A recent rant…oh, which one
should I choose? I could use the one about Microsoft word not working properly
and making it so I couldn’t get my blog to post yesterday…But that doesn’t seem
very worthwhile.
One that has really been irritating me lately has to do with people in leadership. It seems like no one who is in leadership knows how to be a leader. From being the head of an organization to being an admin on a website, people who becomes leaders often seem to allow that leadership to go to their heads, and end up thinking that they are far above those people they lead.
It’s funny, because the thing that really triggered it this past week was an admin on a facebook page. I’d joined it because it was supposed to be a community of horse people where people could interact with others who shared their interest, and where they wouldn’t be scolded or insulted. Recently though, one of the admins started to really be nasty. New people would join the group and the rules weren’t always followed just right. The main was being that people could post items for sale, but no ISO posts were allowed. Most people seemed to think that it was a strange rule, but rules don’t necessarily have to make sense on these things. Anyway, she began posting every couple of days in regards to these rule breakers. She called them all sorts of names in posts which were full of profanity, referring to how stupid these young people are. When others brought up how inappropriate her replies were, she used the excuse that she is bipolar and has several health issues that keep her inside during this weather and that makes her more irritable, though her responses were completely ok to her mind. After a couple of weeks of this, I simply left the group, tired of seeing posts of that nature.
If only it were that easy to get away from all terrible leaders. But it is seldom as easy as leaving a facebook group. And I have recently had more than my fair share of mental leaders. Leaders who assume, who think that know all about those with whom they work, and don’t bother getting to know their employees. Leaders who use excuses from family drama to insomnia to a headache for the reason that they come down hard on everyone they think are below them.
One of the hardest things about being a leader is not letting your personal garbage get in the way of leading. Leaders are not immune to dealing with crap in their lives. In fact, because of their positions, they often have much more stress, which brings about headaches, insomnia, depression, and the like. But you have the responsibility as a leader to not let that get in the way of leading, but instead, to find other ways to deal with the stress, and if that is not possible, you need to remove yourself from the leadership position. It happens far too much, especially in cases of Christian leadership that leaders continue on well beyond what they should, because they think that God can’t do His work without them. It can be just as detrimental to have a bad leader as it is to have no leader at all.
The commitment to being a leader means making sacrifice. It frequently means feeling lonely as you deal with things that you can’t let spill over onto those you lead. Too many people allow their feelings of superiority to give them a pass for the bad that they do to those they work with. They say, ‘oh, but look at this program I spearheaded. It’s not that big of a deal that I made this person miserable, or cut that person down, or made this person swear off of ministry altogether.’
The end does not always justify the means. As a leader, you’re definitely not going to make everyone happy all the time. But if you are often wounding those with whom you work, it’s time to step back. Especially if you are a Christian leader. Believe it or not, God can work things out without you.
P.S. If I was doing this rant out loud, it would be a lot harsher. I tend to mellow things as I write so as not to come across as a complete jerk (plus, I don't know if there are ever children reading this, and I would prefer to not corrupt young minds). Just remember that if this didn't read quite ranty (rantish?)enough.
One that has really been irritating me lately has to do with people in leadership. It seems like no one who is in leadership knows how to be a leader. From being the head of an organization to being an admin on a website, people who becomes leaders often seem to allow that leadership to go to their heads, and end up thinking that they are far above those people they lead.
It’s funny, because the thing that really triggered it this past week was an admin on a facebook page. I’d joined it because it was supposed to be a community of horse people where people could interact with others who shared their interest, and where they wouldn’t be scolded or insulted. Recently though, one of the admins started to really be nasty. New people would join the group and the rules weren’t always followed just right. The main was being that people could post items for sale, but no ISO posts were allowed. Most people seemed to think that it was a strange rule, but rules don’t necessarily have to make sense on these things. Anyway, she began posting every couple of days in regards to these rule breakers. She called them all sorts of names in posts which were full of profanity, referring to how stupid these young people are. When others brought up how inappropriate her replies were, she used the excuse that she is bipolar and has several health issues that keep her inside during this weather and that makes her more irritable, though her responses were completely ok to her mind. After a couple of weeks of this, I simply left the group, tired of seeing posts of that nature.
If only it were that easy to get away from all terrible leaders. But it is seldom as easy as leaving a facebook group. And I have recently had more than my fair share of mental leaders. Leaders who assume, who think that know all about those with whom they work, and don’t bother getting to know their employees. Leaders who use excuses from family drama to insomnia to a headache for the reason that they come down hard on everyone they think are below them.
One of the hardest things about being a leader is not letting your personal garbage get in the way of leading. Leaders are not immune to dealing with crap in their lives. In fact, because of their positions, they often have much more stress, which brings about headaches, insomnia, depression, and the like. But you have the responsibility as a leader to not let that get in the way of leading, but instead, to find other ways to deal with the stress, and if that is not possible, you need to remove yourself from the leadership position. It happens far too much, especially in cases of Christian leadership that leaders continue on well beyond what they should, because they think that God can’t do His work without them. It can be just as detrimental to have a bad leader as it is to have no leader at all.
The commitment to being a leader means making sacrifice. It frequently means feeling lonely as you deal with things that you can’t let spill over onto those you lead. Too many people allow their feelings of superiority to give them a pass for the bad that they do to those they work with. They say, ‘oh, but look at this program I spearheaded. It’s not that big of a deal that I made this person miserable, or cut that person down, or made this person swear off of ministry altogether.’
The end does not always justify the means. As a leader, you’re definitely not going to make everyone happy all the time. But if you are often wounding those with whom you work, it’s time to step back. Especially if you are a Christian leader. Believe it or not, God can work things out without you.
P.S. If I was doing this rant out loud, it would be a lot harsher. I tend to mellow things as I write so as not to come across as a complete jerk (plus, I don't know if there are ever children reading this, and I would prefer to not corrupt young minds). Just remember that if this didn't read quite ranty (rantish?)enough.
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