Measuring Up

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The most striking thing about highly effective leaders is how little they have in common. What one swears by, another warns against. But one trait stands out: the willingness to risk.
— Larry Osborne

Rich had just taken the pastorate of one of the largest churches in his denomination. He had experienced tremendous success in his previous church, a church plant that had grown to over 2,000 under his innovative, risk-taking style of leadership. Rich entered his new ministry assuming a long and bright future.

To his dismay, he found that a few arbitrary decisions, small mistakes in judgment, and the launching of a couple of pet projects took on epic proportions. Things that had been ignored in Memphis suddenly became a cause for impeachment in Minnesota.

Baffled, he tried to wrestle more and more control from his opponents. But instead of gaining more authority and freedom, he gained only more enemies. Within eighteen months he resigned, a crushed and confused pastor, wondering how someone who had been hailed as an innovative, risk-taking leader in one setting could be written off as an incompetent, wild-eyed gambler in another.

What is it that causes a leader to succeed in one setting and fail in another? More to the point, what makes a leader great?

For years I've studied leaders and their ministries hoping to get answers. I've focused on the highly successful, looking for their secrets, which I could apply to my own life and ministry. But what I've found has surprised me. Instead of secrets, principles, and patterns that guarantee success, I've found amazing diversity. While there are certainly some common threads to be found, the most striking thing about highly effective leaders is how little they have in common. What one swears ...

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