Leading Beyond the Box Score

Billions of people are watching the World Cup this month, but with so many games, few of those billions can watch every minute of action. Those who want to follow the entire tournament may look at the box score, and if they do so, they will see an interesting note from Sunday’s game between France and Honduras. It shows a goal for France in the 48^th minute, scored as an “own goal” (OG) by the Honduran goalkeeper. If that’s all that you read, you might conclude that the goalkeeper committed one of the greatest mental blunders in sports history, but the truth is quite different. A hard shot by one of France’s players ricocheted off the goal post and bounced across the mouth of the goal. The goalkeeper tried to react, but failed to catch the ball cleanly, and it barely bounced across the line, resulting in a goal for France. Do you ever feel that your worth as a leader is summarized in one or two statistics that will be judged by a large, uninformed audience? You spend years in a turnaround effort in your church, and then conflict between two key leaders causes an exodus. The attendance numbers show that you “failed.” You invest considerable time planning and raising funds for a new initiative, but when the immediate results are below expectations you’re labelled as being an unrealistic dreamer or inept at execution. Good leaders pay attention to the key metrics that indicate whether they are on the right track. They regularly evaluate progress and make appropriate adjustments in light of what they learn. Great leaders don’t stop there. Great leaders understand the difference between healthy evaluation and uninformed criticism. They surround themselves with wise advisors, but they deflect catcalls from the crowd. They know that even though the box score may say “OG,” there is far more to the story. What steps do you need to take to be this kind of great leader? It’s easy to receive my blogs by email. Just sign-up on Feedburner by clicking here.]]>