Musings on Leadership and Direction

Without effective decisions, a leader is no good to those whom he serves. In fact, he or she will become the opposite of help. This principle can be difficult. It is hard to determine what is the best decision for every situation as often it will affect multiple people of different viewpoints. Keeping in mind the best interests of everyone will help, but it will not remove the stress.

Important to Remember:

• Decisions determine destination
• Counsel together
• Counsel with Purpose

The choices we make every day determine where we will be tomorrow. Whether we choose to get enough sleep tonight will determine our level of rested energy the following day. Whether we eat a good meal, whether we become perturbed at offenses or not, whether we act or allow ourselves to be acted upon. All of these things happen every day. What do we do when the choice is placed before us?
Acting on behalf of others is more difficult still, but the responsibility will fall on each of us eventually.  When these opportunities arrive, we must pause, ponder, and prove.

1. Pause: take the time to think what is best. Depending on the scenario, it could require only seconds. Usually you will have hours, and perhaps even days, but you must take the time to study out the best solution.
2. Ponder: Thinking time is best spent with a pad of paper and a pen. Write down pros and cons. Think out loud, or however you think best. Counsel with others if the possibility to do so exists. Remember you can always counsel with your Higher Power if you have one.
3. Prove: put into practice the best choice you have. Continue to check on progress, and if changes need to be made, do so.

More often than not leadership comes with company. Rarely in the local capacity of leadership (family, social interactions, school, etc.) will you be working alone. It can be bothersome at times to work together, but when done correctly it is far superior than one head on the task. Some things to remember when working together:

1. Take time to get everyone’s ideas written down. Don’t say yea or nay until everyone has spoken; this is best done with a time limit and with one person speaking at a time.
2. Be the exemplar.  Arguments may arise, especially during an open forum style conversation. Do your best to remain non-partisan and ensure that everyone is heard.
3. The final say. If you are the ‘head honcho’ then you will have to make that hard decision of what will be done. Compromise is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign of compassionate leadership. Bring together the best ideas and make them work. If you are only part of the counsel, then be humble enough to accept it if ideas other than your own go on to fruition

Always remember why you lead. Whether you are in a counsel of men or not, you always have a responsibility to God and man for your choices as a leader. Having a purpose in your decisions is vital. Remember to serve the best interests of others. Don’t let fear drive you to do things which are wrong. We all have some form of moral compass. Let that be your guide.