Q+A :: 3 Leadership Lessons I Learned From Mistakes
QUESTION:
What are 3 mistakes a leader should experience to learn about leadership?
- Martin :: Germany
ANSWER:
I don’t believe leaders should experience specific mistakes. I would rather learn from someone else’s mistake than to make the mistake myself.
However, reality is that we all make mistakes. Hopefully, we learn from them, and more importantly, we don’t repeat them. Some mistakes are more common than others in ministry, but I think it is accurate to say that every minister’s leadership journey is a unique one - both in successes and mistakes.
So I cannot give you 3 mistakes I think every leader should experience, but I can share with you three leadership lessons I have learned from mistakes I’ve made.
- Keep God before ministry.
There have been times in my life when I have put too much of my focus on doing ministry and not enough focus on my personal relationship with God. It is a dangerous habit to develop because our personal relationship with God gives us the spiritual strength needed to pursue our ministry calling to its full potential. - Be a custom leader.
When I began leading my first team of several volunteers, I interacted with each worker the same way. The problem with this is that people are very different and very unique. Different personalities interpret the same leadership differently. What works well for leading one person may be less effective for leading another. Over the years, I have tried to improve my ability to recognize different personalities and know how to best lead each one. I’m still far from perfect, but whenever I have the opportunity to lead someone one-on-one, I try to customize my approach for the best results. - Know your limits.
The first ministry I worked for never tested my limits. The work was tough, but we had a great team and always met our deadlines. The second ministry I worked for was understaffed and underresourced. It quickly taught me my limitations. Even with extended work hours and extra manpower, it was impossible to do what needed to be done. I made the mistake of assuming that I could achieve unrealistic goals because I always made tough deadlines before. Understand that you are human and have limitations. Know your limitations. Plan realistically. Otherwise, you will burn yourself out.
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