Motive

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February 12

Wednesday, February 12th, 2025

One of the essentials of any leadership team is the element of trust. If the CEO or pastor or whatever title is given does not have the trust of those under his watch and care, the business/church/entity will go nowhere. Stagnation is the result. Likewise the other way. If the main leader cannot trust those under his watch to do what they are supposed to do and work as a team, the entity will falter.

I have been devouring books by Jon Gordon, Patrick Lencioni and James Hunter since the first of the year. I want to be the best leader I can be as the pastor of the church, but know there are some serious blanks in my abilities. Along with that, at the age of 72 I need to work on a succession plan (and have been). None of us will live forever-including Bryan Johnson, the centimillionaire tech entrepreneur who has that as his goal-so I need to have a plan in place. Frankly, I need to “shore up” my leadership skills to be better prepared to lead and to hand off my role here.

But the question which haunts me and should every leader (and maybe all of us to some extent) is Why? Why am I doing what I am doing? Patrick Lencioni has written a leadership fable called The Motive and I have yet to dive into Simon Sinek’s book Start with Why, but Lencioni writes, “At the fundamental level, there are only two motives that drive people to become a leader. First, they want to serve others. Two, they want to be rewarded.” (Edited for space-found on page 131) When you think about it those really are the two reasons why we do what we do. It comes down to this question: do I want to  benefit someone else or do I want to benefit myself? Do I want to make another person’s life richer or do I want to promote myself to enrich the only one who matters…me?

I don’t want to belabor this point but want to simply ask one question: as you go through your day today, who are you looking out for? Whose life will be made richer by your presence and an interaction with you? You or another person? I was deeply moved by a book I would like to recommend to you on this topic: The Hard Hat by Jon Gordon. It set me back on my heels as it talked about a lasting legacy.

October 4

Wednesday, October 4th, 2023

When I was in college, there was a war going on. In fact, I’m going to date myself with this revelation. The war was in some southeast Asian country. You know…Vietnam.

While in college studying for the ministry, I met some guys who were only at that college for one reason and probably one reason only: they wanted to avoid the war. You see, if you were studying at a Bible college for some type of ministry, you were exempt from military service. I was naive;I didn’t know that. I guess I lived in my own world and didn’t really know much about Vietnam. I knew of the protests and sit-ins. I knew of the songs (“Four Dead in Ohio” by C,S,N,Y is one that sticks out in particular). There was a day or two when I had trouble finding a job for the summer and my uncle took me to a recruiting station (not that he himself would go). Fortunately, the recruiter called my parents to tell them and they talked some sense into me. I wasn’t ready for the military, and wasn’t ready for Vietnam in any way, shape. or form. (Who was?). Anyway, I did find a job-one that reinforced my idea of my life’s vocation. For that, I am forever grateful to God.

Back to the students. Their reason for being at a Bible college had almost nothing to do with the “calling” they sensed on their life to spend it in ministry. And to make matters worse, when they did serve somewhere, their heart and reason were totally out of whack. I’m not judging; I’m stating a fact.

The reason or motive for doing something may be far more important than what is done.

Now, I’m not saying what is done is inconsequential. But when a person serves out of guilt or shame or a sense of obligation, joy disappears.  And where there is no joy in whatever one does, the task become mundane. Some people take great pride in what they do. Only that becomes the problem: pride. Not that we shouldn’t care about what we do and work at doing our best. But I’m talking here about having a servant’s heart. No task done because of the joy of service, but perhaps for the accolades or salve a hurting psyche.

Why do you do what you do? If you serve at a soup kitchen, for example. Why? If you help at a homeless shelter. Why? If you support a missionary. Why? If you preach or teach. Why?

Go ahead. Ask yourself that and then give an honest answer. If you deem the motive wrong, take steps to clarify in your own heart, why you do what you do. Then correct it.