Nothing New Under the Sun

Leaders are always trying to come up with some new and innovative way to practice leadership. I also wish I could be the next big thing who came up with some brilliant new way to change society. The lie is that my value as a leader is measured by how many new creative ideas and models I can dream up.

When a new tree is planted, the roots quickly find the pathways of old tree roots. The foundation of the young tree finds its strength and vitality through the pathways that have been made before its lifetime.

The same is for leaders. Instead of trying to force some new way of doing leadership, we find our strength in the successful way men and women have led before us. We shouldn’t feel less valuable to our communities because we haven’t written the latest Christian top seller. We shouldn’t harbor guilt because we haven’t had a new epiphany that has changed the world. If you have been gifted and called to a leadership role then you have already been given great tools to practice leadership successfully. No one is asking you to be the next Martin Luther King Jr. or Bill Gates or whoever it is that inspires you. God has used people in the past to do great things and he will use you!

So I reject all the naysayers that believe you are only “making it” when you have created a new profound system of leadership. I challenge you to use the tools that have already been well practiced and make them yours. Every person and leadership context is unique and you can find a way of leadership that works well for you and your community.

A young tree may use old foundations, but it still grows and flourishes into its own. I think the saying is “history repeats itself”… well so does positive change!