Why Leaders Fail

Introduction (2)

The Don'ts of Leadership

There are a number of materials that teach us how to lead but there is very little that sheds light on what we should not do as leaders. Why do great leaders continue to have great failures? It cannot be that they are shortsighted or foolish; and it certainly cannot be that they are not intelligent. They have mastered "the moment" utilizing their intellect, skill sets and competency. Yet it always seems they fail in the simplest and most idiotic ways. If you are like me, your first response to most leaders' failures is "what in the world were they thinking?" It is almost as if these great minds took a leave of absence and alleviated themselves of any sense; "like they were having a buy-one-get-one free sale on stupidity and they were the first in line." This is a sarcastic, simple answer but the truth is far more complex. One would hope that it were just a temporary moment where they abandoned all logic and reason, but for many leaders what appears to be an impermanent moment of insanity is really a result of a lifetime of unaddressed issues.

I want to help you uncover the things lying dormant in you that you have yet to confront. I want to assist you in conquering them, so you do not become a part of the "what were they thinking?" crew. The has-beens of life are people who at one point were right where you are now. No one took the time to help them discover the things we are going to find in here; but as you read this book, my hope is that you feel we are partnering to pursue what could be a destiny moment for you.

To help us on this journey, we are going to focus on historical figures and their failures: David, Samson, Elijah and Elisha, and Noah. If we are willing to realistically analyze their tenure as great leaders, we will discover where they made their greatest mistakes. The lessons we will extract from their lives are not messages of condemnation but messages of conviction; and as we look at the lives of these great leaders, my prayer is that you are convicted by the things that challenged their leadership.

Because I am a pastor, we are going to expose and scrutinize them in a way they have rarely been viewed. Please do not think I am desecrating any of the great icons of our faith or am in any way disrespecting them - I am a benefactor of the benevolence of God's sacred texts. I am who I am because of his scriptures and those we have come to admire from the hallmark of faith. But I believe God gave us his written record so we could see that the icons of our faith experienced failures and frailties; and so that we could imitate their successes rather than their failures.

To accomplish this, the things covered by romantic language must be unveiled so that we can take a realistic look at their struggles, challenges and difficulties. We must see beyond the leader's genius, strategy and triumph; and discover the chink in their armor. We must analyze not just what "makes" a man but what "breaks" him as well. The election of a leader is a sovereign thing; this means God's hand is the one that develops us. But if this statement is true, then this means our hand is the one that destroys us. We do not have as much to do with our making but we do have everything to do with the breaking. So it is in our best interest to study the things we can control and leave to God the things he controls.

It is been pointed out many times before and I think it is worth restating: a leader's greatest enemy is not the one he fights outwardly but the one he fights inwardly. The "inner me" is more often than not the true enemy. So let us embark on this journey together and identify the proclivities of great leaders that limit their possibilities. Let us explore the limitless possibilities of your leadership and help you overcome your challenges so you discover a continuous realm of greatness. Let us ask ourselves the tough questions so we may gain the right answers. Let us do all this, so that when people mention your name, they will not follow it up with the question, "whatever happened to that guy"?