A couple of weeks ago I got to attend a seminar hosted by Northeastern Seminary. The keynote speakers were Kevin Myers and Dan Reiland, pastors at 12 Stone Church in Atlanta, GA. Needless to say, it was one of the better workshops I’ve attended over the years. In today’s post I’d like to talk about a principle Kevin shared in his first session of the day.
He called it “Leadership Gravity”.
We all know what gravity does – simply put, it pulls us down. Gravity is a fact of life. We don’t argue with it or try to defy it. It can’t be done. What we can do is cooperate with it. We build machines that work within the laws of gravity. We discover how gravity works and apply that knowledge in our everyday lives. For instance, when I go out and throw the football around with my son, I use my very limited knowledge of gravity to determine how high and hard to throw the ball. Most of the time, I’m close to the mark. I never think to myself, “Man, if I didn’t have to deal with this gravity, it’d be so much easier to throw this ball that distance!”
Leadership Gravity can be defined similarly – “When you lead, something will pull you down.” It’s not something we can change, fix, or remove from our lives. It’s meant to be accepted, just like we accept the fact that we are bound by the laws of physics in the natural.
Here is just a few examples of things that will exert ‘leadership gravity’ on us over time: resource challenges, financial challenges, people challenges, mission & vision slippage, culture shifts . . . you get the idea.
The wise leader won’t complain, get angry, resentful or frustrated about leadership gravity. He’ll accept it, and find ways to work with it. Remembering that we will always be bound by ‘leadership gravity’ could very possibly play a big role in relieving the stress and burden you’ve been carrying. It’s OK for you to have limitations, challenges and setbacks. It’s part of what it means to lead. Rather than fret over it, let’s work on figuring out how to throw the ball better.
photo credit: Greg V Music via photopin cc
Comments
2 responses to “Leadership Gravity”
I found your blog about a month ago when i was doing a search on church systems. I think some are better at dealing with the law of gravity than others. having been in ministry 15 years some skills are only gained over time. On a side note how did you get started into coaching?
Thanks for your comment Al. I think leaders would be a lot happier if they would figure out this one principle. Expectations make a big difference in life and ministry. When we expect to be pulled down, we’re not so frustrated when it happens.
As for coaching, a few pastors began approaching me for advice about strategic planning, systems development, leadership, teamwork, etc. I found I really loved coaching them, so began offering my services.