MOTIVATIONAL MONDAYS IN THE MARKETPLACE

By Dr. Kathy Amos

WHEN LEADERSHIP STEALS YOUR WONDER

Restoring the Childlike Character of the Leader

This column was inspired by a teaching from Dr. Joshua Cable on embracing childlike character in God.

There is something that can happen to us as we become adults, particularly when we become leaders. We learn how to carry responsibility, manage people, solve problems, meet deadlines, navigate disappointment, make difficult decisions, and continue moving when things do not go according to plan. These are necessary qualities for business and community leadership, but somewhere in the process of becoming responsible adults, we can lose something God never intended maturity to take away.

We can lose our childlike character.

In a recent teaching, Dr. Joshua Cable made an important distinction between being childish and being childlike. Childishness represents immaturity that we should outgrow. Childlikeness, however, represents qualities of the heart that Jesus taught us to value.

In Matthew 18:3–4, Jesus told His disciples they must become like little children and then connected that childlike posture with humility. That caught my attention because leadership can sometimes take us in the opposite direction. The more responsibility we carry, the more we can begin to believe we must know everything, fix everything, control everything, and have an answer for everyone.

Business owners are expected to know what comes next. Executives are expected to solve problems. Community leaders are expected to respond to needs. Ministry leaders are expected to have answers. Entrepreneurs are constantly thinking about growth, revenue, customers, employees, competition, and sustainability. Eventually, leadership can become heavy.

Yet Jesus placed a child in the middle of adults concerned about greatness and pointed them toward humility.

GOD DID NOT CREATE FROM A PLACE OF STRESS

Another thought from Dr. Cable’s teaching stayed with me: God created from a place of joy and pleasure.

Think about the creation account in Genesis. God was not anxiously trying to meet a deadline. He spoke into darkness, and light appeared. He brought order out of what was without form and void. He created land, vegetation, living creatures, and humanity. Throughout the process, God looked at what He had created and declared it good.

Genesis 1:31 tells us, “Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!” Revelation 4:11 also reminds us that all things were created for God’s pleasure. There was purpose in creation, but there was also pleasure.

When was the last time you built something from a place of joy instead of pressure?

Many leaders know how to build under pressure. We build because payroll is coming. We build because our organizations need resources. We build because our communities have problems. We build because people are depending upon us. We build because there is another deadline, another meeting, another crisis, or another goal.

But when was the last time you dreamed? When was the last time you became excited about an idea simply because you could see what was possible? When was the last time you allowed yourself to wonder, create, explore, laugh, rest, and enjoy what God was allowing you to build?

MAYBE YOUR SOUL NEEDS RESTORATION

Psalm 23:3 says, “He restoreth my soul.”

Some leaders may not need another strategy first. We may need restoration.

Our souls carry experiences with us. Years of disappointment, financial pressure, failed plans, betrayal, criticism, rejection, leadership conflicts, responsibility, and having to be the strong one can gradually change how we approach life and leadership.

Where we once trusted, we may now question everything. Where we once dreamed, we may now calculate every possible risk. Where we once created freely, we may now worry about what people will think. Where we once became excited about possibilities, we may now protect ourselves from disappointment. Where we once knew how to rest, we may now feel guilty whenever we are not producing.

We can become so accustomed to functioning this way that we call it maturity. But perhaps some of what we have called maturity is actually a soul that has forgotten how to breathe.

CHILDLIKE DOES NOT MEAN CHILDISH

The answer is not irresponsibility. First Corinthians 13:11 teaches us to put away childish things as we mature. God is not calling leaders to abandon wisdom, accountability, planning, excellence, discipline, or sound judgment.

There is a difference between childish behavior and childlike character.

Childishness avoids responsibility. Childlikeness knows how to depend upon the Father. Childishness demands its own way. Childlikeness remains humble. Childishness resists correction. Childlikeness remains teachable. Childishness lacks maturity. Childlikeness maintains wonder.

Dr. Cable identified eight characteristics of childlike character that especially challenged me: innocence, trust, wonder, sincerity, enthusiasm, simplicity, joy, and restfulness.

Consider how important those characteristics are in the marketplace. Creativity requires wonder. Innovation requires curiosity. Vision requires imagination. Collaboration requires humility. Faith requires trust. Authentic leadership requires sincerity. Sustainable leadership requires rest. And healthy leadership needs joy.

Perhaps one of the most important questions a leader can ask is also one of the simplest: What else is possible? Children ask questions because they have not yet decided that they already know everything. Great leaders should maintain that same curiosity.

WHAT DID LEADERSHIP COST YOU?

This week, I want business owners, entrepreneurs, executives, pastors, nonprofit leaders, educators, elected leaders, and community builders to consider a different kind of leadership assessment.

What part of me disappeared while I was becoming the leader everyone needed me to be?

Did you lose your wonder, creativity, enthusiasm, ability to trust, joy, or ability to rest without feeling guilty? Did you stop dreaming because disappointment taught you to expect less?

Maybe your next level of leadership is not about becoming harder, busier, or more serious. Maybe God wants to restore something.

The marketplace does not need childish leaders, but it desperately needs mature leaders who have not lost their childlike hearts.

Our communities need leaders who can confront serious problems without losing the ability to imagine possibilities. Our businesses need leaders who pursue excellence without becoming enslaved to performance. Our organizations need leaders who can carry responsibility without allowing that responsibility to crush their souls.

So this week, give yourself permission to wonder again. Ask questions. Explore possibilities. Laugh. Create. Rest. Dream. And perhaps most importantly, become humble enough to admit that you do not have to know everything.

Then ask God a simple question: “Father, if fear, disappointment, criticism, and the need to control the outcome were removed, what would You allow me to imagine?”

You might be surprised by what begins to live again.

Grow in maturity, but do not grow away from the childlike heart that keeps you humble enough to trust, curious enough to discover, and joyful enough to create.

Dr. Kathy Amos

Kingdom Coach | Marketplace Leader | Community Builder