(Week five of this 5 week series taken from a talk given at the RFC Leadership Summit.)
5: Ready to
learn
This is our 5th and final attitude.
As we look at leaders at RFC and actually across the
board, we must be those who never got to a point when we think we have made
it. We will always be a faint reflection
of the great leadership that Jesus brought to bear as he walked on the earth
and we must recognise that and remember that we are a work in progress.
his takes great humility. Being learners
means we need to acknowledge we are not the finished article and that we are
just on a journey of developing our gift the same as any one else.
We need to be those who are learning about ourselves
constantly. Now to deliver this with
integrity, you need to know that I find self reflection very hard. It’s not natural for me and so I have to work
on it. Sean is a trusted friend who is
able to draw stuff out of me to help me to reflect and over time I have become
better at this, but it isn't my default way of thinking.
As leaders we are under the microscope and we make
mistakes. It’s not always easy to hear
that especially when we feel we are giving our all. Over the years I have
received criticism that has been really painful and at times have felt that it
has been harsh, but at the very core of what has been said there has been
something to learn from. If we shut out criticism and don’t sift it we will
miss the learning point. Even the
harshest criticism will teach us something if we let it. This therefore means we will be teachable, ready to receive
criticism well and ready to learn from wherever the learning may come, even if
it’s from the new person on the team!
Being ready to learn also means that we will take
seriously our walk with Jesus. As his disciples we constantly need to be
growing in our understanding and knowledge of our God, who sent his son to
display these five attitudes and more.