Uncanny timing:
“Spiritual leaders make two choices every time they make one decision. First, they choose whether to rely on their own insights or on God’s wisdom in making their decision. Their second choice is the conclusion they reach, or the action they take. People don’t naturally do things God’s way, because people don’t think the way God does (Ps 118:8).
God doesn’t want people to do what they think is best: he wants them to do what he knows is best, and no amount of reasoning and intellectualizing will discover that. God himself must reveal it…
Proverbs is peppered with safeguards against unwise decision making. One of these safeguards is enlisting the aid of wise counsel. The confirmation of other believers is the third way the Holy Spirit will guide leaders’ decision making…
Leaders should seek the best possible people to work with them and to advise them…They ought to be able to look at situations from a perspective different from the leader’s. If, for example, a CEO is a rational, cognitive thinker who accepts guidance only from other rational, cognitive thinkers, they will consistently recommend the most logical direction for the company. If, on the other hand, the leader also conscripts counselors who are emotional thinkers, the counselors will be more sensitive to interpersonal issues and will direct the leader away from actions that could appear callous and might needlessly antagonize people…
God is purposeful and progressive in the way he leads people and organizations. He does not change his mind every time a new leaders arrives. God does not rescind everything he has said once a new leader is installed. Leaders come and go over the years but God’s plans, purposes, and presence remain constant. Wise leaders understand their place in God’s overall plan and are content to lead on God’s agenda, setting aside any selfish or ungodly motives that may tempt them to ‘show what they can do.’
Harry Truman has been called a great leader because he had the ability to decide. But more than that, he was willing to accept the consequences of his decisions. Truman’s famous dictum, ‘The buck stops here,’ encapsulated his belief that leaders cannot shirk their responsibility to make decisions or bear the consequences of their decisions.
It is at this point that true leaders separate themselves from mere office-seekers. When there are negative consequences to a leaders’ decisions, they refuse to blame their followers. They do not cause others in their organization to suffer the consequences for their decisions. True leaders accept the ramifications of their decisions.
Because leaders make so many decisions, they are particularly vulnerable to making mistakes. Moreover, the results of their actions are often magnified because of the public nature of their jobs. Most mistakes are not terminal in nature, however, and they can actually provide the greatest moments of personal growth that leaders experience. Successful leaders are not successful because they never err in judgment, but because they continually learn from their mistakes.
Mistakes are inevitable; true leaders understand this fact and are not devastated by it. The only leaders who never make mistakes are those who never try anything, which is in itself a mistake. Mistakes are often opportunities in disguise. They are opportunities for followers to see that, though their leader is not perfect, he or she is honest. Honesty, not infallibility, has repeatedly been listed as the most important quality followers desire in their leaders.”
Henry Blackaby, “Spiritual Leadership”
Have some decisions to make. Have had some wise counsel. Have been reminded that mistakes are okay. God is good.