Neal A. Maxwell wrote: “One of the great qualities Jesus had was his ability to demand of his disciples quality in thought and action, which while temporarily uncomfortable, finally produced a cohesive kind of loyalty based on a sense of accomplishment which all followers very much need to have. . . In human relationships there are too many tacit, silent ideals in which one person agrees not to demand full measure, if the other person will agree to mediocrity when excellence may be possible. In any event the unwillingness of most leaders to set standards, to administer feedback when standards are not met, to praise clearly when standards are met, stands in the way of the development on the part of followers with inevitable loss in follower effectiveness and follower satisfaction. The leader who makes no demands of his disciples cannot really lead them at all. The sense of new excitement and new challenge generated by the gospel will be blunted by leaders who shield followers from the full demands of followership.
The impact and excitement the gospel ought to produce, not just initially in our lives, but in a continuing way, is one of the special challenges facing leaders in the Church. If we simply inherit our faith along with our genes, without examining, nurturing and experiencing it, how can we realize that the gospel truly is “good news?”
An additional block to leadership that is fundamental—is our willingness to give of ourselves—not just our time and our talents. In fact withholding of one’s self affects the quality if not the quantity, of the time and talents we give. Sometimes when each of us is faced with a new leadership challenge we may be somewhat intimidated by the circumstances and the demands of the situation. Abraham H. Maslow tells of advice given to his wife who was learning to carve: “Do something with your wood. Make a pile of chips.” While it is extremely important to plan ahead, one can find himself, if he is not careful, sitting off at the side too long contemplating the awesome task he faces and being intimidated to the point of inaction. Such reluctance may, at bottom, be reluctance to risk ourselves and possible failure.
A brilliant strategist, Von Clausewitz, observed that in war nothing succeeds that is not simple. The advice fits many other situations, too. Sometimes the complexity of plans we advance as leaders are simply overwhelming to those we expect to carry them out. We generate so much paper, so many instructions, and so many handbooks that the simplicity of the basic task at hand is lost in the shuffle. We can smother people with administrative affection. We can bury them in a pile of paper as well as an excess of exhortations. Since the gospel is basically simple, any time we make the preaching of it or carrying-out complicated, we have, in effect, predetermined that some individuals will fail. This is not because they are ignorant, stupid, or disobedient, but because some innately or stubbornly resist complication of something that is wonderfully simple. His sheep may know his voice—but may not recognize some of our orations or activities for their unnecessary complexity. ~Neal A. Maxwell, “A More Excellent Way” (Salt Lake City:Deseret Book, 1967), 34-36
(Posts with a preamble asterisk * are for a more general audience and not specific to teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.)
