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Leadership Ezra: Who’s in Charge Here? (Part 2, God Has A Plan!)

In thirty years of life and experience in leadership roles in Christian organizations, there are lessons that I learned (and continue to learn) from the life of ministry to which God called me.  Over that time, He taught me lessons based on stories, principles, and truths from the Bible that have been translated into personal application.  This series of articles focuses on a set of those lessons drawn from the book of Ezra in the Old Testament (and then published in my latest book), and this week, in part 2, we are reminded of God’s plan and purpose in our lives and in our work.

The work of leadership is hard, and it is not for the faint-hearted. There are decisions to be made, problems to be addressed, challenges to be solved, tensions to be managed, conflicts to be resolved, tasks to be accomplished, and numerous other responsibilities that ultimately have an impact on many people. And add to that the work of leading and managing people, who are imperfect and operate in the context of a fallen world. For the Christian leader – regardless of whether you are a school leader, church leader, ministry leader, or a Christian leading in a secular industry or organization – it can be even more challenging as you seek to reflect Christ in all you do.

The good news is that successful and effective leadership is a skill that can be learned, but it requires intentional effort. In today’s world, there are a multitude of valuable resources available for helping you in your development of leadership, however many of those do not address the spiritual context for the leader who is a follower of Jesus, which is just as important (if not more so) for Christian leaders. So where can you go to get help for understanding leadership principles and practices within a biblical context? This may seem to be an obvious answer, but ironically it is one that is often overlooked by leaders: look to examples of leadership in the Bible.

The book of Ezra, surprisingly, is one of those examples that has a lot to say about leadership. It is a relatively short book, with ten chapters, that tells a 2-part story. The general story involves the fulfillment of the prophecy found in Jeremiah 29, when God foretold the return of the people of Israel to Jerusalem. Chapters 1 through 6 describe the return of a remnant specifically for the purpose of rebuilding the temple, and chapters 7 through 10 – which take place a number of years later – describe Ezra’s role in leading religious leaders back to Jerusalem to restore the spiritual culture of the people. In essence, it is a story of restoration by God, the restoration of His house and His people. Along the way, there are a great number of lessons that are applicable to the task of leadership for the Christian in today’s world.

One of the most important lessons is a big picture lesson, representing the overall theme for the book of Ezra, and it is this: God’s sovereignty operates in conjunction with man’s responsibility, in the context and for the purpose of restoration, resulting in relationship and purpose. Therefore, in the application of leadership, it is vital that we begin with an understanding that God has a plan and a purpose, and He is actively involved in the events of our lives.

Throughout the Old Testament it is apparent that God has a sovereign plan and purpose – again, largely connected to the restoration of his house and of his people – and He works to carry out that plan. However, we usually spend our time acting completely unaware of that truth in our own lives today. We know that it is true, in a nebulous, spiritual truth kind of way, and we can see it clearly in retrospect (both in the stories in the Bible and in reflection of our own past experiences) but in the actual current day-to-day experiences of our lives, we behave as if we don’t realize it.

The events of Ezra provide a wonderful backdrop for seeing God’s involvement, for spotting His sovereignty at work in apparently random circumstances. Although God’s sovereignty is evident all through the book, interspersed throughout are a number of references that specifically point out His intentional involvement. Among these verses are the following:

  • Ezra 1:1, “the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom”
  • Ezra 1:5, “all those whose spirits God had moved, arose to go up and build the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem”
  • Ezra 5:5, “the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, so that they could not make them cease till a report could go to Darius”
  • Ezra 6:22, “for the Lord made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God”

Numerous other verses and passages – such as 1:4-8, 4:24, 6:8-10, 7:6-10, 7:27-28, 8:18-31, 9:9 – state or imply God’s involvement in a variety of ways, such as in the circumstances, the preparation, the call, the timing, the plans, the processes, the provision, their protection, the results, and the responses. These verses reveal that God’s sovereignty is evident from start to finish, throughout all of the events and activities that were taking place. They also reveal that God’s sovereignty occurs both externally – directing outside circumstances, people, and activity – and internally – moving in the hearts of people, including me.

Why is that important for you in your leadership? It matters because it offers you a confidence, one that exists outside of any present events or circumstances, that God has an intentional plan and purpose, and that His plan can be trusted. If the direct references to God’s involvement were removed from the book of Ezra, it would read like a great story with amazing coincidences that seem to work in favor of the Israelites, and reflect excellent leadership by Ezra. But, like what happens in the “The Wizard of Oz,” the curtain is pulled back so that we can see behind the scenes, providing us with a view of God’s supernatural involvement on so many levels. Because we believe the Bible and know that God is God, we are not surprised to see this, and yet we can easily fail to realize that God is just as involved in our stories!

Several years ago, I became convinced that a significant program change needed to be implemented in an organization in which I was a leader. I did the research to confirm the need for the change, and then did more research on how to introduce the change. I prepared diligently for the big announcement, but then, at the midnight hour – literally – I was stopped from moving forward by the board of directors. I was frustrated and it threw me off balance, and I am afraid that I responded without a view of God’s sovereign purpose. As time passed, and the program changed was implemented a year later, I was able to see that God had a plan that also involved timing, and that He used people and events to carry out that timing. Of course His plan was better than mine, and if I had been alert enough to see that when it happened, it would have save me some anxiety and helped me to respond better.

So as a leader, it is essential that you understand and remember that God has a plan and purpose that can be trusted, whether or not we can visibly see His hand in it. Thankfully, that plan is not contingent upon or predicated by my perfection, as we can see in the last couple of chapters of Ezra, which describe the repentance and spiritual restoration of the people after the rebuilding and return. God had carried out his plan even before all the wrongs had been righted. The same is true for us. He doesn’t wait until you are perfect before choosing you as a leader or carrying out His plan. He has a purpose, and you get to be part of it. So, whether your current circumstances are challenging or fantastic, continue to trust that God has plan and rest in that knowledge.

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Quote Your Dad

“Before you can say something, first you have to have something to say.”

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Podcast, Season 2, Episode 1: Lessons On Leadership From the Life and Times of Ezra (part 1)

In my thirty years of life and experience in leadership roles in Christian organizations, there are leadership lessons that I learned (and continue to learn) from the life of ministry to which God called me.  Over that time, He taught me lessons based on stories, principles, and truths from the Bible that have been translated into personal application.  This particular series of articles focuses on a set of those lessons drawn from the book of Ezra in the Old Testament, the same lessons that I have published in my latest book. This week, in part 1, we build on Monday’s website article and introduce the series titled “Lessons On Leadership From the Life and Times of Ezra.” This is the transcript of the podcast.

The series will have 14 articles and episodes that begin with an introduction – that’s today – followed by 12 different lessons on leadership from the life and times of Ezra – and all of these lessons are representative of the big ideas in each chapter of my book, Leadership Ezra – with a final episode to wrap it all up. Over that time, we will talk about things like finding the balance between God’s sovereignty and my responsibility, understanding team leadership, the value of celebrations, the process of strategic planning, and several other valuable leadership principles. Taken together, they are a set of ideas that reflect leadership based on scriptural truths and they can help you not just be a better leader but a more biblical one.

Let me take you back to where this all began, when my answer to a question from my dad was, “I think I want to write books.” Years, ago, even before I started my career in Christian education, I had completed my seminary master’s degree in marriage, family, and personal counseling and had started working in my first counseling job.  However, I was still wrestling with my future goals and where I ultimately wanted to be in my life. When I thought about what my future might look like, writing books sounded like a worthy goal. I admired people who could write books that inspired, helped, shaped, or guided others, and although I don’t think I realized it then, I wanted to emulate my dad by sharing wisdom with people that would make a positive impact.  So, when my dad asked me what I thought I wanted to be doing in ten years, that was my answer.  “I think I want to write books.”  He reflected quietly for a moment and then with his usual wisdom, said to me, “Jeff, before you can say something, first you have to have something to say.”

Now, thirty years of life and experience later, it seems God has given me some things to say.  Or, at the very least, something to say for my own benefit, lessons that I have learned and continue to learn from the life of ministry to which God called me over that span of time and that I can put down on paper.  In particular, God has taught me lessons based on stories, principles, and truths from the Bible that have been translated into personal application.  I am a connect-the-dots kind of person; therefore, one of the ways God has taught and grown me is by connecting the dots between scriptural truth and life application.   

That’s the goal, therefore, of both the book, Leadership Ezra, and this series of articles:  to connect the dots between Scriptural truth and life application, specifically within the realm of leadership, using a story in the Bible to do so.  In this case, the story is the story contained in the book of Ezra, a book comprised of two different journeys of return for the people of God.  The experiences in this book demonstrate and illustrate lessons that can then be applied to our practice of leadership today.  

One of the most important things I pointed out in my book was that Ezra had developed an intimate, personal relationship with God, and because of that personal and deep relationship, he didn’t simply learn to know who God was and is; he also came to understand God’s nature and heart. He developed a relationship that enabled him to trust in God even in uncertainty and difficulty. It was from this relationship that he was, therefore, able to move and act with confidence in God’s sovereign plan and that he was able to see God’s hand and His purpose in the events that occurred.

In our leadership development, we need to develop that same kind of relationship and intimacy with God; and to do that, we absolutely must study Scripture. We need regular time with God, in prayer and in His Word. This must be central and foundational to what we do, to how we live, and to our call or purpose from Him. Doing this first is what makes us knowledgeable and gives us the capability to lead, because we will learn to see people and circumstances from God’s perspective, shaping how we think and act. It is from this growth of knowledge and relationship with God that we are then able to “walk the talk,” modeling and practicing what we know and living authentic, genuine lives that inspire trust and result in effective leadership.

In the next few weeks, we will be diving deeper into principles and practices that connect biblical truth with wisdom and applying it to the practice of leadership. The purpose is to connect faith, wisdom, and leadership in a way that would help you grow in your leadership and make an impact. So, whether you are new to leadership, struggling in your leadership, or simply want to learn more and grow in your leadership, the goal is to help you lead like Ezra, which is to know God deeply, live by His Word, and apply that wisdom in your leadership of others.

 The lessons we will discuss over these episodes are some of the pivotal lessons on leadership that can be drawn from Ezra’s story, along with understanding our purpose and responsibility in the context of God’s sovereignty, and understanding the importance of the connection between what we believe and know with how we live and act. These are just a little taste of the lessons on leadership that I think we can draw out, and over the next few weeks, we are going to walk through these – and other – lessons in this series of articles that capture the ideas I talk about in my book, Leadership Ezra (available on Amazon). Order a copy to follow along with this series and learn valuable insights from Ezra that can help you in your leadership role! But even before that: first, open your Bible and read the book of Ezra from start to finish. You might be surprised at what God teaches you from your own reading of His Word!

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Leadership Ezra: Who’s in Charge Here? (Part 1, Introduction)

In thirty years of life and experience in leadership roles in Christian organizations, there are lessons that I learned (and continue to learn) from the life of ministry to which God called me.  Over that time, He taught me lessons based on stories, principles, and truths from the Bible that have been translated into personal application.  This series of articles focuses on a set of those lessons drawn from the book of Ezra in the Old Testament (and then published in my latest book), and this week, in part 1, we introduce the series.

One of the things I most love to do is to connect the dots between Scriptural truth and life application. More specifically, I love to do this within the realm of leadership. And that’s how I ended up seeing some great lessons on leadership from a story in the Bible. In this case, it was the story in the book of Ezra, a book comprised of two different journeys of return for the people of God.  

I “discovered” these lessons when I randomly decided to do a personal Bible study on the book. I had been reading in the Old Testament and came across the first verse of Ezra 1, and figured out that it was connected to Jeremiah 29:10-11. That piqued my interest, so I decided I wanted to start reading through the book as a Bible study and asked the Lord to teach me from it. I started writing down my thoughts and responses to the story I was reading and began to recognize valuable lessons that directly impacted my leadership role at that time and place. By the time I finished the study, I was amazed at how much God had taught me about leadership from this unexpected book.

One of the most important lessons I observed was that Ezra had developed an intimate, personal relationship with God. Because of that personal and deep relationship, he didn’t simply learn to know who God was and is; he also came to understand God’s nature and heart. He had developed a relationship that enabled him to trust in God even in uncertainty and difficulty. It was from this relationship that he was, therefore, able to move and act with confidence in God’s sovereign plan and that he was able to see God’s hand and His purpose in the events that occurred.

I also learned that, like Ezra, in our leadership development we absolutely must study Scripture, growing in intimacy with God. We need regular time with God, in prayer and in His Word. This must be central and foundational to what we do, to how we live, and to our call or purpose from Him. Doing this first is what makes us knowledgeable and gives us the capability to lead, because we will learn to see people and circumstances from God’s perspective, shaping how we think and act. It is from this growth of knowledge and relationship with God that we are able to “walk the talk,” modeling and practicing what we know and living authentic, genuine lives that inspire trust and result in effective leadership.

These are some of the pivotal lessons on leadership that can be drawn from Ezra’s story, along with understanding our purpose and responsibility in the context of God’s sovereignty and understanding the importance of the connection between what we believe and know with how we live and act. They are just a little taste of the lessons on leadership that I think we can draw out, and over the next few weeks, we are going to walk through these – and other – lessons in a series of articles that capture the ideas I talk about in my new book, Leadership Ezra (available on Amazon). Order a copy to follow along with this series, and learn valuable insights from Ezra that can help you in your leadership role!

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Quote Your Dad

“You will never regret living for God.” Jack McMaster

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Leadership Ezra: Connecting faith, wisdom, and leadership to grow your impact

I am a connect-the-dots kind of person. Therefore, one of the ways God has taught and grown me is by helping me connect the dots between scriptural truth and life application.  It is from that perspective that I initially launched this website and its accompanying resources a little less than a year ago. The purpose was to connect faith, wisdom, and leadership in a way that would help other followers of Jesus grow in their leadership and make an impact. That original dream of an idea turned into three things: the self-publication of a book on Amazon (Leadership Ezra), the creation of the Leadership Ezra website, and the initiation of a corresponding podcast. The overarching theme became “Faith. Wisdom. Leadership.: Connecting biblical truth with wisdom for leadership.” Therefore, that is the basis of these “Leadership Ezra” resources – a book, a website, and a podcast – that are now available to help you grow in leadership from a biblical foundation.  

The book, Leadership Ezra (order your copy on Amazon), is all about connecting the dots between Scriptural truth and life application, specifically within the realm of leadership, using a story in the Bible to do so.  In this case, the story is actually the story contained in the book of Ezra, a book comprised of two different journeys of return for the people of God.  The experiences in this book demonstrate and illustrate lessons that can then be applied to your practice of leadership today.

The website, www.LeadershipEzra.com, is intended to be a resource to help leaders with this same connection, again providing principles and practices that connect biblical truth with wisdom and applying it to the practice of leadership. If you are new to leadership, if you are struggling in your leadership, or if you simply want to learn more and grow in your leadership, here you will find counsel and insight to help you be more equipped to lead and to do it in a godly way.  The goal is to help you lead like Ezra:  know God deeply, live by His Word, and apply that wisdom in your leadership of others.

The podcast, also called “Leadership Ezra” and available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, is likewise all about connecting biblical truth with wisdom for the practice of leadership.  These are short 5-10 minute episodes that share an illustration and provide some explanation and application of topics from the website. The episodes are helpful handles to understand and remember key ideas.

These three resources work together to connect three dots: “Faith…Wisdom…Leadership.” Aimed at Christians in leadership, including those who are leading in Christian schools and ministries, my purpose is to connect these dots so that I can help people lead well. So if you have found any of those to be good for your leadership, would you tell at least three other people? With your help, I believe that God can use these resources to better equip leaders who will make an impact for His Kingdom.

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Year 1 In Review

A little less than a year ago, I embarked on a new (scary) journey. For the needs of my family, I had stepped away from 30 years of ministry in Christian education, with 24 of those years as a principal or superintendent/head of school. I wasn’t retiring, but my personal family circumstances necessitated making a change so that I could be at home every day. So, I stepped down from my most recent position at the place where I had served for 9 years as the Head of School to start a new journey of using my experience and abilities to serve God and develop people. And that led to this venture at www.LeadershipEzra.com. What made it scary was that I was starting something completely new in my life, while still needing to provide for my family, with no idea of what the outcome would be. God was gracious in providing some additional work along the way to teach an online graduate course on leadership and an undergraduate online course on education, and to mentor doctoral students in their dissertation and research project work. My real desire, though, is that He will use Leadership Ezra in a much greater way to grow others in their leadership.

The initial idea came about out of a lot of prayer, and in that process, what the Lord made clear to me was that I needed to connect faith, wisdom, and leadership in a way that would help other followers of Jesus grow in their leadership and make an impact. That original dream of an idea turned into three things: the self-publication of a book on Amazon (Leadership Ezra), the creation of the Leadership Ezra website, and the initiation of a corresponding podcast. The overarching theme became “Faith. Wisdom. Leadership.: Connecting biblical truth with wisdom for leadership.” As an added bonus, I included a weekly feature on the website called “Quote Your Dad,” where I simply shared wisdom-filled quotes that I would often hear from my dad.

The book was something that had been on my mind and heart for a long time, and it came first in the timing of everything. Immediately after it was published on Amazon, I launched the website (with a lot of help from a friend who is a website wizard). Then, I did a little online research into how to produce a podcast, and a few months after the website was up and running, I started releasing a short weekly podcast episode that would match the website article that had been published at the beginning of the week. By the end of 2023, everything was beginning to settle into a rhythm.

For the first few months, the website articles – and the podcast episodes, once they had started – had been stand-alone articles that highlighted an important leadership principle or lesson that I had learned over the years. But by the beginning of 2024, I was starting to feel a little more comfortable with the routine of what I was doing, and began developing series of related articles and ideas. The first series, “Without Compromise,” was a look at lessons learned from the life of Daniel, and specifically at how he managed his training and equipping to become a leader in the king’s government, but without compromising his faith or his character in any way. The second series, “Complementary Contradictions,” was a look at seemingly contradictory leadership ideas that, in fact, can and should work together to help you become a better leader.

So now, I am heading into year two. What’s in store for the next year is in God’s hands, but my current plan is the continuation of different series, and prayers for opportunities to reach more people. The next series will be connected to the original idea of the book and the website and will walk through the important lessons that are talked about in more detail in Leadership Ezra. That will be followed by a series called “Be a Better Leader,” which will focus on attributes of effective leadership. Beyond that, what I would hope for is that God would bless this work and put it in front of more people who would benefit from what He has given me to share. So, if you have read the book, followed the website, or listened to the podcast, and have found any of those to be good for your leadership, would you tell at least three other people? With your help, I believe that God can use these resources to better equip leaders who will make an impact for His Kingdom.

Thank you for following and listening! On to the next year!

God Bless,

Jeff McMaster

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Quote Your Dad

“The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”

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Podcast Episode 41 (part 14): Pairs in Review

This week’s episode builds on Monday’s article, part fourteen in the series titled “Complementary Contradictions.” Here is the transcript of the podcast.

Sometimes, you get conflicting words of advice, one which is good and the other which is not, and it requires discernment to determine which is the right advice to follow. But often, these seeming contradictions are, in reality, complementary and, when used appropriately and in the right way, can work together to help you make better decisions. In this series of articles and podcast episodes, we are looking at different leadership ideas or principles that seem to contradict, are opposite sides of the same coin, or at least differ from each other, and we are pairing them up to see how they actually complement each other to make you a better leader

When we started this series, I began by pointing out that there are often two different, or even opposing, approaches to leadership that both have elements of truth. For example, when working with a team, it is important to have a variety of strengths within the team that work together well while filling in gaps. But on the other hand, sometimes the team is not there (or the work you are doing is by yourself), and you don’t have that luxury, so you have to become competent at the things that are more difficult for you to do so that you can fill in your own gaps. Or, on the one hand, It is important for you to focus on your own leadership strengths so that they become even better, because a lack of exercise in those areas will lead to diminished strength. But on the other hand, at the same time, you still need to identify the things that are challenging for you, or are not in your wheelhouse, or not things you enjoy, and work to strengthen those to a greater level of ability so that you can do them when necessary. Failing to do that will likely cause important things to be neglected, which will have consequences.

These serve as examples of the point we were making in this series, that there are leadership principles and practices that may seem to be contradictory to each other but which are actually both true, depending on the need or the circumstance. So before you choose one or the other, perhaps you should first think about the valuable lessons found in both and figure out how to apply them cooperatively. 

Now coming back full circle, that’s what we did in the last few weeks. Specifically, we identified and discussed six sets of complementary contradictions as pairs of principles that play well together, with the purpose of helping you become a better leader by incorporating both pieces of advice, not just one or the other.

The first pair that we looked at was that you tend to see what you are looking for, but not see what you are not looking for.  What that means is that it is our tendency to see what we are looking for, and then to only see what reinforces the belief that has been formed by what we saw, which leads to forming perceptions that can color our view. To change those perceptions requires intentional work. Check yourself, to make sure that you are seeing things correctly and that you not letting a single experience, misinformation, or incomplete information become the filter through which you are viewing everything. At the same time, it’s fairly easy to miss things that you are not looking for. You need to recognize that tendency and then remove any expectations of what you think you might see. After that, you can work at zooming out and zooming in (which was the second pair of principles we discussed – to step back and take a wide-angle look at everything followed by looking at more specific details, and finally you can try to look through different eyes, by trying to see through the approach or perspective of other people or other angles.

The second pair we looked at was the matched skills of zooming out and zooming in, and we compared it seeing both the forest and the trees. A good leader needs to be able to see the whole forest, or the big picture. Like puzzle pieces, each piece of the context, the environment, the organization, or the situation fits into a larger context, and you can best see how it fits when viewing the whole picture. In order to see the whole picture, you, as a leader, must be able to get on the balcony, zoom out, and get above the forest to be able to see clearly. Being able to do this will keep you from getting lost among the trees, and will provide the perspective necessary to implement changes and adjustments. Therefore, at the same time, you need to be able to get in among the trees and see how they are connected. You will be more effective if you can learn to connect the dots.  See the trees, find the connections, and use those connections to make decisions that will result in positive changes and improvements, decisions that will move you and the organization forward. 

The third pair we looked at was what happens when a plan comes together, but then what to do when a plan falls apart. For this pair, we used the analogy of a road map to illustrate the importance of a strategic plan. We established the importance of having an intentional and methodical process for assessing where you are, determining where you need to be, and drawing the map that shows how you will get there. The map is your plan, and therefore it is crucial for getting from here to there without getting lost. So when you are stepping into a new situation, facing a need for change and growth, have carried out or completed the last strategic plan, or have simply stagnated . . . it’s time for a plan to come together. However, sometimes (to continue the road trip map analogy), the car breaks down, there is road construction and detours, or the rest stop is closed. Everything you planned out starts to fall apart, and you have to figure out what to do. You may have had the best of intentions, but it just doesn’t work out the way you wanted it to. Now it’s time to accept the circumstances and move forward and make adjustments and corrections, or start over, or throw it all out and move on to something else. Regardless of what you decide, it’s time to do something different.

That leads to the fourth pair, where I said to do what works . . . until it doesn’t, and then do something different. First, be intentional about doing what works (which is generally evident in the results). Don’t be afraid of allowing the people who would know best to have input, and remember to periodically assess and analyze because we do need to make sure that what we are doing still works. But don’t change for the sake of change when what you have is working. However, if what you have is not working, don’t keep doing it. Life throws curve balls, and much of what happens around us and to us is unpredictable. Try as we might to prevent it or avoid it, change happens, and if we are not willing and able to have a degree of flexibility, we will be frustrated, disappointed, and defeated. Therefore, to be an effective leader, you must be able to be flexible, willing to give up control (specifically, over those things that you can’t control), and willing to do something different with a positive (not a defeated) attitude, and willing to learn to become more creative.

With the fifth pair, I talked about being a teacher, but first being teachable. To be an effective teacher, you must care, tell, show, and respond. These are all behaviors that can and should characterize you as an effective leader. Perhaps you have already been doing this and didn’t realize that in doing so, you have been a teacher. Perhaps you need to begin to do them. Regardless, remember that good teachers help students to achieve, even beyond what they believed was possible, and so it makes sense that if you can be a leader who teaches, the people you lead will grow, and you will benefit. But first, you must be teachable.  “Teachability” – or, the ability to be teachable – is essential to your growth as a leader. Therefore, humble yourself, study, practice self-reflection, and listen to feedback; all of these practices will help you to learn, but they must be willingly embraced. If you will do so, you will become a more effective – and respected – leader (and teacher), all because you made yourself teachable.

With the sixth and final pair, I focused on the two sides of communication, giving and receiving information, when I said to first close your mouth and use your ears, then to open your mouth and use your words. It is easy for a leader to assume that leadership means taking charge and giving direction. However, I believe that these principles from Scripture give us a very different picture: leadership should be characterized by listening. Ask questions. Make it safe for people to share. Validate. Make sure you get the whole story before you react. Close your mouth, open your ears, and listen. But then we need to talk as well as we listen. To do that, we must be intentional about what and how we communicate, to ensure that our words are meeting the needs of our listeners. Make sure that we are communicating information that our followers need to hear, that we are doing it often and accurately, and that we are using stories for the context. Then, when that happens, our words will fill in the page in front of them with the information that will be best for their growth and their performance. Be quick to listen, but then be careful to use your words well.

At the outset of the series, the goal in front of us was to see how these seeming contradictions are, in reality, complementary and can play well together so that you can use them to become a better leader. There are many situations you will face, many dilemmas to resolve, many choices to make, and many circumstances to address. Over the last 14 weeks, we’ve looked carefully at these six pairs so that we can learn lessons about how to lead well. The next step is up to you. Learn how to handle the challenges of leadership even better by putting these ideas together in your decision-making process. Applying these complimentary contradictions in practice will make you a better leader.

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Complementary Contradictions (part 14): Pairs in Review

Sometimes, you get conflicting words of advice, one which is good and the other which is not, and it requires discernment to determine which is the right advice to follow. But often, these seeming contradictions are, in reality, complementary and, when used appropriately and in the right way, can work together to help you make better decisions. In this series of articles and podcast episodes, we are looking at different leadership ideas or principles that seem to contradict, are opposite sides of a coin, or at least differ from each other and pairing them up to see how they actually complement each other to make you a better leader. Over the last 14 weeks, we have looked at 6 different pairs of ideas, and today we are going go back and do a quick review of them all.

Pair #1 – You see what you’re looking for, and you don’t see what you’re not looking for

The point we made with this pair was that, whether we realize it or not, we all develop perceptions of how we need to experience the world around us. Those perceptions tend to be based on either past experience, future expectation, or a combination of both. We either have an experience – positive or negative, real or imagined – or we have a specific expectation that we are anticipating, and we then form a perception based on which we look for a certain outcome, and only see the things that confirm that outcome. Consciously or not, we decide what we are looking for, and only see what affirms or confirms what we expect to see.

At the same time, and although we believe we notice everything (especially if we are looking) we tend to miss a lot of what is right in front of us, primarily because we are not looking for that specific thing in that specific way. When I am looking to see or find something, without realizing it, I am expecting it to look a certain way or be in a certain place, so I then overlook it when it is not in that place, or it looks different than what I remember or expect. Because our tendency is to only see what we are looking for, it takes a conscious effort to see things that we are not looking for.

Pair #2 – Zoom out and see the forest, and zoom in and see the trees

You have heard the saying, “You can’t see the forest for the trees,” and that was our primary metaphor for these contradictory, complementary ideas; contradictory in that you cannot do both things at the same time – see the forest AND see the trees – and complimentary in that you have to go back and forth – look at the forest, then at the trees, and back to the forest – repeatedly in order to successfully navigate where you are going and what you are doing.

The point we made with this pair was first about taking the time to see and understand the big picture. In successful leadership, you need to be able to get above the clouds and see the whole picture before you can drop back down to ground level and begin the process of directing, guiding, leading, and moving. If you don’t zoom out first, you won’t know where you are, you won’t know where you’re going, and you will end up someplace else. You can’t see the forest and the trees at the same time, so start by first zooming out to see the whole picture. But then, you need to zoom in to connect the dots, and identify and manage the details. And then make it a cyclical pattern in your leadership.

Pair #3 – When a plan comes together, and when a plan falls apart

With this pair, we applied the analogy of using a map for a road trip to show the importance of having an intentional and methodical process for assessing where you are, determining where you need to be, and drawing the map that shows how you will get there. The map is your plan, and therefore it is crucial for getting from here to there without getting lost. If you do it well, you will experience the joy of arriving at the destination that you have been eagerly anticipating. However, sometimes (to continue the road trip map analogy), the car breaks down, there is road construction and detours, or the rest stop is closed. Everything you planned out starts to fall apart, and you have to figure out what to do. You may have had the best of intentions, but it just doesn’t work out the way you wanted it to.

When that happens, what is most often going to be the best answer is to decide to accept reality and learn from it. At that point, the best thing you can do . . . is to do things differently, or start again, or make adjustments and corrections, or even throw it all out and move on to something else. Regardless of what happened, your plans fell apart. Sometimes the best of intentions come to naught, and all you can do is accept the circumstances and move forward.

Pair #4 – Do what works, or do something different

We began this pair by talking about the importance of figuring out what works, starting to do it, and continuing to do it. It’s been said that there is no need to reinvent the wheel, and what that means for you as a leader is that you don’t need to create a new plan and a new way of doing something every time you have to repeat the task or program. You don’t need to change something just for the sake of change, or because you think you know better even though you don’t have any data to support your idea. You may want to tweak the current strategy or tool to improve it, but you don’t need to start from scratch. You find what works and do it repeatedly . . . until you find that it doesn’t work.

If what you are doing didn’t work, is no longer working, or has never worked, it’s ok to scrap it and do something different. Don’t exercise insanity. Rather, step back onto the balcony to reassess the big picture, then zoom back in to make changes (the second pair of principles we talked about above). Then, make changes or start over. The bottom line is that you need to do what works, so if something is working, don’t change it (but make sure you evaluate it periodically to ensure that it is continuing to work the way that it should). However if, or when, it is not working, the best answer may simply be . . . do something different.

Pair #5 – Become a teacher, but first be teachable

This pair of principles focused on teaching, beginning with the understanding that you are a teacher. What I said was that you are already a teacher, even if you didn’t realize it, because you are modeling with your life, your actions, and your words, and others are learning from what they see you do and hear you say. I encouraged you, therefore, to be consciously intentional about those things. Own the fact that you are a teacher to your followers and do it with purpose.

However, in order to truly be an effective teacher, you yourself must first be teachable, because that attribute is one of the defining characteristics of a great teacher. You are already a teacher. If you want to be a great one, then you need to want to be teachable just as much as you want to be a teacher. So, humble yourself, open yourself up to receiving feedback, and be willing to honestly self-evaluate. Then, take that feedback and self-reflection, and grow. 

Pair #6 – Close your mouth and use your ears, then open your mouth and use your words

With this pair of principles, we focused on the understanding that communication is a two-way street, involving both the sending and receiving of information (otherwise known as talking and listening). In my observation – and likely in yours – most people tend to do far more talking than listening. That’s why one half of this discussion is that one of the skills necessary for effective leadership (and for healthy relationships) is the ability to listen well. We need to be quicker to hear than to speak (James 1:19), and we need to be careful to hear the whole story (Proverbs 18:13). In other words, close your mouth, use your ears, and listen.

However, while this is definitely true, it does not mean that we can neglect the other side of that street – we also need to be good talkers. Good communication involves both talking and listening, and so even though we tend to do one (talking) to the neglect of the other (listening), we can’t ignore either one. Yes, listening is crucial to effective leadership, but so is the other side of the communication pathway – talking. We need to do them both well. Put effort into what you say, how you say it, and why you say it. Choose your words with purpose, and express them strategically and carefully. 

At the outset, the goal in front of us was to see how these seeming contradictions are, in reality, complementary and can play well together so that you can use them to become a better leader. There are many situations you will face, many dilemmas to resolve, many choices to make, and many circumstances to address. Over the last 14 weeks, we’ve looked carefully at these six pairs so that we can learn lessons about how to lead well. The next step is up to you. Learn how to handle the challenges of leadership even better by putting these ideas together in your decision-making process. Applying these complimentary contradictions in practice will make you a better leader.

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