Face reality, you have plateaued
Colin Baron
"The reality is that many people and churches are stuck on a plateau"
A few years ago I spoke at a leader’s conference on the subject of “avoiding plateau”. One of my friends made the somewhat cynical comment that “you will not get many people attending your seminar, as leaders are often reluctant to admit that they are experiencing a plateau, either to themselves or to other leaders”.
The reality is that many people and churches are stuck on a plateau. What can be even scarier is that some are blissfully unaware of it. Facing up to the reality of where you are can be a very frustrating and even painful experience. But from this honest assessment you can build a foundation to make the right choices to affect change and subsequent breakthrough. Here are some indicators that you have reached a plateau and have let it negatively affect your life and leadership.
1. You find yourself beginning to drift and you lack focus
2. You change the goal posts so it looks like you are scoring
3. You “super spiritualize” your assessment, saying it will happen in Gods time
4. You blame things on the lack of resources and keep saying “if only”
5. You keep saying “we live in the hardest place on the planet to build anything”
6. No one admits the truth, or at least the whole truth regarding the situation
The fact is that some of these indicators are not excuses, but real, proper and justifiable reasons for things not moving as you would have hoped. If this is a correct assessment, then the plateau is a good place for you to be and can be a productive season of taking stock and repositioning yourself for the next phase. But if they are excuses then you need to face up to this potentially difficult reality.
Breakthrough Leadership
Colin Baron
"I find that keeping optimistic and energised in mid life has become a major challenge"
I now find myself firmly in my fifties, pioneering a multi site church and in the early stages of a dream to build an arts academy in one of the poorest parts of Manchester. This academy is where we aim to give some of the most disadvantaged in our city access to high quality and socially motivated artists.
I find that keeping optimistic and energised in mid life, especially after spending the last 25 years starting new churches and projects has become a major challenge. Stamina is lower, cynicism is an ever-invading threat and living with the reality of success and disappointments is very frustrating. I find bible characters and business leaders a major source of encouragement and stimulus, as I look to stay motivated and on the cutting edge. In these next few blogs I want to look at different ways that enable leaders to achieve a measure of breakthrough and success while at the same time avoiding the energy and soul sapping experience of being on a long-term plateau, where nothing seems to change or move on.
To start with lets look at six rules for every CEO that Jack Welsh, former CEO General Electric, laid out in Fortune (1989) –
1. Control your destiny, or someone else will
2. Face reality
3. Be candid with every one
4. Don’t manage, lead
5. Change before you have to
6. If you don’t have a competitive advantage, don’t compete
Next blog: Face reality
Colin's Profile
Colin leads Christ Church Manchester (CCM), a new church on the east side of the city birthed out of a passion to see significant churches planted in each of the ten boroughs of Greater Manchester.
Colin also travels internationally for the Newfrontiers team, encouraging and equipping church planters as well as coaching leaders and developing teams in established churches.