A Leader's Role in Paying Attention...

"How will you know if major problems are arising if you choose not to communicate consistently and closely with your employees? Being oblivious to significant concerns can put your organization in jeopardy. “Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds…the lambs will provide you with clothing, and the goats with the price of a field…” (Proverbs 27:23-27)." Robert Milligan, President, CBMC International (Emphasis is mine)

I found a great deal of truth in these few words as I read it this morning.  Whether it be my children, business, church, volunteer organization, etc.  If I bury my head in the sand by ignoring issues others see as significant, then before I know it I have a train wreck!

The older I become the more I see the value of good leadership.  Real Jesus centered leadership which lays it's life down for another in some instances and builds a whip for cleansing in other circumstances.  His divine example shows there is definitely a time and a place for each.

I've seen leadership be overbearingly dictatorial which creates an environment of fear without love.  I've seen leadership from what I would call a "Laissez Faire" style which would be more of a "hands off" style.  This style, though empowering, creates confusion because concerns can tend to be ignored.

I can see in myself the tendency towards each style in different situations.  With my children it is easiest to use the dictatorial rule, which does not promote a healthy relationship and should not be used exclusively.  With adults it is often easiest to follow the hands off approach, because rather than offend I hope that if I ignore the issue it will go away.  I assume that most have experienced the difficult truth found in Proverbs 18:19, "A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, and contentions are like the bars of a castle."  With adults, I find myself tending the Laissez Faire direction more often than not, which is possibly the correct approach.

Unfortunately, the hands off approach cannot be the exclusive way I cope.  In some instances of practicing this I will begin to resemble the ostrich with it's head buried in the sand.  Once I finally realize the gravity of the situation and pull my head out of the sand, the predator has my neck in his teeth and the game is all but over.  Today, I understand that neither side is the correct style of leadership to the exclusion of the other, they are both necessary of a good leader.  

May God help me to be in touch with those around me and the things that bring them angst.  May He help me to understand and help alleviate those things that bind them down.  May Jesus help me to see with their eyes and hear with their ears so I might be able to understand the world from their perspective.  May He help me to relate with those that surround me while at the same time helping them to move onto His agenda for them.  This is no small task.  I guess that is why good leadership is so rare in this life.  Thankfully, I have Jesus to follow each step of the way!