Take a look at leadership failures. Think of great leaders who have failed.
Image via Creative Commons
Without even thinking about leaders who have failed, a couple come to mind:
General Petraeus
President Bill Clinton
Tiger Woods
Tim Lambesis (Lead singer of As I Lay Dying
Jim Bakker
Those are but a few of the leaders who have seen their leadership destroyed or tarnished because they compromised in areas no leader should ever compromise. And I’m not naming any names to shame anyone. I’m bringing examples you probably know.
Once you begin to compromise in these areas, you’re on a very slippery slope that could wipe out your influence as a leader.
That’s why I want to look at the areas that are vital to maintaining great leadership.
Leaders, especially young leaders, should never compromise:
Faith: For me, faith is the bedrock of my leadership, and my life. Every decision I make is based on whether or not it aligns with my beliefs. If the decision fails to align with my faith, the decision gets nixed.
Faith plays such an important role in the life of a leader. Faith tells us where boundaries lie. Faith tells us where our hope should lie. Faith tells us where we need to be heading.
When we compromise in the area of faith, we begin to lose focus. Things become less clear. And it’s easier to get off track.
If matters of faith arise in your leadership, know where your beliefs lie. And stick to them.
You don’t have to compromise your faith. You can make decisions that reflect your faith and holds true to the faith you believe in.
Family: A majority of the leaders I listed in the above example failed in the area of family. So many leaders have been crushed with a moral failure because they compromised on the vows they made their families.
Infidelity. Murder-for-hire. Detachment
The failures in family all begin slowly and subtly. You decide to stay late at work one night, only it becomes a habit. You decide to close the door to your office when Sally approaches you. You decide you can’t take anymore and talk to someone who can take care of the problem.
It all sounds far-fetched. In reality you’re only a few bad decisions away from choosing this path.
Commit daily to loving your wife, to loving your children, to keeping the holy commitments you made so many years ago.
You don’t have to compromise your family. You can make the choice to hold them dear.
Health: Our days are so jammed packed with business and doing our work that we can easily forget to take care of our bodies. The very thing that will serve us well into old age.
We forget to go to the gym. We decide to eat poorly while on the road. We might even take health supplements that aren’t healthy.
It’s all in the name of leading, right? Wrong!
There are plenty of ways to stay fit while leading. Here’s a post I wrote on staying fit during a long work day.
You don’t have to compromise your health You can do the activities that will keep you healthy and strong.
If you don’t think compromising on these things will cause you to lose your effectiveness as a leader, let me introduce you to Tim Lambesis. Lambesis shared his story on how he fell from the beloved singer of As I Lay Dying to sitting in a prison cell during a recent AltPress interview. Reading this story made me realize how easily and how quickly one can fall in leadership when we give up on faith, family, and health (granted he had an unhealthy obsession with staying healthy rather than ignoring his health).
Let his story be an example. As we begin to step away from our core foundations, the road becomes rocky. The compromises become easier.
Make a commitment you won’t walk in the paths of these leaders who have compromised. Make a commitment to stand strong to your faith. Make a commitment to always love your family. Make a commitment to stay healthy.
Question: What is one area in your leadership you won’t compromise in? Share this area in the comment section below.
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.