Effective Leaders Confront Quickly

Wouldn't you tell someone right away if they had spinach caught in their teeth?
Wouldn't you tell someone right away if they had spinach caught in their teeth? (Flickr)

I have a great friend.

I know this to be true because he is quick to tell me things no one else would tell me. If I have spinach in my teeth, even for a moment, he will tell me. I hate looking in the mirror and seeing a leafy vegetable waving back at me.

But the pain of seeing the tree in my teeth pales in comparison to my thoughts of all the people I've encountered since lunch ... those who didn't care enough to share the obvious truth.

Leaders must be willing to confront.

Weak leaders put-off speaking the truth and allow an issue to develop barnacles. Quick confrontation about an error in performance is life giving. Hearing a leader say, "you've been doing this wrong for the last month," is debilitating and trust busting.  

Corrective confrontation builds trust.

Jesus confronted the woman at the well after she declared she had no husband. He said "... you have had five husbands and whom you now have is not your husband." I wonder how many leaders today, armed with such knowledge, would be as loving to confront. Do you believe the woman's life was changed by confrontation?

No one likes to be confronted. But we all need someone in our life to care enough to confront.

What a friend we have in Jesus.

(Thanks to Pastor Shaddy at Lake Mary Church for inspiring me to conclude that confrontation builds trust.)

Dr. Steve Greene is the publisher and executive vice president of the media group at Charisma Media and executive producer of the Charisma Podcast Network. His book, Love Leads: The Spiritual Connection Between Your Relationships and Productivity, is now available.

Leaders, Dr. Greene wants to help you understand the spiritual connection between relationships and productivity. Read his new blog, here.

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