Volume XXII, Number 6 (Issue 1062) February 5, 2024
To Be, Or Not to Be…
Consistent? For today at least, that is the question.
Your initial thought is to say Hell yes, consistency is important. But not so fast.
For the past two weeks I have chosen to focus our attention on peoples’ unique strengths and aptitudes and the benefits that arise when we put people in positions that permit them to use those gifts to the best of their ability. That slotting of people and tailoring of roles to better leverage those innate abilities is one of the more important jobs of those in leadership. It only makes sense we enable people to spend their days playing to their strengths.
Shifting ever so slightly from this one of a leader’s many jobs to the qualities effective leaders seem to demonstrate, we can state people, organizations, and society are best served by those who are transparent (they own their mistakes), humble, caring, respectful, empathetic, engaged, committed, consistent while also being flexible (open to new ideas and other’s point of view), passionate, responsive, principled, aware of the example they set, and in possession of a servant’s heart and mentality.
I know I left a few qualities out of that list, but it is already a run-on sentence. On top of that, one of the rules of grammar I was taught and try to observe is that a single sentence does not a paragraph make. That said, feel free to suggest other qualities you believe I omitted or overlooked.
The point of the list is that effective leaders bring much to the table. Yet they are also human. Things like fear, along with pressure from within and without, can cause the best among us to fall short of our own and others’ expectations. When that happens, it is our job to forgive them when they miss the mark – provided they do not keep repeating the same mistake.
But I opened today’s missive with a reference to consistency. I brought it up again in my list of desirable qualities. I raised the point because there are times when a leader and their people are well-served when a leader is inconsistent. That is, when leaders are willing to meet each of us where we are in the moment. In short, the best leaders evidence an element of chameleon-like qualities rather than acting as if one size fits all. In doing so, they enable each of us to flourish.
So, let me ask you: when you find yourself being thrust into a leadership role, how good are you at relating to and connecting with those around you?
Soli Deo Gloria
“For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might gain all the more. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to gain Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might gain those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not outside God’s law but am within Christ’s law) so that I might gain those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, so that I might gain the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I might become a partner in it.” 1 Corinthians 9:19-23
J. Keith Hughey
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E-mail: keith@jkeithhughey.com
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