and you should. But have you reproduced yourself? You got 5 other people to help paint the house. They were doing the same thing you were doing, right? Not exactly. The real value you brought to the table wasn’t that you put paint on the house; it was that you got 5 other people to put paint on the house. This is the next level of leadership. It isn’t getting other people involved; it’s getting other people to get other people involved. It is John going to Steve and Mike and saying let’s each get 3 people to meet us here on Saturday at 9am to paint this house. Now Steve and Mike aren’t just following John, they are leveraging their relationship and leading for John. The greatest value you bring to any organization as a leader isn’t the work that you do, it’s leading others to do the work. Reproducing yourself isn’t managing others; it’s developing them as leaders and encouraging, challenging, and helping them to lead others as well. If Steve can get a few other guys to help paint the house, then Steve is 4 times as valuable to John. The people following you will be exponentially more valuable to you and your purpose if they are leading, bringing others with them, not just showing up. Where are you reproducing yourself as a leader? Where do you need to be reproducing yourself as a leader?

To Lead Means To Go

Leading and following implies movement. If you’re leading and I’m following, then we are moving in some direction toward some goal. If you aren’t going anywhere, I can sit with you, but I really can’t follow you. Here are some places I’m going that I hope I’m leading others to also.

1. I’m growing closer to God. I’m learning more about God, his plan for my life, and the Bible. I’m growing in my prayer life and my connection with God.

2. I’m growing in the impact I make for God. I’m reaching new levels of effectiveness for God. I’m inviting more people to church, building more relationship inside and outside of church to leverage for God. I’m spending my time and energy more strategically for God.

3. I’m becoming a better leader. I am learning how to develop other leaders better. I’m learning how to handle conflict better. I’m learning how to more effectively communicate expectations and deal with people when expectations aren’t met. I’m learning how to better motivate people using encouragement and challenge.

4. I’m becoming a better man. I am learning how to put my wife first more often and serve her better. I’m learning how to love my wife and son better. I’m growing in character and discipline. I’m learning how to treat people with more compassion and grace.

Where are you going? How are you leading others in these areas?