Erratic Leaders Produce Tentative Followers!
I have had the opportunity to work with all kinds of leaders. Whether working in the supermarket, the oil fields, or the ministry, I had quite a few erratic leaders. I noticed something: unstable leaders produce tentative followers.
I started under my father’s leadership. He was an entrepreneurial kind of guy, and he launched many things. He was a man’s man but also a moody leader. Pretty soon, you got to the point where you told everyone, “Don’t tic the old guy off.” And then you would find ways to get around him.
Erratic leaders seemingly go whichever way the wind blows that day. If you are following an erratic leader, it is like sailing a sailboat. The determination of how well sailing goes today depends on the wind and the way it is blowing. It is so sad to work for an erratic leader. Because erratic leaders are poor leaders, they seemingly have no control over their feelings and allow their moods to set the tone for the day.
You will lose some of your best employees because of your unpredictable leadership.
The first king of Israel was King Saul. He was an erratic leader driven by an evil spirit. You remember the story: David came to the palace because of his talent for playing a musical instrument. The Bible said that when David played his instrument, it would change the mood of King Saul. Maybe some of you Moody Leaders need to listen to good music before you show up and mess up your culture. Your erratic behavior is like showing up to a beautiful breakfast and finding hair on one of your eggs.
Let me tell you some breaking news. You are not a good leader. You are an erratic leader.
“When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal.” —James 3:3
A five-pound bridle can control a 600-pound horse. My dear friend, you have to get control of your emotions. You can have a great organization, be a great motivational speaker, and even be a star athlete, but unbeknownst to you, people are talking about you behind your back.
You owe it to the organization, and you owe it to yourself and your family to get your stuff together. King Saul had a son named Jonathan. He recognized that his father’s erratic behavior would soon ruin his kingdom. He partnered with David, who also realized they were following an erratic leader, and they had decided that it was just a matter of time before Israel needed new leadership. Had Jonathan not been killed in battle, he would have been the vice president when David became president. People constantly daydream about the day the erratic leader will no longer be in charge. They are tired of that leader.
What can we do to make you a better leader? Maybe you need to take a happy vitamin. Perhaps you must find out if something is chemically off in your body. Why don’t you see a good counselor and recognize this is a severe problem? Maybe you were one of those cranky babies and brought it into adulthood. Why don’t you ask those near you at work and home, “Am I an erratic person?”
That seems to be a very inexpensive way to improve your leadership and increase your influence. It’s time for a checkup from the neck up. Who is going to help you with that? God forbid that your erratic behavior becomes contagious and permeates the organization. You may not know this, but your children and others may be catching your mind virus. Have you ever watched someone yawn, and others started yawning too? That’s what’s happening, and you may not even know it.
One thing is sure: erratic leaders do not contribute to a healthy culture. Their creativity has gone unnoticed because everyone around them has become the frozen chosen who are afraid to speak out because of their mood.
This is such a tragedy in church work. Godly people do not know what to do when they have an erratic leader, so they do what they should not do: they marshal their forces to oust the leader. Unfortunately, this hardly turns out well. Who can unseat a leader that God has set up to lead us? I have been in that situation, and my suggestion would be to pray and hold your tongue. And in doing so, you are forging some steel in your spine and developing your character.
Why is it that some people can be in very dire circumstances and remain joyful? I have seen people in terrible physical conditions, but somehow they managed to get control of their emotions, and they are a joy to be around.
As I said earlier, it may be time for you to start taking some medicine. But trust me, that’s only going to last for a while. Why don’t you go to God and ask Him to do a miracle with your emotions? People do want to follow you; everyone is looking for good leadership, but I promise you, people do not want to follow those who have no mastery over their feelings.
I’ll leave this question with you. So, what are you going to do? You have to come up with ways to deal with this. If you do not grow in this area, pretty soon, you will no longer be leading. My friend Sam Chand says, “If you don’t grow, you've got to go.”
It may be moving time. I’m not talking about calling the moving company just yet. Still, I want you to consider what is causing your erratic behavior and call the moving company based on your emotions. You won't change your behavior if you don’t remove the cause. You have to deal with yourself, or someone else will do it.
Thank you for reading. Please forward this to a friend or two. :-)