How can leaders avoid mistakes? (66-2)

Adam was earth’s first leader. He was appointed steward over the resources and relationships God had created. When Adam ate the forbidden fruit he became the first leader to fail. So where did Adam go wrong and how can you avoid the same mistakes? Read Genesis 3:6-19.

Leadership requires the willingness to take responsibility for personal and corporate actions. By remaining passive when he should have taken action, Adam allowed both Eve and himself to fall morally. By denying responsibility when God confronted him, Adam damaged all his relationships, spoiled the beautiful garden he lived in, and ultimately devastated all his children and even all mankind.

A leader’s responsibility has many of the same elements whether in the home or at the highest levels of government:

• Leaders who take responsibility allow “the buck” to stop with them.
• Leaders who take responsibility resist the temptation to take the easy way out. Adam went with the flow which seemed easier than upholding the standard he was given.
• Leaders who take responsibility are willing to confront even when the stakes are high. Adam could have confronted Eve when she misquoted God’s Word, when she took the fruit, and when she ate the fruit, but he chose to go with the flow and eat the fruit.
• Leaders who take responsibility accept the consequences for their actions. Adam suffered great consequences for eating the fruit but he continued to be God’s leader to his family and over creation.

Effective leaders know they cannot shrink from their responsibility at home, in their church, in their neighborhood or on the job.

In what area are you joining your team when you should confront instead? Seek God’s wisdom for a corrective action plan.