I have some hard advice for young leaders.
Before I share , I feel the need to be clear—in case you’re a new reader—to assure you I’m a supporter of young leaders. Ask anyone I work with, or look at decisions we’ve made as a church, or the personal investments of my time into young leaders, and you can clearly see I believe in the next generation of leaders. I only build my case of support because this may be a hard word to receive.
To illustrate this principle, let me begin with a story:
When our oldest son, Jeremy, was in high school, he was on the wrestling team. It was intense training. I loved the discipline and confidence it gave him, and I loved the wrestling matches.
When Jeremy would come home from a hard day of practice, he wanted to bring what he learned in training into our family time. I had always enjoyed wrestling with my boys, but now he wanted to take our play time to a whole new level. We would start wrestling in the “assumed position” he had been taught, but then I would use my extra 70 pounds as an advantage and quickly pin him to the ground. He would often yell, “No, you’re doing it wrong! That’s not the rules!”
To which I would always reply, “No, buddy, you’re on my turf now, you play by my rules … and I say there are no rules.”
And in that illustration lies a principle younger leaders need to learn as they enter the field of leadership.
Here’s the principle:
If you’re gonna play with the big boys and girls—you’ve gotta bring your big boy and girl game.
Let’s face it. Many entering the field of leadership today have lived as a generation where they were given much of what they wanted but had few demands placed on them personally. They played multiple sports, for example—which they enjoyed—but it meant they didn’t have “chores” when they were home. Of course, there are exceptions, but this is often the case. By the way, this was also more the case for my generation than for my father’s generation.
I’m not being completely critical of this—it was mostly true for our boys also, but because of this, I often see young leaders enter the field of leadership these days with some unrealistic expectations. They sometimes expect to receive equal reward without paying their equal dues.
I should also point out, I see some incredible young leaders. Hard-working. Conscientious. Dedicated. Loyal. So this is an “if the shoe fits” post.
What disturbs me most is when young leaders fail to live up to their full potential.
