From James Dodwell and Hammers of Hope
Good Morning,
A lifetime ago, or so it seems, we worked with a strong
manager/leader. This person was able to get water from a rock. For him the word
motivation was an adjective not a noun and he used this skill to bring out the
best in people along with helping them reach their potential. Motivation was
the fuel on the fire that never burned out while he was there. Then one day…a
better offer with more opportunity took him from our presence. Rather than
promote someone trained by him to lead the team, with like skills and vision,
the decision was made to look elsewhere and the person hired did not have the
skill set, abilities or the personality to motivate and challenge the team
enough to hold them together. The strength of relationship, teamwork and the
vision was lost to red tape, poor decisions and confusion between the new
manager and team. The once strong team was scattered, pieced out to other
projects while some other team members found new jobs with other organizations.
A friend sent me a quote recently that said, “A bad manager
can take a good staff and destroy it causing the best employees to flee and the
remainder to lose all motivation.” We will get back to this however, when I
read this it reminded me of a story I heard about a father reading the story
from Genesis 19 about Lot and his wife. The Lord had told Lot to leave the
land, to take his family and flee. The father told of the event when Lot’s wife
looked back and was changed to a pillar of salt. The little boy had a look of
confusion so the father asked him did he understand about Lot’s wife. He said,
“Yes, Father, I understand, but what I don’t understand is what happened to the
“flea”.” I know, silly story, but it illustrates the fact we need to think
about everyone on the team not just the main players.
The former illustration reminds us, if life has no meaning,
leadership has no mission. During our walk in life, we all grow deflated,
depressed and disillusioned about life at different times. We lose the vision
and the dream of a “life under the sun.” We want to abandon the “mission”. We
think there is no profit because all we are doing is moving things around. We
feel we have no purpose in the endless, meaningless cycle of time and movement.
We feel we aren’t making any progress because there doesn’t seem to be any
satisfaction; in other words, there’s nothing new “under the sun.”
We, as leaders, don’t have time to fall prey to these crazy
feelings. We have to “lean-in” to life and battle these so-called inner demons
or circumstances of life. We must work toward significant, meaningful goals. We
must host an eternal perspective that glows within us, shining brightly;
lighting the way for others to see their own significance and purpose. It is
written that Solomon wrote, “Life is vanity.” The richest, most powerful man in
the world during his time was proclaiming everything worthless without a
purpose, without a calling, without vision. But he understood these things:
“If nothing worthwhile exists under the sun, our only
hope must lie above it.” We must not look to our own strengths and
abilities; we must rely on God’s purpose for our lives and follow it. “If
the man with everything investigated every visible delight and still wound up
unsatisfied, then what satisfies must be invisible.” It’s called hope and
faith. These are things you can’t see but we rely heavily on each day. They are
intangible and invisible providing the fuel within us to keep us powered up,
looking up. “If the wisest man on earth finds no answers under heaven, then
we must look to heaven itself for those answers.” Its called prayer, a
healing force so powerful is within our reach and all we need to do is call
upon His name in prayer and it will be given to us. It may or may not be in the
form we want. It may not be exactly what we ask for, however the answer will
come if we keep the faith, seek Him and follow His commandments.
I encourage each of us to maintain the light of hope and
faith within to cast vision, provide motivation, and give strength to those who
are standing in the shadows. It is through our leadership and our faith and
hope in Him that provide us the ability to cast vision, help set goals, secure
the trust and confidence that help make a difference and add values in others
lives. Ecclesiastes 1:3-11
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