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Speed Bumps Can Damage a Nonprofit Leader
Brian Kreeger 1:12 • July 7, 2021
Avoiding a leadership
fall can be like walking through a minefield for the leader themselves and for nonprofit organizations. There are many unseen dangers in the field, and one wrong step could lead to impairment or even destruction.
The leader-the person ultimately accountable for their decisions- must have a proactive plan in place to keep themselves aimed at their goal of success in their life and organization. Without it, they can leave themselves vulnerable to a fall. This article is the third in a row that helps a leader proactively determine that strategy.
(This article is the twelfth in a series that focuses on starting a conversation centered on preventing the fall of nonprofit leaders. I write it from a Christian perspective, but all leaders will benefit. Be sure to sign up to receive these articles via email every Tuesday at
briankreeger.com. In addition to receiving these articles two days before they hit social media, you will receive the Introduction and the Appendix (My story) to my upcoming book,
The Courageous Ask: A Proactive Approach to Prevent the Fall of Christian Nonprofit Leaders.)
All of us have traveled over speed bumps. They are common in parking lots and neighborhoods. Most people probably don’t even think about speed bumps until they run over one a little too fast, or they are in a hurry and encounter one.
Many times people take drastic measures to avoid them, swerving to one side so only two tires hit them, or none at all. Or they won’t travel in an area where they know a speed bump is located.
We don’t want to slow down. We want to keep going, full speed ahead, even if the speed bump could cause long-term damage.
Unfortunately, many leaders, and people in general, also hate speed bumps. However, many times this loathing of speed bumps has nothing to do with a car.
Allow me to explain.
When a legitimately concerned person who is in solid relationship with a leader (friend, board member, spouse, congregant, etc.) approaches a leader with loving, constructive criticism, or a concern, and that leader blows them off without genuine consideration, that’s a speed bump. The leader just keeps rolling, not recognizing the damage that has been done on several fronts.
Think about the parallels. Just like in a car, the speed at which a leader rolls over the speed bump determines if it might profit them and those around them, or if it causes damage. If a person drives over speed bumps at a high rate of speed, damage will eventually be done to the vehicle as the parts rattle apart and undue wear occurs. If a person, especially a leader, continues to roll over the advice of those closest to them at a high rate of speed, eventually damage will be done.
A speed bump is intended to slow a vehicle down for a variety of reasons. Many times a leader reacts so quickly to advice that is given to them—sometimes automatically on the defensive—that an hour later they have to reconsider their reaction. We have all done it, given into that first impulse that we regret later. Damage is caused. We have blown right over the speed bump.
How in the world
do you have time to capture every thought and make it obedient (2 Corinthians 10:5) if you blow right by that opportunity? Leaders struggle with this because they think they have to have a quick, decisive answer to everything. And then there is that darn pride thing. This is especially true when they are confronted about something within themselves.
However, if a leader is capable of seeing the indicators of a speed bump in front of them and has the desire and ability to slow down, there just might be some opportunity for growth in the experience. This is not easy for the driven, results-oriented leader. In fact, many will say it is impossible. Yet, it is vital.
Who doesn’t attempt to avoid a speed bump in their car? Sometimes avoiding conversations that have the potential to turn into a speed bump in relationships do as much damage as running over a speed bump at a high rate of speed. Avoiding this type of conversation can take us to the land of assumption, which I wrote about in an earlier article.
To think we have all the answers is a sin. To think we don’t need other people to help us on our journey is just plain a mistake.
Without having the ability to listen to trusted people who love you, and continually speed-bumping the advice that comes your way, damage will eventually be done to you and those around you. Approachability goes down, and your number one resource in the form of other people is shunted. This is when a leader may become vulnerable to a fall.
Although some of the responsibility of revealing what a person sees in the life of a leader falls on those around the leader, it is ultimately the leader’s responsibility to accept what they are saying and strongly consider it against what they may think.
It is up to the leader to decide which advisors to let into their inner circle-what advice is legitimate, and what advice is detrimental. It is the wisdom to be able to properly discern this that separates a great leader from a good leader.
The wisdom to do this starts with the ability to listen to all people with focused intent and to leave them validated without feeling like a speed bump. If I could only go back in my life and flatten out some of those speed bumps, or slow down as I approached them, my life and relationships might be quite different.
This is just another area where the leaders themselves have to make the choice of humility before those whom God sends to help them on their journey.
Or do we want to keep trucking forward with car parts, broken relationships, and missed opportunities in the dust behind us?
Next week I will wrap up the section of this series concerning the leader's role in the proactive approach to prevent their own fall. I will write about making sure they have an "accurate estimation" of their life, their organization, and their role in preventing a fall in both.
Be sure to sign up to receive these articles via email every Tuesday at
briankreeger.com. In addition to receiving these articles two days before they hit social media, you will receive the Introduction and the Appendix (My Story) to my upcoming book, The Courageous Ask: A Proactive Approach to Prevent the Fall of Christian Nonprofit Leaders.
Brian@briankreeger.com
#Leadership Fall #Leadership Survival #Nonprofit Relationships #Proactive Approach #Leadership Struggles #Leadership Battles #Christian Executive Leader #Christian Leader #Temptation #Potential Disaster
#Speed Bump
Executives -pastors or nonprofit executives in our context- are put on a pedestal. It’s not that the typical person necessarily believes they belong there or desires to put them there. But it is human nature that this happens. The general public often places much higher expectations on leaders than they do on themselves. Sometimes it is appropriate, and the leader has put themselves in that position. In some cases, it is simply scriptural. For instance, James 3 points out that those who teach will be judged more strictly, thereby heightening the expectations of those who lead and teach. But what about when we accept, and enact, those elevated expectations and forget the humanity of our leaders? Often a community heaps on a leader the expectation that they are to perform with the perfection of Jesus and not simply be a Jesus follower and disciple just like them, but with a unique calling and heightened responsibility. Too many times when a leader shows human imperfection, the respect we have for them is damaged. Leaders fall under strict judgment, and we forget they are no less fallible than us. The imperfection they have colors any positive experience we would have had with them otherwise. While most of us acknowledge this strict, hypocritical judgment and recognize it as not being how we want to treat our leaders, it is a difficult battle to fight in our own attitudes and minds. No matter who the leader is, they are not Jesus. But please allow me to reverently make some comparisons. (This blog focuses on starting a conversation centered on preventing the fall of nonprofit leaders. I write it from a Christian perspective, but all leaders will benefit. Be sure to sign up to receive these articles via email every Tuesday at briankreeger.com as well as taking a look at previous blog articles. In addition to receiving these articles two days before they hit social media, you will receive the article "5 Early Indicators of a Christian Nonprofit Leadership Fall" along with the Contents, Introduction and the Appendix (My story) of my book, The Courageous Ask: A Proactive Approach to Prevent the Fall of Christian Nonprofit Leaders. )
You are the community, no matter what formal role you play in a particular organization, or if you play any role at all. My blog articles typically focus on the roles the leader and the board have in preventing the fall of Christian nonprofit leaders. But I contend that the community that exists around organizational leaders and boards has a role as well. In fact, a community’s role can many times be much bigger. My next few blog articles will focus on the role of the community in preventing the fall of Christian nonprofit leaders. (This blog focuses on starting a conversation centered on preventing the fall of nonprofit leaders. I write it from a Christian perspective, but all leaders will benefit. Be sure to sign up to receive these articles via email every Tuesday at briankreeger.com as well as taking a look at previous blog articles. In addition to receiving these articles two days before they hit social media, you will receive the article "5 Early Indicators of a Christian Nonprofit Leadership Fall" along with the Contents, Introduction and the Appendix (My story) of my book, The Courageous Ask: A Proactive Approach to Prevent the Fall of Christian Nonprofit Leaders. )
