This is a guest post from Rodney Wardwell. Rodney is a pastor, church planter, author, and hosts the podcast, Unthinkable Leaders. Learn more at unthinkableleaders.com.
Just imagine the smells of the bakery with me. You walk in and the place has all of the right aesthetics. It’s a warm and cozy space. You walk up to the glass case and see all of the amazing breads, donuts and pastries. The case is impressively pristine…no fingerprints or smudges. There’s even coffee with hundreds of different flavors. The place is amazing.
As you admire the baked goods, you notice one man working quickly to pull items out of the case. He gets the food and coffee for one customer, and then he rushes to the register to cash that customer out. He runs back and forth to the case of baked goods, helping customers as fast as he can. When the madness slows down, he wipes down tables, throws away trash, and grabs a broom to sweep the floors. The baker is working feverishly, and at first sight you think to yourself, “This guy is crushing it.”
But then you notice something you hadn’t seen before…the baker is extremely thin. He looks like skin and bones. What a sad tragedy. Here is the man with all of these amazing pastries and baked goods, and yet he’s wasting away to nothing. He’s exhausted. He’s depleted. He’s utterly drained.
The baker is a picture of so many leaders today. Their unsustainable pace has produced an unhealthy soul. The demands of leadership have made them victims of leadership fatigue. Leadership Fatigue is often the result of focusing more time and energy on leading others than we spend on leading ourselves. Leadership fatigue occurs when we make more decisions for others than we do for ourselves.
Let’s just be real—this has been a difficult season for every leader. The weight of each decision, combined with the relentless pressure to do what’s right, has created a brutal environment, especially for unbalanced leaders. And that’s why I want to encourage you with a handful of practical tips to help you in this challenging season. How do you deal with leadership fatigue? Start with these three action steps to stay in the fight and keep going for the long haul.
1. Set Challenging Personal Goals
One of my favorite stories in the gospels takes place right before Jesus calls Peter, James and John into ministry (in the TV Series, The Chosen, they tell this story in an awesome way.) The men had been out fishing all night, and they hadn’t caught any fish. Then Jesus tells Peter to push out a little bit and throw his net on the other side of the boat. Peter reluctantly does so, and then what happens? The fish hit the net hard. There are so many fish that the boat begins to sink.
So, what do they do?
They call their friends over and get another boat. In other words, they grow their capacity. Now, maybe I have this wrong, but in my experience facing hard moments and constant leadership decisions isn’t as difficult when you’ve been consistently growing yourself and leading yourself. Why? Because when you grow yourself, you stretch your leadership threshold.
Let’s face it, personal challenges are often better than outside challenges. Why? Because I get to choose the challenges. I would have never chosen a pandemic to lead in. I would have never chosen to lead through racial injustice. But I do get to choose my devotional life. I do get to choose weight loss and personal health, along with the steps I’ll take to accomplish those goals. I do get to choose the number of books (and types of books) I read to help myself grow.
Plus, your personal growth has a ripple effect. As you lead yourself, you’re better equipped to lead others. Decision making and leadership moments are less exhausting when you’ve grown your capacity by regularly flexing your leadership muscle.
2. Develop and Guard Your Emotional Intelligence
Looking back to the disciples again, we know that Simon Peter was a rather passionate person. However, as Pastor Jim McNabb has always said, “It’s the burden that is sustainable and sadly, sometimes ‘passion’ can run out.”
Simon Peter had a tendency to make knee jerk reactions—didn’t he? I mean, who would ask Jesus, “If it’s you then call me out on the water with you?”…and then actually go! Or who would say, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” (Matthew 26:35), and then a short time later actually deny Jesus three different times. Then there’s the time when Jesus was being arrested in the garden? It was Peter who was ready to revolt as he pulled out his sword and cut off the ear of the Roman guard Malchus.
Simon Peter had a history of being emotionally charged. He was controlled by his emotions, and it often got the best of him. In fact, after Jesus’ death, as Peter beat himself up emotionally for denying Jesus, it took a meet up with Jesus in John 20 for Peter to be reminded of the call that God had upon his life.
That’s why, as a leader, I refuse to let CNN or Fox News dictate my interpretation of how I’m supposed to feel about the status of the world today. Uncle Larry’s or Aunt Sue’s Facebook post about our current events doesn’t bother me. I’ve learned that I can’t let someone who is not headed down the same path or toward the same destination give me directions.
This year I told our Bricktown church family (where I pastor) that we can’t take our cues from people who are out in their boats weathering the storm without an anchor. So many people are being tossed about by the same wind and waves that we are, but the difference is they aren’t anchored to anything. They’re out in the middle of the ocean with a bull horn trying to tell everyone else how to feel. But those who are anchored in Jesus see the storm through the lens of Hebrews 6:19:
“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus has entered on our behalf.”
So, we have to guard our emotions; otherwise, listening to the voices around us will create leadership fatigue and wear us out.
3. Find and Do What Recharges You
In Matthew 14, Jesus and his disciples finished an intense day of ministry. Jesus had fed more than 5,000 people, and then he sent his disciples ahead of him in a boat. Why? Because Jesus needed time to recharge. Matthew 14:23 says:
“After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there along, and the boat was a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.”
Jesus needed some time alone, and this was a regular practice in His life. Mark 1:35 says, “Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and went to a solitary place to pray.” If the very Son of God in his human form needed to spend time with the Father to be recharged, how much more do you and I need that spiritual connection to fuel us today? Isaiah 40:30 reminds us, “Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
I have found that I recharge while riding my bike and listening to a good audiobook. I’m renewed when I take a walk around the neighborhood with my family. When I go on a day date with my wife, it puts fuel back in my tank.
We all need treasures in our treasure chest. If we stop taking the time to create memories and have fun, we’ll grow tired and exhausted. But if you want to avoid leadership fatigue, then you need to discover the things that recharge you, and then schedule them into your daily and weekly calendar.
These three keys will help you lead at a higher level for a longer time. That’s my prayer for you. Don’t be like the starving baker. Take care of yourself by setting challenging goals, guarding your emotions, and finding what recharges you.
