Home Pastors Articles for Pastors Thom Rainer: 7 Reasons Leaders Fail

Thom Rainer: 7 Reasons Leaders Fail

They are not passionate about their area of leadership.

They often see their work as no more than a paycheck. They will do the minimal work to get the job done so that they can keep their job. These leaders inspire no one, including themselves.

They fail to dream.

Leaders who fail often fail to dream. Their world is the immediate task at hand. They do not take time to dream the impossible, nor to see what can be. They don’t let others inspire them through books or podcasts or conferences or mentoring. They only deal with today and never dream about tomorrow.

They have a sense of entitlement.


Don’t you wonder how some leaders got to the place where they are? Perhaps you know the reason. Some of these leaders act as if their position of leadership is totally secure regardless of their performance. These leaders treat others in the organization like means to an end. It’s all about them because they feel they deserve special treatment.

They have a sense of victimization.

Other leaders fail because they see themselves as victims. Perhaps they were passed over for a promotion some time ago, but they still carry chips on their shoulders today. They cannot function as true leaders because they spend so much of their mental and emotional energy feeling sorry for themselves. Every leader will receive bad news at some point in his or her career. The key test is how that leader will respond. 

The opportunity to lead is one of the great gifts given to us. Life is too short to be miserable or ineffective in our roles. I hope leaders today can learn powerful lessons from leaders who have failed.

I know I have.