WEEKLY WISDOM - PERSEVERANCE

Perseverance: persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.

I've often wondered why many people give up so early on their dreams, desires, and growth opportunities for themselves. They may meander around from jobs to schools to organizations, looking for that thing that will be fulfilling.  I believe many don't remain in a position or with an organization long enough to grow roots, build relationships, understand the business, experience the cycles, or exercise their talents and gifts to their maximum. At the first sign of challenge, difficulty, or lack of recognition, they are on to the next adventure, starting the process all over again.

As a leader, the profound understanding of your unique gifts and talents, the environment that fuels your growth, and your personal definition of success will empower you to persist and remain consistent as your life and leadership journey unfolds.

As you embark on your leadership journey, it's crucial to acknowledge that you will inevitably encounter a variety of complex challenges in different aspects of your life. These challenges may manifest in your professional, personal, spiritual, physical, or emotional spheres. However, with perseverance as your constant companion, you can navigate through these challenges. A wise friend once said, 'If you want to make a significant impact in this world, do something CHALLENGING with the people you LOVE!' That's the power of perseverance!

Many leaders isolate themselves on an island and feel alone doing it. Over the past few months, I had to lead our organization through some significant transitions, and it became complex, frustrating, challenging, demoralizing, and overwhelming, just to name a few emotions. I had several choices in how I would approach this significant transition. I could take my toys and go to another sandbox, which many leaders do. I could start the complaint campaign and ensure everyone around me knew how crazy this was and enlist them to confirm my complaints. Instead, I took the following approach, which has proven to be more mature, influential, challenging, and fulfilling from a growth perspective. James 1:4 confirms how perseverance is a necessary leadership trait. It states, "Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." This means allowing perseverance to guide you through the challenges, leading to personal and professional growth.

Here are some actions I hope will help you exercise your perseverance in challenging situations.

• Ask many questions to better understand the situation or issue, allowing you to be creative with solutions.

• Enlist confidants with whom you can voice frustration but end the conversations discussing strategies.  

• Break the behemoth transition into bite-sized actions to significantly reduce your stress level.

• Allow delegation to become a partner as you can expand the responsibilities of your staff personnel who support you.

• Your vision and mission should keep your energy level high because you know what the end goal can look like and how beneficial it would be for your staff and clients if executed well.

• Lastly, lead with a grounding of scripture reading, prayer, and meditation to keep you focused.

With the execution of the above actions, your perseverance will make the issue much more bearable.  It will also help define your overall life, leadership values, and purpose.