Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Driving Leadership

You ever notice that the front window of the car...the one you look out to drive, is wayyyy bigger than the rear view window is?

Lucky for us.

This is a good lesson on leadership.

Effective Leaders see primarily through the big window. They see the big picture. They see the road to get there.

Many people in leadership falter because their eyes are constantly on their rear-view. Maybe they are concentrated on "the way its always been done in the past" or maybe they are fearful that those who are following them might drift away. If we live in our rearview mirror, we lose sight of where we are going.

Likewise, many people in leadership get so bogged down with the here and now...the present...the mundane tasks and monotanous labors of each day that their eyes drift toward the radio or their spedometer or their donut and coffee. The more we have our eyes on the current situations, the more we lose sight of the big picture.

It's not easy, but the most effective leaders (and drivers) keep their eyes on the road ahead. Yes it is necessary to give glances to what lies behind. Yes it is necessary to pay attention to the here and now, monitoring our speed, making sure the car's not overheating, adjusting the radio to the right frequency, tending to family that's in the car with you...but these are secondary to the grander vision.

Questions.

1. Have you dreamt with God and discovered what the big picture is you're driving towards?
2. Are your biggest obstacles in your rearview or in your console?
3. What needs to change and how does it need to change to begin going where God's Positioning System (GPS?) is telling you to go?

No comments: