My apologies to so many books on change and there on some good ones. “Switch” by Chip Heath is one. “Who Moved My Cheese” is a classic title. They’re both must reads for any leader, but I found that one of the fastest things you can change in any situation is you. This is a huge leadership principle. In a day where everybody assigns the blame of failure or inadequacy to others first, consider another source…you.
Please understand, this is not a blogpost piling guilt on you and me. Not at all. God has consigned incredible value to every human. Psalm 139:14 says “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” But the Bible is also clear, we’re all broken. We all fall short of God’s standard. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”Romans 3:23. That’s why each one of us needs Jesus Christ to take our sin and to give us new life.
But when it comes to leadership principles, here’s what I know about you. Even if you want to change somebody else, or change the circumstances you’re in, the fastest path to change is to change yourself. That may mean how you see things, how you show up, or how you choose to do things.
Instead of blaming others, consider asking yourself these questions:
- What motivates me to be a good leader?
- Am I an example to others?
- Where can I improve?