When Leaders are Bored

I want to ask a question that is at the heart of most crises in leadership. If you will tell yourself the truth once I flesh this question out for you, it may make all the difference right now in your life and leadership.

Here it is: Are you bored?

When leaders are bored, it means they have lost vision for what they do.

When leaders are bored, they can no longer connect their heart to their work.

When leaders are bored, they’ve become convinced their work makes little difference in the world.

When leaders are bored, they have often begun to dislike the people they work with.

When leaders are bored, they’re usually phoning it in—not giving their best.

When leaders are bored, they often create miniature games to keep them excited. These games can lead to their destruction.

When leaders are bored, particularly if they are men, they routinely head towards costly moral failures. Surveys reveal that men have affairs as much for the excitement as out of lust.

When leaders are bored, they make stupid decisions.

When leaders are bored, a crisis of religious faith is usually involved.

When leaders are bored, they have often become self-satisfied.

When leaders are bored, they are no longer growing.

When leaders are bored, they have set the bar of achievement too low.

When leaders are bored, they usually don’t have a band of brothers or sisters to challenge them to their best.

When leaders are bored, they are almost always boring.

When leaders are bored, they have nearly always ceased managing their time to include challenge and redemptive hardship in their days.

When leaders are bored, there is usually something wrong at home.

When leaders are bored, their fantasy lives take flight and get them in trouble.

When leaders are bored, they are usually rude.

When leaders are bored, they don’t lead well.

When leaders are bored, there is frequently a problem of pride involved.

When leaders are bored, they are also increasingly undisciplined.

When leaders are bored, they are also distracted.

When leaders are bored, they are usually placing a lot of blame on others.

When leaders are bored, they get increasingly contentious and often just to make things interesting.

When leaders are bored, they forget the poetry they once felt about what they do.

 

As you can tell, I could go on, and on, and on. So, you know what’s coming. Do you see yourself in any of this? Are you bored?

Hear me. It is your fault. You can fix this, and you should. Boredom is cancer to great leadership. Get real. Get some help. Get un-bored. Get on with leading.

That’s it. I’m hitting you hard because I care about you. And I know what it is like to be bored in leadership.