51. Heart & Resolve: Navigating Tough Times in Leadership

Big thought: Some of the most difficult moments in ministry and leadership is when you feel like you’ve hit a wall and feel like you’re not seeing the results or fruits of the hard work that you’ve been putting in. It may come in different forms. It may be that you have been working at it for a long time and now feel like you’re just beating your head against the wall. Or you may have started to see some of the growth that you were praying and working for, but then, as if from one night to the next, it seems like everything just stops and feels like all of the growth just disappeared. Whatever the details, going through those tough times can make a lot of great leaders want to quit. But if you manage to endure the drought, you will see a payoff.

In today’s episode, we’re going to talk about how to rediscover the reasons that you started ministry and leadership in the first place. We’re going to unpack what it means to bounce back. And we’re going to learn how to build support through community and collaboration.

The reason that this topic is so important to talk about is because these times of unexpected famine can ruin the great potential lying inside of your ministry or organization, and even more so, it can completely wreck your identity as a leader. Not only can it make you want to quit even though you’re doing a good job, but it can also make you fall into a deep depression. And there are too many incredibly sad stories of great leaders who struggle with thoughts of suicide because of the weight that comes with these trials. My heart in this episode is to encourage you in your difficult season, but even more so, it is to remind you that your value and worth is not summed up by the current state of your ministry or organization. Your potential, your purpose and your life is so much greater than what you may be seeing in front of you right now.

1. Rediscovering Your Why.

While there are situations in which it feels like we almost fall into leadership positions, there is typically a reason why that draws you into becoming a leader. It’s the “why” that inspired you and made you feel passionate enough to step into a place of weighted responsibility. And when you lose your “why,” you lose your motivation to keep going through the storm. If you want to push through, you have to rediscover your reason why.

2. Bouncing Back.

Once you have re-solidified the motivation for your soul to keep going, you need to get your mind and body back up to speed. You have to learn how to harness your inner strength and resilience to have more of a bounce back instead of a slow limping return.

3. Building Supportive Networks.

Once you have put all of these things back into motion, you should establish some safety nets as you learn to both collaborate and diversify your efforts. When you make yourself a lone wolf in ministry, every loss or slow period feels personal. But when you connect yourself with other people and leaders, you’re able to feed off of their encouragement, ideas and resolve. You also position yourself to be able to be creative in opportunities that could involve other groups to do things that you normally wouldn’t be able to do on your own.

Take away:

1. Define what your original “why” was when you started and ask yourself if it’s the same now. Establish your current “why” motivation and write it down to hang somewhere you will constantly see.

2. Write down whatever self-defeating thoughts have been replaying in your head and label them as “lies.” Then write down what you believe and are hoping to happen in comparison to them.

3. Examine your current network and reach out to groups or people to meet with in order to have conversations about growth and collaboration.

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