One of the things that you the “leader” may overlook is time away from work or succumbing to the tyranny of the urgent.   Is this a problem for you, and why is this important?   Do you think that occasionally you need rest from people and work?

First, no one has a limitless amount of energy.  Rest is a necessary thing.  You would be amazed at how much more effective you can be after a little time away from the job.  I tended to be one who thought I had to have everything done and in good order before I took time away for me and my family.  That was a mistake.  For a leader who is moving the organization forward, there will never be a time when everything is in good order—sometimes we just have to thrive in chaos and accept it for what it is.  So, take time away from the fray.  If you’ve been at all successful as a leader, your organization will continue to function without your presence. Or guess what, it may just function a little better when you’re gone for a while.

Second, every leader needs time to “sharpen the saw,” to read new books or engage in professional training. Things change today at an amazing pace, and if you the “leader” fail to stay current and to advance with your profession, you’ll fall behind.  The rest of the world is moving forward. Just look at the world of interconnectivity—thousands of cube satellites will be launched over the next few years, G5 connectivity will move tons of data, and artificial intelligence will become an indispensable tool. Your customers and suppliers will be part of all this; will you?

And most important, you the “leader” need time to just sit, be away, and think; to rest and listen for that “still small voice.”  From my experience over a lifetime of leadership, my best and most creative thoughts came when I had time to just think, to walk in the wild, to find freedom on the ski slopes, to climb a “fourteener.”  Try a new adventure that is beyond your normal routines.  Meet new people who can share different experiences.

A couple of my greatest experiences have been as an instructor in Officers’ Christian Fellowships’ Spring Canyon Conference Center Rocky Mountain High outdoor program.  This is where time is spent in the Colorado Rockies enjoying God’s great creation, listening to and sharing with young people, worshiping around the campfire, and making the ascent up one of Colorado’s fourteen-thousand-foot-high mountains, Mount Yale and Mount Harvard in my case.  When you’re putting one foot in front of the other all day long on the climb, you have time to think, imagine, and dream.  And because there is an oxygen deficit, at least for me above 11,000 feet, you don’t talk a whole lot.  I could listen and watch as the Lord spoke to me out of His magnificent creation and the young people around me.

Time alone, whether on a vacation or during the early part of your day, searching God’s Word and listening for His voice will provide the visions and directions for your work, your family, and your life that you’ll never get while you’re down in the arena fighting the battles of the moment.  You may hear more clearly if you prayerfully search God’s Word and then His voice may come as spontaneous and flowing thoughts.  “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken.”  Psalm 62: 5-6

1. Psalm 121:1, OCF Picture File