Volunteer Centered Thoughts: Freedom to Fail

As a leader, it is hard to see your team fail. In fact, it is even harder to see your own leaders fail. If you are like me, you want to see your leaders succeed, so much so that sometimes you won’t let them lead on their own. But that is what we have to do - let them lead rather than sheltering them.

Even if it means failure, let them lead

If we want to allow our leaders to grow, we have to let them fail. You aren’t a leader today because everything went perfect (if so, you are a rare leader indeed). Things don’t always go as planned, and your next generation leaders need to learn that lesson as well.

Leading through failure

So, if we let our leaders lead, we must learn how to minister to failure. This may take the form of guiding them out of their bad decisions, helping them recover lost time or resources, and then reviewing the decisions in hindsight to help them make better decisions in the future. No matter what, be sure you pray with them and support them in whatever what you can.

Leading after failure

It is sometimes thought that taking someone out of their role after a failure will teach them a lesson. Instead, give them another chance to pick themselves up and move on. Set them up for smaller successes to rebuild their confidence, giving them the strength and support they will need for the bigger challenges ahead.

As a leader of leaders, you must be prepared for them to fail. We also must be willing to minister to them and allow them to recover to grow their confidence and character. Just remember - it is about helping them succeed.