Staying Sharp

How do you stay sharp in leadership?

King Solomon, one of the wisest and influential people in his day, said “If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring success.” (Ecc 10:10).

In the same way, we need to stay sharp as leaders, ministers, business people because working hard without working smart wont keep you sharp. In fact, it will make you dull.

Here are some thoughts on staying sharp:

Resources – it is important to be a life long learner. Discipline yourself to read at least one book a month/week. Take seminars, courses, educational sabbaticals… In fact, we all need to be intentional to learn or otherwise we plateau. Reading the Bible and prayer is also one of the biggest tools for me to grow. Why? Because it speaks into the areas of my life that I don’t always address, the blind spots I have, and encourages me to be more like Christ; the leader of all leaders.

Relationships – who is speaking life to you? It is so important to have a community of accountability relationships who fosters humility, honesty, and vulnerability. This is easier said than done… but necessary. It is easy to learn from people afar and it is harder to let people in our lives. Pray it out…

Rest – this is something that needs to be explained. Rest isn’t relaxation. Rest means rejuvenation. It means reflection. It means renewal. In a world that doesn’t know how to rest; not only physically and holistically, we need to find avenues of rest. For me, the gym, sports, family events, dates with my wife, and prayer give me times of rest. Without rest, our perspectives became blurry, deposition edgy, and thinking unclear.

The default to plateau leadership is to work harder… but I would encourage you today leadership that stays sharp is intentional in learning, strategic in relationships, and renewed in perspective.

Don’t plateau! Stay sharp.