Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Leading When You Feel LIke a Failure
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Leading When You Feel LIke a Failure
In today’s episode of the Leader Fluent Podcast, I’m talking about “Leading When You Feel Like a Failure.”The last two years have been the most difficult years to lead through for millions of leaders, and if we’re honest, we’ve all had moments in this season where we’ve felt like a failure. The question is, how do we lead in those moments. That’s what we’re dealing with in today’s episode.
Plus, if you haven’t picked up my new book, Stop Chasing Easy, I’d like to encourage you to get your copy today. It’s available in print and ebook formats, and when you purchase a copy, you’ll also gain access to several FREE BONUS RESOURCES including the “Stop Chasing Easy Masterclass for Leaders.”
If you're not already a subscriber, I'd love for you to subscribe to Leader Fluent today on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Android, Pandora, or your favorite podcasting platform. And as always, your RATINGS and REVIEWS are deeply appreciated.
SHOW NOTES:
Every leader has moments and seasons when they feel like a failure. It might be after an event that didn’t go as planned. It might be after a speech that fell flat. It might be during an extended season of decline, or maybe after a major rift in your organization.
Regardless of the area, I’m guessing at some point in recent weeks, months, or years, you’ve experienced “down and to the left” instead of “up and to the right.” So, what do you do in these moments? When you feel like a failure—even if only for a moment—how do you lead? Consider these five keys.
1. Remember Your Identity
It’s very easy—especially in leadership—to attach our identity to our performance and to our growth. The problem is, if we’re not careful, we’ll assume that God uses that same standard—that same measure—to evaluate us.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been studying God’s love in Scripture, which has been a pretty amazing journey. The most common description of God’s love in the Bible is the phrase, “unfailing love.” For example, Psalm 36:7 says, “How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.” And Psalm 52:8 says, “But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever.”
Here’s the good news: God’s love does not fail, even when we do. His love doesn’t fall short, break, or run dry. It is an everlasting love that stretches from generation to generation. And, as difficult as it is to believe, our performance has nothing to do with how much God loves us.
In fact, consider Jesus, for example. Luke 3:21-22 says, “When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
Notice, the Father declared His love for the Son before Jesus every performed a single miracle. In other words, the Father’s love wasn’t based on Jesus’ performance. His love wasn’t dependent on whether or not Jesus had a big crowd or a fruitful day of ministry. The Father loved Jesus, and was pleased with Jesus, before his ministry ever began. The same is true for you and for me. Our identity must be firmly rooted in the unwavering love of God. So, remember, even when you feel like a failure, your failure doesn’t define you. Jesus’ love does.
2. Reframe Your Perspective
Dr. Bobby Clinton has observed that the difference between followers and leaders is perspective. And the difference between leaders and better leaders is greater perspective. In other words, how we see life will determine how we respond to life. And how we see our leadership challenges will determine how we respond to those leadership challenges.
Elisabeth Elliot once said, “If you believe in a God who controls the big things, you have to believe in a God who controls the little things. It is we, of course, to whom things look ‘little’ or ‘big’.
View all episodes
By Stephen Blandino
5
1313 ratings
In today’s episode of the Leader Fluent Podcast, I’m talking about “Leading When You Feel Like a Failure.”The last two years have been the most difficult years to lead through for millions of leaders, and if we’re honest, we’ve all had moments in this season where we’ve felt like a failure. The question is, how do we lead in those moments. That’s what we’re dealing with in today’s episode.
Plus, if you haven’t picked up my new book, Stop Chasing Easy, I’d like to encourage you to get your copy today. It’s available in print and ebook formats, and when you purchase a copy, you’ll also gain access to several FREE BONUS RESOURCES including the “Stop Chasing Easy Masterclass for Leaders.”
If you're not already a subscriber, I'd love for you to subscribe to Leader Fluent today on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Android, Pandora, or your favorite podcasting platform. And as always, your RATINGS and REVIEWS are deeply appreciated.
SHOW NOTES:
Every leader has moments and seasons when they feel like a failure. It might be after an event that didn’t go as planned. It might be after a speech that fell flat. It might be during an extended season of decline, or maybe after a major rift in your organization.
Regardless of the area, I’m guessing at some point in recent weeks, months, or years, you’ve experienced “down and to the left” instead of “up and to the right.” So, what do you do in these moments? When you feel like a failure—even if only for a moment—how do you lead? Consider these five keys.
1. Remember Your Identity
It’s very easy—especially in leadership—to attach our identity to our performance and to our growth. The problem is, if we’re not careful, we’ll assume that God uses that same standard—that same measure—to evaluate us.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been studying God’s love in Scripture, which has been a pretty amazing journey. The most common description of God’s love in the Bible is the phrase, “unfailing love.” For example, Psalm 36:7 says, “How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.” And Psalm 52:8 says, “But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever.”
Here’s the good news: God’s love does not fail, even when we do. His love doesn’t fall short, break, or run dry. It is an everlasting love that stretches from generation to generation. And, as difficult as it is to believe, our performance has nothing to do with how much God loves us.
In fact, consider Jesus, for example. Luke 3:21-22 says, “When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
Notice, the Father declared His love for the Son before Jesus every performed a single miracle. In other words, the Father’s love wasn’t based on Jesus’ performance. His love wasn’t dependent on whether or not Jesus had a big crowd or a fruitful day of ministry. The Father loved Jesus, and was pleased with Jesus, before his ministry ever began. The same is true for you and for me. Our identity must be firmly rooted in the unwavering love of God. So, remember, even when you feel like a failure, your failure doesn’t define you. Jesus’ love does.
2. Reframe Your Perspective
Dr. Bobby Clinton has observed that the difference between followers and leaders is perspective. And the difference between leaders and better leaders is greater perspective. In other words, how we see life will determine how we respond to life. And how we see our leadership challenges will determine how we respond to those leadership challenges.
Elisabeth Elliot once said, “If you believe in a God who controls the big things, you have to believe in a God who controls the little things. It is we, of course, to whom things look ‘little’ or ‘big’.