"The Fears That Limit Leaders"

Pastor's Teaching & Retreat at Camp Quaker Heights

Good Fears Vs. Bad Fears

*Fear makes people move to some sort of action

- Fight - Flight - Surrender

* What causes me to feel I need to take action? What doesn't?

Part 1: Good Things To Fear

1. Being disconnected from yourself

- Disconnected leaders develop lusts

*Power *Recognition *Flesh *Substance

- Being disconnected from your true gifts & passions

*Find out who you are *What are my gifts and talents? *What does that look like?

2. Be aftraid of being unaware of what others are saying or seeing about you

- Leaders who do well use that feedback

* Take the toxicity out of being screwed up, and embrace it and learn from it

- Check in with people - How've I been doing?

3. Being disconnected from the hearts of the people that you are leading

- Listen to their problems

- Maintain trust

- Human heart seeks to be known

4. Personal Isolation

- When isolation isn't replenishing, it becomes an escape which isn't healthy

5. Leading in a way that is not sustainable

- Leading should be tiring but motivating

- Otherwise, you go into overdrive & damage will follow

- You should move to set different limits if you can't keep up with the pace

6. Personal and organizational infrastructure deficits

- If the pace is increasing but the support isn't there, that's a train wreck coming

7. Be afraid of being defensive

- We have lost power & some sort of functioning when we become defensive

8. Be afraid of God

- Live life fearing God in a protective way

Part 2: Bad Things To Fear

1. Not looking good

- Image management

*Leaders do make mistakes *People are forgiving if they take ownership of their faults

2. Seeing your faults & weaknesses

- Don't be defensive: Be hungry for feedback & criticism

3. Other people getting credit

- Leaders nned to be able to release people to achieve

4. Giving others freedom

- Giving others freedom equal to responsibility equal to accountability

- Micromanagement drives good workers crazy

5. Problems

- Embrace negative realities

- "No problems, No profit"