3. I Will Get Universal Buy In
This myth is so seductive.
There will be a day when I become a good enough leader that I will announce our next move and everyone will applaud wildly, right?
Nope.
That day will never come.
You might get most people to buy in, but you will never get everyone to buy in.
This kills most leaders because it causes them to procrastinate. The myth makes them ‘wait’ until all the conditions are right to launch their big move.
Conditions will never be perfect. ‘Everybody’ will never buy in.
Sometimes you just need to lead.
If you want to read more about how to lead change in the midst of opposition, I wrote Leading Change Without Losing It: Five Strategies that Can Revolutionize How You Lead Change While Facing Opposition to help leaders lead without universal buy in.
4. There’s a Silver Bullet
So there’s one thing that will turn everything around, right? A silver bullet? A model I can just embrace and press play and everything will magically be wonderful? Right?
If I only:
Was a North Point strategic partner, my church would automatically grow…
Had person X on my staff, all our problems would be gone…
Built a brand new building, it would solve all the issues we’re facing…
Right?
Wrong.
As my friend Casey Graham says, systems trump silver bullets.
And they really do. If you have a problem, the system you’re using created it.
To change the outcome, change the system. There is no easy way out.
5. One Day I Will Arrive
No you won’t.
And if you do, you’ll arrive to learn you’ve missed the point.
Effective leaders keep growing. They never stop.
One of the characteristics of great leaders who stay fresh is curiosity. (I actually write about the connection between curiosity and cynicism in my new book, Didn’t See It Coming.) Top leaders are just relentlessly curious, and the curiosity keeps them growing.
Organizations that become complacent, like people who become complacent, inevitably decline.
The more successful you are, the more you will be tempted to think you have arrived.
That’s why the greatest enemy of your future success is your current success.
Few things require more work in leadership than learning to speak effectively.
Having preached regularly now for 25 years and spoken at conferences around the world for years, I realize the weekly pressure and reward that content creation is.
That’s why I’m really excited to tell you about a brand new online course Mark Clark and I have put together called The Art of Better Preaching.
Curious?
I have a free training video you can watch here…and it includes a 10-point checklist you can run any message you deliver through to make sure it connects with people.
As to the entire course, join the waitlist today to get in on the course when it releases.
AND in the meantime,
Busting those five leadership myths have helped me grow as a leader.
How about you? What myths are you busting through?
This article originally appeared here.
