Lead Boldly
So what do you do?
Four things can help a leader usher in bolder change and avoid irrelevance without becoming a brash, arrogant leader.
1. Be bold
Don’t stop dreaming. Introduce some bolder changes. The problem with incremental change is that it brings incremental results.
So be bold. Bolder change will bring bolder results.
2. Lead with humility
No one likes an arrogant person; even fewer people like an arrogant leader. Being bold is not a licence to offend.
Leading from a place of humility can help you broker change far better than leading from a place of arrogance.
3. Take the long view
A key difference between leaders who successfully navigate change and those who don’t is the ability to stick out the initial waves of criticism.
The fact that some people don’t like your change is natural. Take the long view and realize this too shall pass.
Think about it: Surprisingly, your insistence on pleasing people will ultimately cause you to disappoint people.
4. Focus on who you want to reach, not who you want to keep
If you focus on the 10 percent of people who don’t like the change, you will lose the thousands of people you can reach by making the change.
Again, this is not an excuse to be stubborn, arrogant or bullying.
But it is permission to be courageous.
To be true to your convictions, and to lead with conviction and even some occasional daring, I share more specific strategies on how to effectively lead change here.
If your mission is as important as you say it is, it deserves your best leadership and courage.
My Guess Is…
…that you are not trying to be ineffective.
It’s just that the gravitational pull we all feel in leadership to please everybody is almost always counterproductive.
Sometimes, you even end up being nothing to nobody.
So what’s keeping you back from acting on your best strategy?
What’s keeping you back from being more daring?
Is it the desire to be liked? The fear of being rejected? The unwillingness to offend?
I understand that…but just know what’s at stake.
To be inoffensive is to be ineffective.
Sometimes, you need to push through a controversial proposal to get to the other side.
In your attempt to offend no one, you just might become irrelevant to everyone.
Want More?
I wrote about three powerful truths about likability and leadership in this post.
If you’re wondering what issues the church needs to tackle to be effective and reach people, I devoted my most recent book, Lasting Impact, to seven pivotal issues every church leader needs to address. You can learn more about Lasting Impact here.
What do you think?
