Leadership Highlight: Leaders Never Lose Their Humanity
Yesterday crushed me…
And I was confused about it because I have not been a huge Kobe fan for very long.
I hated him as a player because he always drove the stake through the hearts of my Mavs. In one game, even outscored our entire team by himself 62-61 after three quarters…he was unbelievable!
But as the years went by, I really respected him as a father and leader.
He appeared to genuinely care. He seemed to love people and enjoy life.
So, this morning, I was asking God, “Father, why am I so torn up over this? I didn’t even know him.”
Here is what the Lord gave me… I’m torn up because of the hearts and lives left in the wake of this tragedy.
My heart is torn into pieces thinking about a mom (Vanessa) who must continue to love three daughters while morning the loss of her husband and 13-year-old daughter.
I think about the baseball coach who passed away with his wife and daughter, but there are two other siblings that will live the rest of their lives without their parents and sister.
The devastation, sadness, hopelessness, and pain they woke up with this morning will be unimaginable…
My leadership highlight for this week is very fitting based on yesterday…
Leaders never lose their humanity; they hurt when their people hurt.
I feel deeply what others feel most of the time. When my people hurt, I hurt. I don’t tell them to get up and rub some dirt in it…I pull them close, hug them tight and do anything in my power to help them feel like they aren’t alone.
Do you hurt for your people? Or have you started losing your humanity?
If you find yourself not having time for people…if you find yourself telling people to just suck it up…if you find yourself frustrated with people more than you care for them…
Your leadership may be lacking.
If you want to LEAD people, LOVE people first.
I don’t know how…but I do believe with all my heart that God will receive the glory through this horrific tragedy. The families will rise up out of the ashes and thrive. It may take years, but I’m believing and praying for it!
Our world needs more men and fathers like Kobe Bryant.
A relentless work ethic, a passion for his craft, and what appeared to be a constant pursuit of his family.
Please don’t call yourself a leader if today, you can’t love the people around you, whether you like them or not.
Look around you, people are hurting, go reach out your hand.
And if you want to improve your leadership, try these three things…
Seek someone’s forgiveness today. Who have you wronged? Who have you secretly been upset with? Who are you harboring bitterness towards? Go make it right. You may never be close to that person again, but you’ll still experience a freedom like never before.
Love people that are different than you. Do you only feel for those like you? Do you fight to understand those that look or act differently than you do? Get out of your comfort zone today. People are walking through things that you’ll never understand. So choose to love them instead of being hypocritical, hateful, or downright ignorant.
Pray for greater capacity. I wish I could say I do this every day, but I don’t. But often, I ask God to allow me to see people the way He sees them. I ask Him for a greater capacity to love people. I ask Him to remove my bias or prejudice that could be restricting my ability to love. It’s amazing what happens when we invite Jesus to be at the center of our leadership.
You have everything you need inside of you to be a great leader…I’m praying for you. Why? Because there are people on this planet that I won’t get to love on and encourage…so I hope you can!