Get Back to Work!

Now Get Back to Work Cowboy!“A godly man lived in the desert of Arizona (I think it was …). He had a house that backed up to wide open land of hills and plain. Every day he would go for a walk, alone, and pray. His walks were not short by any means as he never returned without having encountered his God. The people at his church noticed his godliness, grace and solid walk. It wasn’t long before he was asked to become a leader, and what an excellent, godly leader he was. Over time, though, he began to lose the joy of the task. The work was intense, and he kept reminding himself, “That the work was essential and needed to be done.” The situation worsened, and his peace and grace seemed as if they had fled. It came to him in prayer one night – “I never go for walks with my Father anymore!” That was it! The very thing that made him strong to work had been stolen by the work. He quit the next day and returned to his Father.”

That story relates well to yesterday’s article on keeping the creativity and passion that made us leaders in the first place, but it also raises a question,

“If all the godly people find out that the task overwhelms them and return to their roots with God, who is left to lead?”

There are readily three answers: 1) godly people who have learned how to balance, adapt, change and endure; 2) ungodly people who are no longer filled with passion but only doing a task on truths and passion from the past; or, 3) people who should never have been in leadership in the first place.

Leaders, pastors, teachers and managers are so tired today. The work ethic is very challenging in this era of American life. People wake up unhappy and leave their jobs with no place to go. People think they are doing you a favor by working for you rather than realizing it is a privilege to have a steady job and a greater privilege to be valuable. Endurance through tough times and times when it wasn’t going “your” way is a thing of the past. The endurance that used to characterize the basic worker is now seen as a character of a great worker.

Leaders, pastors, teachers and managers were probably screaming while reading the last article, “Don’t give anyone the freedom to walk away. At least don’t give them more freedom – how is the work going to get done if they walk away! Geez! We don’t have enough people to complete the task as it is. Now you are sending them back to find their roots! Great Doug – thanks for the article!” I know, but you know, as a leader, that if the leaders and followers around you have lost the very thing that enabled and strengthened them to lead, they need to go get it back. If they find it, they will be back and wiser. If they don’t find it, the work would have failed anyway.

The problem is not that people go back to find the passion, strength, reason, steadfastness and character that made them leaders and solid followers. The problem is that leaders today are focused on themselves and are missing a most basic truth: “The one who has endured the battle is the one who is stronger, experienced and who now knows how to find, keep and restore the passion while in the middle of trial and hard work.”

Take marriage. Everyone wants that marriage in the “Diamonds are Forever” commercial where she still really wants him and he is a really great guy who has never failed her. Now at their 25^th or 50^th anniversary they are walking through the park, the envy of everyone. Get over it! Every man has failed every woman, and every woman has had periods where she really didn’t want that man. The only difference with this couple is that they understood a simple truth – if you want to grow up, then you stay in the battle. You learn how to endure marriage when it is tough, not when you are running through fields of flowers. You learn how to love one another when it is tough, not when the lights are low. The greatest factor between success and failure in marriage is whether the couple stays together.

Trials will come. The tests are what purify our leadership and proof us for the next level of leadership. When you decide that you really want to grow up and be an even more prepared and accomplished leader who can serve and affect more people, you will be ready to keep your passion and strength while you serve. Leadership is not about you. When you leave the battle, you fail to provide what God prepared you to do. You cannot help change the situation when you are not there. You cannot help the organization and the people succeed. Realize that when you leave to find your passion again: 1) you abandon the godly leaders to do more work than they should; 2) you leave those who have replaced passion with systems and process to lead people; and, 3) you leave the work to the largest class of people who have time to lead – those who spend no time preparing themselves.

So if you have to leave to find your passion and strength again, then leave. But if you are ready for the next level – grow up and figure out how to find time for the walk with God while you allow people to follow you on the walk. It can be done.

It might be time to get back to work.