Devotions for a Busy Business Person, no. 322 – Making Waves

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I was swimming today, muttering underwater about the people swimming in the nearby lanes and all the waves they were making.

Then I sensed Jesus swimming beside me. (He is a much better swimmer than I am; it is almost as though He can walk on water)… and he said.

“What about the waves you are making?”

I hate it when He does that.

It reminded me that I am a big man physically, and I can take up a great deal of mental space as well. I can dominate a swim lane just as easily as I can dominate a conversation or a decision.

When I do, am I drowning out other people’s great ideas? Are they choking on my ego? Are they sputtering while I spout off?

Certainly, there are times when an entrepreneur must swim against the tide, make a firm decision, and lead the company safely towards shore. Leadership requires courage, strength, and, at times, decisive action. There are even occasions when staff can catch the leader’s wave and ride it like expert surfers.

But leadership always creates a wake.

Our energy can encourage others or exhaust them. Our confidence can give them courage or convince them that their contribution is not wanted. Our vision can carry an organisation forward or wash away every idea that did not originate with us.

The danger is not that we are strong. The danger is that we become so impressed by our own strength that we leave no room for the God-given gifts of others.

“Doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself.” Philippians 2:3

Humility does not mean pretending that we have no authority, ideas, or responsibility. We can exercise our authority without needing to occupy all the space. It means listening before answering, asking before assuming, and allowing others to develop their initiatives without constantly diving in and taking over.

Sometimes the most important contribution a leader can make is to be quiet long enough for someone else to speak.

“So, then, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.” James 1:19

There are times to swim hard against the current. There are also times to slow our stroke, be still, and look around.

How are my staff doing? Which ideas are struggling to stay afloat? Who has stopped contributing because I answer too quickly? Whose initiative might rise to the surface if I stopped making quite so many waves?

“But it shall not be so among you, but whoever wants to become great among you shall be your servant.” Mark 10:43

A good leader does not leave the water perfectly still. Leadership inevitably creates movement. The question is whether our wake carries others forward or leaves them gasping behind us.

We need to check in with our staff, listen carefully to their ideas, and make sure their initiatives have room to float, and perhaps even to make waves of their own.

May the waves we make create momentum without mayhem, courage without conceit, and space for the gifts and ideas of others to rise to the surface.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank You for confronting me, even in the ordinary moments of my day. Show me the waves created by my words, decisions, personality, and leadership. Keep my confidence from becoming conceit, my decisiveness from becoming domination, and my vision from becoming vanity. Help me recognize, encourage, and make space for the gifts You have placed in my colleagues and staff. 

Amen