Jeremiah 37:15
They were angry with Jeremiah and had him beaten and imprisoned in the house of Jonathan the secretary, which they had made into a prison.
I marvel at men like Jeremiah and Elijah and Paul, men who were bold enough to look other men right in the eye and speak words that they knew they didn’t want to hear. They stood up and humbly and lovingly proclaimed God’s message no matter what the fallout would be.
They knew that sometimes leaders make people mad.
It’s that simple. Many of us are created with an innate desire to please others, but the fact is… Leaders make people mad.
There is absolutely no way around it. If you lead long enough, you will say something or decide something that offends someone. You’ll choose against their preference or you’ll run with someone else’s idea. It will happen. The trick is handling angry reactions with love, grace and humility.
All leaders make people mad from time to time. Great leaders build integrity into their lives and compassion into their decisions just for those moments.
Don’t wait to react when someone gets mad. Prepare for those moments before they happen. That preparation can be the difference between life and death for your ministry.
***
Check out the first two posts in this series on leadership…
September 23rd, 2011 at 10:33 am
Adam, this is great advice for all leaders. To the point, direct and the absolute truth! Thanks for the post.
September 26th, 2011 at 8:08 am
[...] Leaders Make People Mad LD_AddCustomAttr("AdOpt", "1"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Origin", "other"); LD_AddCustomAttr("theme_bg", "f9fbf9"); LD_AddCustomAttr("theme_border", "bebcad"); LD_AddCustomAttr("theme_text", "666666"); LD_AddCustomAttr("theme_link", "5f5f5f"); LD_AddCustomAttr("theme_url", "9f9f9f"); LD_AddCustomAttr("LangId", "1"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Autotag", "religion"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Tag", "devotion"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Tag", "ministry"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Tag", "adam-jones"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Tag", "church"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Tag", "lead"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Tag", "manage"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Tag", "reset"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Tag", "trust"); LD_AddSlot("LD_ROS_300-WEB"); LD_GetBids(); Share this:PrintFacebookTwitterEmailMoreDiggRedditStumbleUponLike this:LikeBe the first to like this post. [...]
September 27th, 2011 at 8:04 am
[...] Leaders Make People Mad [...]
September 30th, 2011 at 8:03 am
[...] Leaders Make People Mad [...]