Scaling your leadership – 5 of 8

Offer life the leftovers

Have you ever wished or tried to find more time in the day? There is so much to do and so little time. You try and try, and when the trying tires you, you realize that no matter what you do, it's never enough. I could offer example after example, but I think you get the idea and can relate. It's not just you. It is a common phenomenon in leadership and in life. Apparently it's never enough.

I have colleagues and leaders who are always dedicated to their work, they regularly say that they are giving 120-150% to their efforts and projects. They say they “give everything they have.” As a leader, I like it when team members are fully engaged and giving their best. On the other hand, we need to understand the importance of words, the narratives they create and the mental structure they build. There is no such thing as giving more than 100%. It's practically impossible, so we won't use that language.

The other day, this concept led to a “radically honest” conversation. I wanted to make clear what lenses we need to approach life and work, such as which ones include our energy and efforts. This is because a teammate provides a distorted type of effort that needs to be adjusted.

I recommend and believe that a requirement to expand our leadership in a spoken way is to offer our leftovers to life! I know everything we learn and everything the world throws at us is countercultural, but hear me out. If life receives our leftovers it is because God and our family are receiving our first, second and best place in our lives. Take time to let this resonate in your mind and soul. Our first and best should not go to earthly relationships, exercise regimens, careers, or finances. Our first and best must be caricatural for our relationship with God and with our family, which is the structural basis of our life.

Take a serious look at your day. Do you wake up early to exercise but have little room for God in your day or for your family, wife, husband or children? Are your work priorities overshadowing them? Is it a tension in the relationships in your life that prevents you from spending time with God? No matter what it is, I challenge you to go before God, giving Him what is best and most important so that He can multiply and give you wisdom to manage your time in the best way.

I'm sure of this: if you give your best to their, God will take your leftovers and bless them in ways you can't understand. The rush we find ourselves in will only be resolved with more of God, more of our family, not more of us. When we are well in emotional and spiritual areas, we face the challenges of the day with greater efficiency, courage and determination. Review your priorities today.

God, allow me to see where my schedule, my priorities, and my desires are not aligned with His will. Grant me Your grace and favor now, Lord, to see as You see and for Your word to penetrate my heart and spirit.

#Jean Kamradt #Sabedoria Milenar