I was chatting with a friend last night that was having problems with the new kid on the block. Not a member of the band. No, there was a leadership change and my friend was having difficulty adjusting. The new kid was arrogant and didn’t display the same excellence as the old kid. The new kid was creating his own new clique and my friend wasn’t part.
So my friend felt excluded, disrespected, and discouraged. I think so many of us have experienced this sort of situation in our lives. If you haven’t yet, you will.
So what’s the right response to this?
I’m convinced people generally want to do their best and aren’t evil. There is true evil in this world, but it’s rarely found in your new boss or leadership. More often we’re dealing with insecure people who are, unfortunately, immature leaders as well.
This is what I told my friend:
Could it be possible that the new kid is desperately insecure? He just inherited a position that he feels inadequate to fill. He doesn’t know how to deal with the old kids who have been doing things a certain way. How do you even hope to bring them along? So immaturity and insecurity kicks in. And, yes, he does exclude people.
Is it okay that the new leadership is immature? No! Is it okay that the new leadership isn’t handling the situation properly? No!
But you aren’t responsible for the new kid. You’re responsible for you. You have the opportunity to show true leadership. You have the opportunity to assume the best. You have the opportunity to open the lines of communication and find out what’s really going on.
When we stand before God, none of this will matter. Only our hearts will matter. Are you going to keep your heart pure and be the leader – regardless of your official title?
I’m convinced we can learn to work with the new kids on the block if we become the leaders we’re meant to be and lead by example. Open lines of communication and assume the best.