All of us in ministry desire to please the people that we shepherd. Part of pleasing them involves letting them know what we want to do, our future vision, and future ideas. As these ideas and visions are shared, people begin to attach and latch on to those things that you bring to the table. They view those ideas as something that is a promise that will be fulfilled. But what happens when those ideas and visions cannot be brought to fruition? The people who heard these promises will be woefully disappointed.
What about your ministry? Do you share your ideas and visions of the future, but are not able to actualize them to fruition? An important leadership principal for all involved in the ministry is to under promise and over deliver. This may sound like common sense, but as many of us have experienced, common sense is often not so common.
Certainly, we want to share upcoming ideas that we have and future visions with those that we lead. Just as Jesus shared in the gospels, however, we need to count the cost before seeking to build the tower. Only a fool starts to build without having the capacity to finish the job. Many leaders have shot themselves directly in the foot when they have communicated a grand vision only to not follow through and bring that vision to fruition.
Let’s imagine that you have a vision, and the completion of the entirety of that vision is a 10. It would be better for you to say nothing and achieve a 4, than to lay out the idea of this vision at a level 10 but only produce it at a 4. An important leadership lesson is to promise little and produce much. Say less and produce more. People want to see results. They don’t want to hear empty words and promises. The last thing we want to do is to gain a reputation for being all talk and no game.
Promise little, but produce much.
