3 shades of leadership grey

There are 2 types of people in the world — rule-breakers and rule-keepers. Which are you?

2.16.15-3-Shades-of-Leadership-GreyI admit that I am a rule-keeper. There, I said it. As such, you might think that I am a black-and-white type of guy. The reality is that I’m not all that much. Here are 3 reasons why:

1) I make policies and rules that purposely have grey in them. You can either say that your teen’s curfew is 11:30 p.m. or your employee’s hours are 8 to 5, period. Or, you can say to your teen, “Your curfew is 11:30 p.m. unless you call me and get pre-approval for it to be extended.” With this approach, you just added some flexibility.

2) I buy time. If you have to make a decision quickly and in haste, you will inevitably have to go with the black-and-white answer. However, if you buy time, it gives you time as a parent, coach or leader to think through the possible solutions, think outside the box, pray about the situation and potentially seek Godly counsel. With time, often a not-so-black-and-white solution develops.

3) I do for one what I wish I could do for all. One of our Christ Community elders shared this one time in an elder meeting when we were talking about caring for an individual. Believe me, I am an equal-weights-and-measures type of guy. Proverbs 20:10 is one of my theme verses as a leader — “Differing weights and differing measures — the LORD detests them both.” However, I have come to believe that there are times when we must go off the grid as leaders and do for someone what we wish we had the resources, time or energy to do for everyone. Bless one when possible. It’s grey, but it’s right.
Do you have other grey area learnings in your leadership? Pass them along!

Live well. Lead well.

EricRojasEric Rojas loves his role as the executive pastor of Christ Community Church in St. Charles, IL, where he oversees a staff of 120 and serves alongside Senior Pastor Jim Nicodem. He has been on staff at CCC since 2000. During his 20+ years of ministry, Rojas has served in churches as a youth pastor, adult ministries pastor, small groups pastor, associate pastor, worship pastor and men’s pastor. He is a contributing author for Group Publishing’s Men’s Ministry in the 21st Century and has written for various magazines and websites. Rojas also serves the church-at-large through consulting and seminar presenting. He has been married to his wife, Rachel, for 22 years. They have 3 children — Luke, 21; Adam, 19; and Chloe, 17. A man of faith, Rojas believes that next year is the year the Cubs will finally win the World

Share

Leave a Reply

HTML Snippets Powered By : XYZScripts.com