Suppose you board an airplane for a nine-hour transatlantic flight with three hundred other souls. After the usual announcements about stowing your luggage and fastening your seat belts, the captain comes on the speaker, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Today we will try to fly this plane all the way to Paris.” I don’t know about you, but if I heard such an uncertain announcement from the highest ranking leader on the airplane, I'm certain I would get off and catch the next flight.
TO TRY IS NOT ENOUGH
Just like you wouldn’t trust an airline pilot to try to fly an airplane, leaders who simply try don’t accomplish much and don’t inspire much confidence in their followers. "Try" may be the worst word one can use in leadership. As far as leadership is concerned, simply trying is a recipe for failure.
FIVE REASONS WHY "TRY" IS A BAD WORD
Trying Does Not Motivate. Trying means you are unsure about the way ahead, and most people are unwilling to follow a leader who doesn’t know where he or she is going.
Trying is a Compromise. Trying means you are less than fully committed to the outcome. Even if they fail, true leaders don’t try, they intend on succeeding.
Trying Allows for a Way Out. If you are driving a heavy truck down a steep hill, a way out is good in case your breaks fail; but a way out in leadership is a temptation to quit when things get tough.
Trying is Hopeful and Hope is Not Enough. Trying means you are depending on hope, and, as good as it is in other areas, hope is not a leadership strategy.
Trying Counts on Outside Forces. Trying means you are only confident in accomplishing your goals if the circumstances are right, and we all know circumstances are not always the best. Successful leaders succeed in spite of circumstances.
MORE THAN TRYING
The overall purpose of our training is for alumni to accelerate the spread of the Gospel. The leaders we train are literally on front lines of reaching the world with the message of Christ, and our training helps them do so with more passion and effectiveness. This means their work with the lost will have eternal impact. When people’s eternity are in the balance, trying is simply not enough. There is a tremendous difference between saying "I will try" and "I will do it." We serve a powerful God capable of all things. Let's be leaders who leave little room for doubt and do more than try. Let's succeed!
Do you understand the eternal impact of your leadership for the spread of the Gospel to the least and the lost? What will it take to do more than “try” in your leadership?
Data and information are essential for knowing how effective your organization or ministry is, but knowing the right data to measure is the most important key to your success.