Reviewing Jonah, The Leader Who Failed

by Kathy Brasby | Jan 7, 2019 | Jonah, Leadership

I’ve finished the series about Jonah and his leadership style. We can learn leadership from those who do it backward, too. And Jonah did. He followed his own agenda and suffered for it.

Here are the posts, in case you’d like to review:

Who Is This Jonah and Why do We Care?

When Leading People Isn’t the Main Thing

Why Loose Cannons are Not Good Leaders But You May Know One Anyway

Why We Need to Communicate Like Superheroes

How Recognizing Biases Helps Us to Lead

Should a Strong-Willed Leader Be Tamed?

What If a Plan Goes Too Well?

Why Leaders Should Offer Second Chances

Should strong-willed leaders be tamed?

by Kathy Brasby | Dec 10, 2018 | Jonah, Leadership

When we think of leaders, we tend to think of strong-willed people. If we’re generous, we call them courageous and vision-driven. If we’re not so impressed, we call them bossy and controlling.

And either impression can be accurate, depending on the leader. I tend to think of leaders as lions and I’ve met some lions that needed a little taming. They were bossy and controlling, not good traits for an effective leader.

Lion at Denver zoo

What does God do with strong-willed leaders? We might assume he uses them or we might assume that he operates with the idea of making the weak strong.

He does both.

I do want to remind you that we’re talking about ourselves as leaders, not someone else. It’s easy to look at another person and think, “Boy, do they need to learn to be less bossy.”

But what if that strong-willed leader is me? You? Strap on your adulting uniform and let’s plow forward.

How does God tame a strong-willed leader? Among our examples from the Bible is Jonah, who made quick decisions. Just not always the right ones.

Leaders need to be uncomfortable at times to learn

Those in leadership roles might assume they are fully trained, finally ready to lead. No leader is every complete. There’s more to learn and sometimes it comes through uncomfortable times.

Jonah’s story illustrates that. He assumed he heard God and was ready to step into the chief prophetic role. He could take over the process.

When his process took him away from God’s direction, God made him uncomfortable. In the whale. In the blistering heat.

The goal was to learn more about God’s nature.

Leaders remember the goal, not the process.

Need a new strategy for managing your team? Want a new catchphrase for looking like you’re going somewhere? Those are available everywhere. But do those pop strategies get you to your goal? Leaders remember the goal.

Sadly, Jonah missed God’s goal. He was interested in a process: speak God’s words to God’s people. He’d done that before, and it worked pretty well.

God’s goal was to draw people to himself. God showed compassion to the sailors and to the people of Nineveh. His goal was to bring them closer.

Jonah missed the goal.

Strong-willed leaders don’t always win.

When I was a child, I was pretty sure I could be more stubborn than anyone. I was sure that my will would win.

The best lesson I ever learned was that my mother could be more persistent than me. I lost to her. A lot.

Leaders need some humility. And the ability to listen. Our way is not always the best way.

Just because I could push an idea through did not mean it was the best notion.

Jonah had a chance to learn that lesson. Running away from a hated enemy seemed like a great plan. He had revenge, not restoration, in mind for Nineveh.
God pulled him back and showed him something new: that God has restoration in mind.

Strong-willed leaders are common. The term is almost redundant.

[bctt tweet=”A strong-willed leader devoted to a vision that comes out of a humble and listening attitude is almost unstoppable.” username=”kathybrasby” https://wp.me/pahZ3c-4g]A leader like Jonah, stubborn and full of his own biases, will stumble. A strong-willed leader devoted to a vision that comes out of a humble and listening attitude is almost unstoppable.

QUESTION: Have you ever been a strong-willed leader? How has God reined you in?

Why Leaders Should Offer Second Chances

by Kathy Brasby | Dec 3, 2018 | Jonah, Leadership

Ever made a dumb mistake? Yeah, me, too.

I’ve always loved Megamind in the movie, who argued with Minion and finally concluded, “You were right. I was less right.”

We are sometimes less right, and we hope, like Minion, that someone will let us be more right.

I was a strong-willed child who spent my early years trying to do what I wanted to do. Strong-willed kids are like that. I was sure that no one could stand up to my will.

My mother opposed those wild ventures at every turn, so often that I remember asking her, “Why don’t you like me?”

“Oh, I like you all right,” she said. “I don’t like some of the stuff you do.”

For me, that was a second chance. All my shenanigans at least wouldn’t land me on the street. Mom hadn’t given up on me yet. There was still hope.

I think of that stubborn six-year-old when I think about Jonah.

He assumed God wouldn’t abandon him, either. God gave him second chances and he expected it. He did not expect second chances for those he thought unworthy. He knew he was worthy but others, well, he wasn’t convinced.

God, in pushing Jonah to go to Nineveh, was also pushing Jonah to grow in the idea of giving second chances.

Leaders resemble like Jonah sometimes. We like second chances in our own lives because we make mistakes. Others let us down? They’re out of here.

Why should a leader offer a second chance to someone who has either made a mistake or maybe willfully crossed a line?

Imperfect people can help.

Jonah is a great example. God can use imperfect people to accomplish impossible things.

In fact, a quick scan of the people in the Bible shows us that God used plenty of imperfect people. Some weren’t even trying to please God, and he still worked through them.

And he worked on them.

Jonah certainly didn’t climb on that boat to serve God. He wanted out of the assignment. But things didn’t go that simply.

God was going to teach about second chances: to the people of Nineveh, to the sailors on the boat, and to Jonah himself.

God uses imperfect people to accomplish great things and so should we. It’s good leadership.

[bctt tweet=”God uses imperfect people to accomplish great things and so should we. It’s good leadership. #leadership https://wp.me/pahZ3c-46″ username=”kathybrasby”]

People can change.

That was probably the rub for Jonah: he had some idea this might be true. And he certainly didn’t want Nineveh to change. He had revenge in mind.

Leaders can’t forget that people change.

They don’t always, of course, but they can. And they do. Especially when others don’t give up on them.

This is one of the challenges of leadership. We might want to discard those who fall. We expect perfection – or at least a good try. Not everyone is up for that, at least not at first.

But given a second chance…. Well, it can work out pretty well sometimes.

Have you ever given someone a second chance that worked out well?

How Recognizing Biases Helps Us Lead

by Kathy Brasby | Nov 19, 2018 | Jonah, Leadership

Leaders can get cocky. George Orwell explained the phenomenon well: “Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Jonah had a lot of power. He heard God.

I remember as a child that I wanted to hear God so badly that I actually dreamt that it happened. In my dream, my mom and I were driving home, and God’s voice rang out with a deep sound that reminded me of our pastor. I was impressed.

I don’t remember what he said, but I remember the dream to this day.

Well, Jonah did better. He heard God and remembered what God said. And he relayed the message to the king of Israel. When the king of Israel was able to restore boundaries just like Jonah said he would, Jonah gained status.

He could add to his resume that he was a reliable prophet. He obviously thought he had the pipeline to God’s plans.

That’s pretty heady stuff.

Then Jonah heard God speak to him again.

But, like all of us, Jonah had biases. Jonah believed:

• God only worked in Israel for his chosen people.
• Jonah deserved the honor of being a prophet.
• Jonah knew God’s standard for evil better than God himself did.
• Ninevehites were enemies of Israel and therefore outside of God’s sphere.
• Nationalism trumped God’s mercy.
• The correct response to opposition is vengeance.

Jonah had it figured out, and he had no patience for God’s mercy.

We know that Jonah agreed to go to Nineveh and deliver God’s message. I’m surprised that he didn’t relish the job since, as far as he could tell, he was giving judgment.

I think Jonah had a sense that he was delivering a second chance. He didn’t approve, but he finally agreed to go.

How does this help us as leaders?

We can’t forget that we serve.

First, we serve God. Then we help his people.

God doesn’t limit himself to the projects that we prefer.

Leaders can have pet projects, but leadership isn’t limited to pet projects. Leaders need to think big. Leaders need to think worldwide as well as the community.

We should check our biases often.

We have them. Do they show God’s plans? The story about Nineveh teaches us that no one is outside God’s sphere.

Are we honest about God’s mercy?

Do we expect mercy for us in our circumstances but find it troublesome when extended to someone we don’t approve of?

Vengeance is never the right response

We may feel right about revenge, but leaders need to forgive and not retaliate. The correct answer to evil is not condemnation but compassion.

QUESTION: What biases have you met in your leadership journey? What can you do about one of them?

What If A Plan Goes Too Well?

by Kathy Brasby | Nov 12, 2018 | Jonah, Leadership

Have you ever watched the TV show, “The A-Team”? You can YouTube it. The episodes featured do-good mercenaries who always had a plan. Of course, things never went according to a plan. But in the end, the leader, Hannibal Smith, would poke a big cigar in his mouth and proclaim, “I love it when a plan comes together.”

We all like our plans to work.

You’d think that Jonah would be pleased that God’s warning had worked. Jonah’s warning s frightened the Ninevites. They believed that this new God could overpower any deities they had sitting on their shelves.

Amazing things that happened after Jonah’s warning:

• The great city of Nineveh was frightened.
• The people believed the message from Jonah.
• The people believed that God was more powerful than their own deities. They hoped he was more compassionate, too.
• They decided to change.
• The king of this great city stepped off his throne to join his people in the effort to convince God to change his mind.
• The king gave orders: “All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands.”

In other words, the king of Nineveh knew why the warning had been given, and he decided to make a change. His people agreed with him.
Who could have seen this coming? A great city within a powerful war-like nation listened to one foreign man who declared that doom and destruction are coming. Even the king believed Jonah.

I’m not sure I would have listened. Jonah probably looked like an ant shaking his fist at a human. Why listen to this guy?

Obviously, God knew something about this city that Jonah didn’t know.

Jonah had finally delivered the message of doom that God had directed him to give.

And now this: the people were making changes that might cancel the doom and destruction orders. The hail and brimstone might not fall. A fireworks display wasn’t likely.
Jonah wanted to see all those people turned to dust.

That’s an ugly trait for this leader. He could easily condemn an entire city because he decided they deserved destruction. God had already shown Jonah compassion but Jonah wasn’t ready to show mercy.

God was compassionate to a city, but Jonah didn’t approve. God knew the people were ready for a transformation and God was willing to give them a chance.

There are times when leaders have a strong opinion about what should happen next. But a leader’s strong opinion isn’t always the correct one.

[bctt tweet=”A leader’s strong opinion isn’t always the correct one.”]

We talk about leaders trusting their instincts at times, and there’s a place for that. But instincts are a gift that should be held lightly. Jonah is an excellent example of trusting his instincts over God’s plan.

He should have rejoiced over this city’s repentance. The plan wasn’t the one he approved of, and he pouted instead.

What do we do when a plan comes together? What if that plan wasn’t our plan and we predicted failure? How have you handled a situation like that?

Why We Need To Communicate Like Superheroes

by Kathy Brasby | Nov 5, 2018 | Jonah, Leadership

After NFL quarterback Drew Brees set the record for total passing yardage, he was asked what play had been called for record-setting pass. He said, “Gun King Trips Right Terrapin 52 Sway All Go Special X Shallow Cross H Wide.

I am not kidding.

The coach selected the play, Brees understood it, and his team executed it.

Communication is funny. Brees didn’t need to use a language that you or I might understand. (Well, I’m assuming you couldn’t run the play either.) He spoke in a way that his team could follow.

Communication must be specific to the team we’re talking to. If I called out Brees’ play to my team, there would be laughter and a lot of guessing. “Are we shooting fish? What are terrapins anyway? Who sways 52?”

My team would have a blast if I tried to give them directions like Drew Brees. He set a record but my team would be hysterical. They certainly wouldn’t set any records.

I wouldn’t have communicated in a meaningful way for them. If my team is to make awesome strides, we need to understand each other.

We’ve been talking about Jonah. You know how he heard God and made his own decision. But we need to take a step back.

Jonah didn’t really understand God. He interpreted in his own way. But there are lots of ways to communicate, and God illustrates that for us.

What happened with Jonah?

Jonah didn’t understand what God planned to do.

God could have given up on him. There were other prophets at that time. God could have picked one of them when Jonah defied his play call.

Jonah could have escaped. He would have assumed he comprehended the entire situation and made the right choice. But running from God’s presence wasn’t the right choice. Jonah didn’t understand that. Had God let Jonah run away, Jonah would have misunderstood God’s motives.

So God made things a little uncomfortable for Jonah. Being swallowed by a big fish might be more than a little uncomfortable. God got Jonah’s attention instead of letting him run. God didn’t give up on Jonah. He found another way to communicate besides words.

When words don’t work, we have to look for other responses. We can’t give up.

God wanted Jonah to understand.

God communicated to Jonah in a way Jonah could understand.

That’s the key here: we often communicate with words but sometimes we need to do more. We need strategies and empathy for those we’re trying to connect with.

When words didn’t work, God communicated with Jonah through uncomfortable situations. He sent a storm. He sent a fish. He sent a worm. He used uncomfortable times to break through. Jonah didn’t like any of them but God didn’t let him miss out on the opportunity and the lesson.

Leaders do that. We could call a play like “Gun King Trips Right Terrapin 52 Sway All Go Special X Shallow Cross H Wide.” We could expect our team to get it or get out. They’d get out because they couldn’t comprehend our goals and our instructions.

We shouldn’t do that. [bctt tweet=”Leadership isn’t about making us look smart but about helping others succeed.”]Leadership isn’t about making us look smart but about helping others succeed.

Communication is key to leadership. We have to be able to connect with people we are leading. That means learning how to express ideas and goals in ways that our people will understand.

We do that by learning how others communicate. What they value. What gets their attention. What helps them understand better.

If the goal is to communicate our intentions, we have to learn to speak in many ways.

What are some ways that you’ve changed your communication methods with your team when they didn’t understand?

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