4 min read

Redemption, Deliverance...And Leadership?

May 26, 2017 6:30:00 AM

Today we’re sharing insight from guest blogger Todd Bruce, Senior Vice President & Regional Manager for Lake City Bank's North Region. We hope you enjoy Todd’s wisdom and perspective.

Redemption and Deliverance - Todd Bruce- FB.jpgWhen you hear the words redemption and deliverance, what is the first word that comes to mind? I bet it’s not leadership. Leadership is about leading, coaching, developing, overcoming…to which I say, exactly my point, redemption and deliverance.

When you’re invited to write a blog on leadership, you start pondering leadership a lot. For me, that invite came the first part of April, also a point in the year that coincided with Easter and Passover. The themes of redemption and deliverance are central to those events, and so I wondered if there was reason all this had crossed my path at the same time, and how they related to each other.

Obviously, as leaders we’re cognizant of our responsibility to lead people through challenges, assist them in reaching their goals and overcoming obstacles —deliverance. We’re also there to pick them up when they fall, and turn that experience into a positive—redemption.

But my thoughts were taking me to a different aspect: what about our redemption and deliverance, as leaders, when we miss the mark? How do we deal with that? SPOILER ALERT! Many of you are at the top of your game and won’t see the need for this topic. But there some of us who are still learning and get it wrong more than we wish, or maybe there are young leaders-to-be whose big challenges are yet to come. Either way, it’s important. How we deal with our own short-falls is central to our quality of life and quality of leadership.

Recently, I’ve had conversations with friends who were about to take a big career step, taking their game a quantum leap forward. I wanted to encourage them, I knew they were going to be great. I also suggested that if they were lucky, they would find themselves in over their heads. “In over your head” isn’t an easy place to be, but it’s important to make peace with that place, it’s where we grow. So how do we do that?

I wish I could have done more. This is a tension of leadership, balancing high standards vs. an inability to perfectly achieve them all. Take a deep breath and relax. At the end of the day, most leaders probably go home wishing they could have done more, thinking they should have done better. Re-frame this tension into the good thing it represents—you care. Simply convert that tension into energy to return tomorrow and look for ways to do things better or differently.    

Discovering your next gear. We may fear that accepting our inability to “do it all” is condoning sub-standard performance and will lead to mediocrity. Actually, it’s hiding from our flaws that will lead to mediocrity; we can’t fix what we won’t acknowledge. If we want to take our game to the next level, we need to lean in to challenges; think embracing instead of enduring. Let me suggest something counterintuitive, when you’re up against it, literally say a prayer of thanks for that challenge. Literally be thankful for that challenge. The energy created when you do this will transform the situation and everyone involved. Deliverance!  

I can’t do it by myself. Life has its moments. Life is great, yes, but it has its moments, and what we do in those moments is critical. It’s hard to keep perspective if it feels like it’s you against the world. Good news, it’s never you against the world. Find someone you can trust—a mentor, a business coach, a trusted peer, or peer group—to provide encouragement, frank feedback, and help you see things from as different angle. Prayer and meditation may also provide the broader perspective you need.  

What’s The Risk?

At some point, everyone needs a little redemption and deliverance, including ourselves. The risk is that if we create an environment for ourselves where it’s unacceptable to fail, we’ll probably create that same environment for the people we lead. And that environment leads to contraction and fear, not expansion and success. I wish I never needed deliverance, but I do. It’s great to think we all have the opportunity for redemption, and we do.     

 

This content was written and shared by guest blogger, Todd Bruce.

Todd Bruce headshot2.jpgTodd Bruce is the Sr. Vice President and Regional Manager for Lake City Bank’s North Region, and has been with the bank for 17 years. Todd has a Master’s Degree in Management from Indiana Wesleyan University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Management from Concordia University. Todd has served on several non-profit boards throughout his career, including past-Presidents of South Bend Rotary and Leadership South Bend/Mishawaka, as well as the current Chair for Junior Achievement of St. Joseph County and the Business Development Corporation, and the Chair-elect for the Northern Indiana Workforce Board.  Lake City Bank, a $4.3 billion bank headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana, is the fourth largest bank headquartered in the state, and the largest bank 100% invested in Indiana. Lake City Bank operates 49 branch offices in northern and central Indiana. 

Connect with Todd on LinkedIn. Connect with Lake City Bank via their website, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Topics: Executive
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Gibson is a team of risk management and employee benefits professionals with a passion for helping leaders look beyond what others see and get to the proactive side of insurance. As an employee-owned company, Gibson is driven by close relationships with their clients, employees, and the communities they serve. The first Gibson office opened in 1933 in Northern Indiana, and as the company’s reach grew, so did their team. Today, Gibson serves clients across the country from offices in Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Utah.