Avoiding Poor Decisions
Four hours ago this little adventure had seemed like such a good idea. There we were….four guys sitting around being bored when one of us hatched a “brilliant” plan for mutual amusement. “Hey, why don’t we go check out the bat cave we heard about yesterday!”
“That sounds awesome!”
“Let’s do it!”
“Great idea….I’m in!”
Now I found myself in a very dark cave in the Amazon jungle in search of bats that had been reputed to inhabit this particular hole in the earth. What had seemed so brilliant a few short hours ago, now had lost its luster. The “cool factor” of this little plan was wearing thin as I found myself walking through what was obviously the outhouse section of this particular bat settlement…...if you catch my drift. (A scratch-n-sniff sticker would be helpful at this point in the story!)
Have you ever found yourself in the middle of something you’ve talked yourself into only to realize that this was a very BAAADDD idea? Yes?…..Me too….more often than I care to admit. Lately I’ve been doing some thinking about why reasonably mature, capable leaders make silly and sometimes career altering decisions. Though I’m not sure if you want to take leadership advice from a guy with bat do-do on his shoes here are a few of my thoughts on why good leaders make poor decisions:
The older I get the more I acknowledge that rationalizing my way into distasteful (or harmful) situations is a direct result of not having a clear standard from which to start my decision making process. A leader without a clear and specifically articulated sense of purpose is an accident waiting to happen.
Many of my poor decisions over the years have come from making decisions based on how it would “appear” rather than making the right decision in spite of appearances.
A certain number of my poorest decisions have been made in seasons of tiredness. It would be fair to conclude that inadequate restoration in the life of a leader accounts for a significant portion of poor decision making.
Hopefully, as you read this, your leadership decisions have not led you into a deep dark cave with mysterious odors underfoot….but if so, here is the path back out into the light.
Get as clear as possible on the direction of your life and ministry.
Always evaluate your decisions based on what is right and not on what is popular.
Be sure to build a pattern of daily/weekly restoration that supports a growing leadership impact.
On the Journey with you,
Dan
Dan Scarrow
District Superintendent