Change - Leadership Prayers
Change
Oh, Lord, give me faith for this leap to the future. And make this a leap of leadership, not a solo jump.
No one puts new wine into old wineskins. Luke 5:37
Leadership is inherently about effecting change in order to obtain some desired future condition that would not otherwise happen. Most people want progress as long as they do not have to change very much to get it.
WHY CAN’T you give me a bridge to the future, Lord? Instead, you make me jump for it. You make me let go and leap by faith. You did it when I wanted a new relationship with you. You have done it repeatedly in my career and in my personal life. The new future you show me is beautiful, and the jump is reasonable, but it is always a leap of faith. So here I am again, asking for faith to make another leap.
This is a leadership leap, God. It will do no good if I make it and no one else even tries. I am not leading unless someone is following. Is anyone else going to leap with me? I am depending on you to spread this faith to others.
Is this change even possible? I need to feel sure I have not missed a fatal indicator. There is a fine line between faith and folly. Maybe we can’t leap this far; two leaps won’t work across a gap. Protect me from leading us off the edge. Confirm that we can make it.
Getting to this new future will change things for all of us. I cannot foresee all the changes, but I know there will be outcomes we did not intend. Don’t let people worry unnecessarily about the unknowns, for if they hold back too much, we will not succeed.
You put us where we are, and it is so good and comfortable. How you got us to this place is part of our tradition. Where we need to go looks uncertain, and it feels scary and even wrong in a way to lose and destroy what you have provided. Give us pilgrim’s hearts, God. Do not let us clutch the present comfort and safety because it will not stay that way forever. We must leave this good place and move on, by faith—the same kind of faith that got us here.
If this change is going to happen, I need the right words from you—words to reduce anxiety, increase confidence, and intensify the feeling that we need to do it. Give me words that will show respect for our past as we head for our future together. But above all . . .
Oh, Lord, give me faith for this leap to the future. And make this a leadership leap, not a solo jump.
Reflections
In the guest bathroom of a friend’s home, I found no reading material, only a Rubik’s Cube. Pondering the challenges of leadership while fiddling with the plastic puzzle, I happened upon these lessons:
Some Things Cannot Be Changed.
The center square determines what color each side of the cube must be. Everything else about the cube can be changed in endless permutations, but the color of any one face is determined by the center. Inherently optimistic, I assume I can accomplish whatever the organization needs, but I have always been blessed with a few faithful “reality therapists” who make sure we do not waste time and energy trying to do the impossible.
You Can Never Change Just One Thing.
The only way to move any square on any face of the cube is to move twelve squares all at once. I may want to move one manager, rewrite one section of the plan, modify one advertising concept, drop one product line, add one new customer service, or relocate one branch office. But every change has multiple results, planned and otherwise.
You Have to Give Up What You Have to Get What You Want.
Getting one face of the cube all the same color is not too difficult, but progress beyond that point requires losing part of that beautifully complete face. Most people fail the cube because they cannot destroy the first complete face they achieve. They cling to the lovely but unfinished present and sacrifice the future.
