Leaders possess a keen sense of what is possible, so we are forward-thinking and often build our leadership goals around a big dream. In ministry, we call it a “holy aspiration.” This vision of a better future both informs and inspires our stakeholders to give themselves to the strategic and tactical requirements of the tasks in front of them. Good leaders think ahead.
On the other hand, a friend mentioned a few days ago that God often told his people to remember the great things he had done for them. God even told the leaders to establish festivals, some of them weeks long, so that the generations to come would not forget his faithfulness. Good leaders look behind.
An Example of Inspirational Leadership
One the guest speakers in a recent Rotary Club meeting was Dr. Paul Stumb, president of Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee. Unless you are familiar with Lebanon, you may not be familiar with Cumberland University. It boasts 3000 students from 41 states and 43 different countries. It’s one of the hidden gems of Middle Tennessee.
But as Dr. Stumb spoke, I noticed he said very little about his dreams for Cumberland University’s future. Instead, with an obvious appreciation for those who came before him, he spoke of Cumberland’s history. Founded in 1842, it’s older than Vanderbilt University. Distinguished alumni include two United States Supreme Court justices and 21 governors, among scores of other public servants. Myles Horton, known as the Father of the Civil Rights Movement, is a graduate of Cumberland University.
While learning about Cumberland’s past, I found myself inspired to believe in its future. By celebrating the past, Dr. Stumb implicitly invited a new generation of world changers to join Cumberland University’s future.
Three Practices of Chief Inspiration Officers
As leaders, we are the CIOs, the Chief Inspiration Officers, of the organization who invite others to give themselves to a better future. One way we do that is by pointing to the past.
Consider these three practices of inspirational leaders who give stakeholders a reason to believe in the dream:
1. Inspirational leaders study the history of the organization we lead.
Every new leader walks into a work already in progress. The work doesn’t begin when we arrive, we simply pick up the shovel where someone else left it. There’s still plenty of work to do. Problems persist, otherwise we would not be necessary. But the people and the progress they made prior to our arrival created an environment and opportunity for the future.
We don’t know that, however, unless we act like historians. So, we read the minutes of the business meetings, we ask questions, and we discover artifacts. Following Dr. Stumb’s example, we become chief historians of our organization.
Interestingly, even people who have been in the organization for many years often do not know its history in any broad sense. They know the things they’ve touched. But as a new leader, we can unearth mounds of insight so that everyone can know and appreciate where the organization has come from.
2. Inspirational leaders celebrate the history of the organization we lead.
As a new leader, disparaging the last one can be a real temptation. We walk in with fresh eyes and fresh vision and see so many things left undone. We often surround ourselves with people who are eager for a new season of new challenges. The hero-complex telling us that we are now here to save the day takes root in our heart.
What’s less obvious are the things that have already been accomplished. We don’t know of a time when that wall was not painted, those systems were not in place, and the financials were not in order. But there was that time. Before we arrived, someone, many someones no doubt, accomplished a lot of important things.
Inspiration leaders, then, find ways to celebrate the contributions of those who have gone before us. We speak well of our predecessor. We recount the victories we had nothing to do with. In public and in private, inspirational leaders show gratitude for the pathways that have been cleared and the accomplishments that have been achieved.
We show respect for the sacrifices made and the results, albeit imperfect, that give us the opportunity to pursue our dream.
3. Inspirational leaders build on the history of the organizations we lead.
Dr. Stumb is the 26th president of Cumberland University. His job is to lead an institution of higher education that was found almost 200 years ago. He was not appointed to that role to turn the university into something that it is not a university.
It’s true that leaders are sometimes charged with doing a complete overhaul of an organization. A “rebuild” they call it. But even in a rebuild, the core business, the main mission remains the same.
Inspirational leaders discover the best parts of the organization, the best people, the things it does better than any other organization, and then we build on those things. Rather than eschewing everything unfamiliar to us, we become students who build on the best parts of the organization’s past.
Honoring our history is not an exercise in nostalgia. Instead, remembering God’s faithfulness in the past is how we bring people along with us to believe in and then give themselves to an even brighter future.
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