Are You A Leader?

Warning Signs of Leadership Failure


God gave you, your life so that you can live it. No one can live it for you.

Luke 9:25 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?

The Lord formed each and everyone of us for a destiny. Sometimes we get caught up in all of the circumstances in our life, good or bad, and push Jesus to a lower priority.
* We are called FIRST to love God with all of our heart and then to serve the King of kings in ALL circumstances just as John did in exile, Joseph & Paul in chains, and Noah being ridiculed.
* Be obedient to what God has called you to do in the face of persecution. *Jesus is our only hope and salvation and is worthy of our service.

While our outrage at disgraced leaders may be justified sometimes, we fail to realize how quickly “they” become “US.” When everything seems to be against us it stings our heart, especially when we’ve been faithful.
*It stings when I deserve the promotion only to discover it went to someone Else.
* It stings when I invest only to lose my lifelong savings in the stock market.
*It stings when I invest in a home and the value is now below what I paid.
*It stings when I Change my business ways in hopes of a better profit and it’s not working as I put on paper.
*It stings when bankers no longer want to lend me money as before.
*It stings when I am a number verses a living breathing human being to others.
*It stings when I share the love of Christ and others do not want His Free gift of eternal salvation.
**It’s when I reach the end of self-effort that I realize what God is after—my undivided heart.
***A sting/trial is not  something to be tolerated, but a TRUST to be treasured!

*** I have come to believe through many a stings and failures, the message for all of us is that life is a loan from God (Luke 12:20) and belongs to him. God creates it and gives it and takes it according to HIS own will and owes us nothing.
We are His servants here on earth visiting till He calls us to our Eternal Home.
We are being shaped and prepared on earth today for God’s special place for us in heaven.
Do not underestimate what God can do in and with a life that has been placed in His hands to use. It is not what we have, but what we are doing with what we have. God uses what we have-BUT God must have ALL of it!!!!!
When we give Him our all-God takes it and multiplies it by HIS Power. So feel FREE because then what we do is not in our power like before-BUT is in HIS Power!

So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith (Galatians 6:10).
*****  And that includes enemies:
*Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you (Luke 6:27);
*Because  sooner or later people want more than empathy, hand outs  and aid ***they will want answers.
…Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have…..
1 Peter 3:15

Fallen leaders never set out to sacrifice their integrity, abandon ethical behavior, or exploit those they lead. But it happened! Their failures should be our cautions.
*** Warning Signs of Leadership Failure

(which we all are leaders in some way shape or form: be it parenting,  to
organizing,to supervising to ownership)

Warning Sign #1: A Shift in Focus

*Leaders are usually distinguished by their ability to “think big.” But as their focus shifts, their thinking shrinks. *Often, leaders simply lose sight of what’s important.
*They micro-manage, get caught up in minutiae, and succumb to perfectionism in trivial decisions better left to others.
*Even more subtle is an obsession with “doing” rather than “becoming.”
*** A leader’s greatest influence flows from inner vision and integrity, but it’s possible for a leader to become infatuated with ACTION and, in the process, lose touch with the all-important development of character. ***Busier isn’t always better!!!!
* What is your primary focus right now? If you can’t write your primary focus down as your vision  or as your mission statement then your leadership suffers from a lack of clarity.
Proverbs 10:9 Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.

Warning Sign #2: Poor Communication

*Lack of focus disorients a leader and sets the stage for poor communication.

Followers can’t possibly understand a leader’s intent when the leader isn’t even sure what it is!(Vision/Goals?)
*A goal is looking into the future and aiming in a certain direction. Attack it with your faith and submit it all to God.
*Vision- a mode of seeing or conceiving.- unusual discernment of the future- A faith-filled view of the future.-an understanding of where we are going.-discovering God’s thoughts regarding our future.
***Where their is no vision their is no order.
Sometimes, leaders delude themselves into believing that committed followers can SENSE their goals and carry out their wishes without being told.
When misunderstandings arise, managers blame their people for lack of effort (or commitment) rather than recognizing their own communication negligence.
** “Say what you mean, and mean what you say” is timeless advice, but it must be preceded by knowing what you mean!
Clarity of purpose is the starting point for all effective communication.
Proverbs 13:10 Where there is strife, there is pride, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.

Warning Sign #3: Risk Aversion

*Past victories create pressure for leaders:
“Will I be able to sustain outstanding performance?”
* The longer a leader is successful in His eyes, the higher his or her perceived cost of failure will be.
*When driven by the fear of failure, leaders are unable to take reasonable risks. They limit themselves to tried and proven pathways.
* Attempts at innovation—key to their initial success—diminish and eventually disappear.
Which is more important to you: the journey or the destination?
Are you still taking reasonable risks? Prudent leadership avoids reckless risk, BUT neither is it paralyzed by fear.
Phil. 2:13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

Warning Sign #4: Ethics Slip

*A leader’s credibility depends upon two qualities: what he or she does (competency) and who he or she is (character).
Deficiencies in either create an integrity problem.
**The highest principle of leadership is integrity.
1 Peter 5:8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
When ethical compromise is rationalized as necessary for the “greater good,” a leader is on the slippery slope of failure. All too often, leaders see their followers as pawns, mere means to an end.
* As a result, they confuse Manipulation with leadership.
Such leaders rapidly lose respect.
To save face, they cease to be people “perceivers” and become people “pleasers,” using popularity to ease the guilt of lapsed integrity.
Are there areas of conflict between what you believe and how you behave?

Warning Sign #5: Poor Self-Management

*If a leader doesn’t take care of him/herself, no one else will.
* Unless a leader is blessed with unusually perceptive followers, nobody will pick up on signs of fatigue and stress.
* Leaders are counted on to produce, but they aren’t superheroes with limitless energy.
While leadership is invigorating, it is also tiring.
*Like anyone other mere mortal, leaders are susceptible to feeling drained, depressed, and demotivated.
**** Those who neglect their physical, psychological, emotional, or spiritual needs are headed for disaster.
*Make time for refreshment and replenishment.
John 10:27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.
*When we enter into God’s presence, we can rest on Him, on His Word! His Word is the truest and most infallible principal/moral system in existence which, if believed, has the power to separate your soul (emotion- tired & ready to quit) from the spirit (the eternal truth- God cares!)! Believe, walk in love, seek His presence, & KNOW that we labor only to enter into His rest! Rest IS available! (Read Hebrews 4:9-12)
*Take care of yourself. Self-preservation isn’t selfish; it’s vital to the health of those you lead.

Warning Sign #6: Lost Love

*Leaders face impending disaster when they abandon their first love.
The hard work of leadership should be fulfilling and fun. However, when divorced from their visions/goals/ dreams, leaders may find the responsibility of leadership to be frustrating and fruitless.
*Even when you know your God given vision their will be trials, and things that come against you, to keep you from your visions.
* To stay motivated, leaders must stick to what they love and rediscover what compelled them to accept the mantle of leadership in the first place.

You have the word of God. You have Jesus. You have the Holy Spirit. You have God. Get scriptures to stand on to help get past all the blocks and distractions. Even when your ready to quit, read them.
The warning signs in life—from stoplights to prescription labels—are intended for our good.
*They protect us from disaster, and we would be foolish to ignore them. Don’t be afraid to take an honest look at yourself.(Personal inventory)
Our lives will become less cluttered, less stressful, and more fulfilling when we follow the MODEL Jesus provided. It may not always please everyone.
* Jesus never sought to please Everyone.
* Ask the Lord each day this week HOW you and He are to spend YOUR time. *Yield your schedule to Him.
* Let Jesus direct your every activity. **You may discover that He desires you to CUT BACK some things in order to spend more time alone with Him.
* JESUS will be faithful to show you. And you will become more fulfilled because you are centered in His will for you.
* Jesus often sought times of prayer and reflection away from the disciples. His life appeared to have a BALANCE of quiet moments(rest) and active ministry into the lives He came in contact with.

2 Corintians 3:1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our HEARTS, known and read by everyone. 3 You show that you ARE a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

I want more of the Spirit within me. I want to be prepared to lead as Joshua was. Not because of my skills, talents, or knowledge. No, I want to be approved to lead because the Holy Spirit dwells in me.

1 Corinthians 12:4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the SAME Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the SAME Lord.
**We all have the ability to perform great works for God. No matter what others may have or may perform you will always be just as important.  We All are part of the body of Christ and should only  encourage the other and fulfill what God has planned for us.

Father, fill me anew today with Your Holy Spirit. Fill me to overflowing. I want to be a leader approved and equipped by You.  Help me publicly praise and empower other leaders, maybe next generation leaders, in front of our followers so that we all can set them up for success.
Psalms 25:20 Guard my life and rescue me; do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. 21 May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope, lord, is in you. AMEN