Leadership and Little Kids

In Matthew 18, the leaders around Jesus have come to Him to ask what, in their minds, is a very important question. “About that time, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’” v. 1. Now, I love this because what these leaders were actually asking was, “What do we have to do to succeed around here?” or to put it in leadership vernacular, “What does it take to achieve greatness in this organization?”

To which Jesus responded with an object lesson that shocked his team, I’m sure.

v. 2 “Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them.”

Jesus used kids as an illustration with his leaders. Then he gave them 5 leadership lessons that they, and we, can learn from little kids.

5 Leadership Lessons we Learn from Little Kids:

v. 3 “Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.”

1. Become like Little Children.

The first thing Jesus told them to do was to become like little children and the way they did that was by turning from their sins. In other words, acknowledging where they had made mistakes and messed up. Why? Well, obviously for those of us who are people of faith, we believe that our mistakes separate us from connection with God. But let me take a more faith-neutral perspective on this for its application to leadership.

There’s nothing like the innocence that comes from being forgiven is there? Remember when you broke your mom’s favorite dish growing up or broke your dad’s tool while trying to fix the car? Remember how horrible it felt, the guilt and the shame of knowing you had screwed up? Then, remember how great it felt when your mom or dad said the words, “It’s okay. I forgive you.” Remember the innocence that came with knowing you were forgiven? It’s a great feeling isn’t it? There’s nothing like innocence to infuse life.

The same thing is true in the leadership cultures we are seeking to create in our organizations as well. The greatest leadership cultures are the ones that embrace childlike innocence. And the ones that lose are the ones who lose their innocence. I remember when we lost our innocence a couple of years into starting Next Level Church. In a period of about 6 weeks, 3 major hurricanes hit southwest Florida, all on the weekend I might add (which is not good if you’re in church work). At the same time, one of our staff members broke off an engagement to his fiancé and about 25% of our church attendees got upset and left our church. Trust me, in a church of 250 people, when 60 of them decide to walk out the door mad, it’s not an easy season for a leader.

In those days, we felt discouraged, depressed and honestly, jaded. We felt like our innocence had been taken from us. I remember having a lot of conversations with Sarah in the midst of those days discussing how we needed to fight to regain our innocence, lest we become the very thing we had set out not to be. And trust me when I say, it was a fight. We found ourselves looking at people differently. Instead of loving them and embracing them with innocence, we were looking at them through a lens of, “Are you going to hurt us too?” We had to determine to trust, love & allow people to get close again. Even at the risk of getting hurt again. It wasn’t easy, but it was most definitely right. As leaders, we will never get where we want to go without childlike innocence in our leadership. Fight for it, even if and when it is hard.

v. 4 “So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.”

2. Become as Humble as a Little Child.

The key to greatness is humility. Now, I understand this can be difficult especially as an organization grows & becomes successful. Innocence is often easier when we don’t know anything & aren’t anybody. But, as we start to succeed and begin to learn some things and as we begin to figure some things out, we must be careful that an independent spirit (like a teenager) doesn’t kick in. We have to work hard to stay teachable & be confident at the same time. That’s not an easy thing to do.

One thing about little kids is that they have a natural humility about them in 4 ways:

• First, they are inquisitive. They can’t wait to learn something new. I love watching the toddlers around our church. From the moment they enter a room, they’re on the look out for something to pick up, examine and learn about.
• Second, they are always asking questions. “Why? Why? Why?” It can drive a parent crazy, but it’s a great trait nonetheless.
• Third, they are okay with not knowing something in advance. Little kids don’t have any preconceived pressure to have to know the answers to a situation ahead of time. In fact, they know they don’t know, which is all the better for them.
• Finally, they are willing to be taught, or to use my favorite word, they possess teachability. They don’t see being stretched as a bad thing! In fact, they welcome it!

When it comes to our leadership, the question becomes, how do we take each of those four areas up a notch this year? What is an area you’d enjoy investigating & learning this year? There have been many years through my leadership journey that I’ve set a goal to learn and investigate an area I don’t know much about. Such as marketing, social media, finance, etc. I will find free downloadable talks and resources as well as books and podcasts that address that area and make a giant file on my phone that I can listen to and engage as I walk on the treadmill or drive in my car.

How do you lead w/ 20% more questions than statements? Questions are the tool that unlocks insight. Wise is the leader who leads with more questions than answers. Where do you need to give yourself permission to not feel “pressure” to know or have the answers in advance? I understand the temptation to always feel like I’ve got to know where we’re going next or have it all figured out. But leadership is as much an investigation as it is a directive. Lead with questions and watch what happens.

With whom do you need to welcome teachability more in the coming days? Maybe it’s a spouse or even your kids? Maybe you need to be more open to listening to your team or to a peer. Teachability is the key to everything after all. Wise is the leader who embraces that truth.

v. 5 “And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.”

3. Welcome a Little Child.

Jesus makes it clear that something divine happens when we welcome a childlike spirit. He says rather pointedly that its as if we are welcoming God Himself! Organizationally, when we welcome innocence & whimsy, playfulness, wonder and fun into our culture, we are inviting the presence of God Himself. At the end of 2013, we were surprised to find out that Next Level Church had been ranked as the second best place to work among all mega-churches in America according to the Best Christian Workplaces survey. I believe maintaining a culture of fun and playfulness has been one of the major keys that make our staff culture the amazing place to work that it is.

In a mildly ironic way, in the last couple of years, I personally have had to work really hard to keep my heart & spirit engaged in that way. The added pressure and new stresses that have come with leading a larger organization have taxed my historically, whimsical heart. There have been times where I’ve allowed the pressure of leading to steal the fun and enthusiasm that has propelled us to where we are today. Additionally, I’ve had to adjust to the new role I play to our staff members as well as the way I “have fun” with them. These changes have caused me to need to double down my efforts of being extra intentional about tapping into the fun and innocence that we created our organization to be.

When it comes to the culture we desire to create on our teams, we as leaders, must embrace that it is our job to invite innocence, whimsy, wonder & what if’s into our teams! No one else can do this but us! We are the primary proprietors of a childlike faith and innocence to the teams we lead.

v. 6 “But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.”

4. Don’t Cause Little Ones to Fall into Sin.

I can’t help but see irony in the statement Jesus makes after he warns his disciples not to cause little ones to fall into sin. Jesus doesn’t say that it will go bad for the little ones, He says it will go bad FOR US! The Leaders! I’ve never seen this before! Here’s the interesting takeaway: Our life will be way worse & harder, if we cause our organizations to lose their childlikeness. Which poses some questions for us:

• Where have we lost our fun and frivolousness?
• Where have we allowed ourselves to get so down in it, that we’re missing the mystery & fun around us?
• Where have we traded our childlike innocence for teenage skepticism?
• Where are we, personally, not having fun anymore?

One of the biggest differences between a child and a teenager is the lose of innocence, mystery and wonder. I know I am making an over-generalization when I say that teens are more skeptical then children, but for the sake of the illustration, we can admit its true. Teenagers are no longer automatically teachable and open to new ideas. In fact, they’re more concerned about their opinion and perspective than being open to someone else’s. As leaders, our challenge is to keep fighting off the teenage skepticism that naturally creeps in to the organizations we lead. I am firmly convinced that to the degree we are embracing these things is the degree that it will go easier and better for us and the teams we are leading.

One of the biggest temptations of a maturing organization is to trade innocence and fun for corporate and efficient. I’m not saying we don’t need systems, structures and procedures to optimize efficiency and effectiveness, but it does not have to come at the expense of the heart, fun, energy & excitement of childlike innocence.

v. 10 “Beware that you don’t look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father.”

5. Don’t Look Down on these Little Ones.

Apparently there is a direct connection between childlike innocence and movement in heaven on our behalf. That means this is a really important leadership focus for us! The challenge then, and, I dare say, the goal of our leadership this year, is to keep childlikeness in our midst. If heaven is moved by a spirit of childlike faith, then we must move earth to make childlikeness an integral part of the organizations we lead. What does it take to achieve greatness here? Apparently it’s merely a child’s game.

To staying childlike,