I’m writing this as I drive from Adelaide to Melbourne. Don’t worry. My wife is driving.
It’s an 8 hour and 10 minute drive for us, and it has been a while since we made this trip. You see, I go to Melbourne often, but as it is a quick 1 hour and 20 minute flight, driving is not usually on my agenda.
I’m not known for my patience or my willingness to sit in situations for long periods of time. I like to move fast, to get to destinations, to cram as much as I can into any trip that I make. To keep moving and build momentum.
I once drove from Perth to Broome in a minibus with a group of young leaders and knew within the first 30 minutes that it was going to be a challenge. Not because of others, but because of my discomfort with sitting in the process.
But. (Deep breath.) I know that the journey (a word I hate) is often where the learning, healing, growth and wisdom are developed. It’s where our passions and dreams can connect with what God is already doing in and around us.
As leaders, we are often in constant motion–from one idea to the next, from one problem to another. Never fully understanding that, too often, we are spinning our wheels. Fatiguing ourselves and those we lead.
So, what can we do about this? How can we build margin and reflective practices into our leadership? How can we embrace and learn from the journey rather than rushing through to its end? What are we missing when we fail to do this? I think it’s worth finding out.
Let’s give ourselves permission to slow down, have the courage required to let go of control, and see what God might be doing in our lives and leadership.
Let’s do it together.
