Surround yourself with those who haven’t drank your koolaid. -via @loswhit
This concept was very thought provoking to me. Every leader should take a moment to consider it and evaluate themselves. I have the privilege of leading church staff and being part of a team of Pastors at the church. Sometimes we can accidentally become a dictator to those who follow us simply by the fact that we have great people that want to do their best to serve the Lord and be encouraging to their leaders.
Here are some questions to help with the self evaluation. Do they feel they can openly communicate with you on negative and positive issues? Do they laugh at your jokes when they are not funny? Do they nod at your bad ideas? Does your leadership style leave room for open and honest discussion and brainstorming? Have you created an environment where innovation, creativity and independent thought is squelched or celebrated? Do young leaders have as much of a voice as those with more tenure? Are you an accidental dictator?
Think about it. The next great idea most likely will not come from you alone! (Hopefully that is not a shocker to you.) It will come from a team that has the liberty to shoot down bad ideas and brainstorm to collectively come up with the best possible ideas.
It is also a good idea to have people who are honest sounding boards. Sometimes this has to be somebody from another organization or circle, a wise, impartial friend or someone who is an outsider. Someone who won't answer along party lines but will give you a honest to goodness, real word answer as to whether you are totally out to lunch or on the right track.
It is so easy to become totally fossilized when people who completely agree with you on everything are the only ones speaking into your life. You need varying opinions, viewpoints and philosophies to help you grow and develop and be all God wants you to be.
See the original post here.
As always I welcome your comments.
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