advent and leadership

As the Christmas holiday approaches, Christians worldwide prepare to wrap up the season of Advent.  Advent is the (roughly) 4 week period immediately preceding Christmas. In the Christian tradition, it is a period of waiting and preparation for the appearance of the Christ child. 

The focus of the Advent season contains some principles that are helpful for leader development. 

When I hear the word “waiting”, the first thing that comes to my mind are dentist offices, check-out lines, and stop lights.  They are times of passivity. They are minutes we need to kill until life resumes and we get to the good stuff.

 In the Judeo-Christian tradition, however, times of waiting are anything but passive.  Instead, waiting is marked by anticipation. By preparation. By practice. By focus. By rehearsing the time when event will once again be in motion.

Sometimes as leaders, we feel that we are passively waiting.  Waiting for the next promotion. Waiting to finish school.  Waiting for a new venture to bear fruit.  These times can seem never-ending and sometimes even pointless.

But what if we were to use these times to prepare?  To practice the fundamentals?  To lay the groundwork to learn new skills? 

There will always be tension between our current reality and our hoped-for future, even leaders.  But if we take an Advent approach, we just might find that the time of waiting an preparing is every bit as essential as the time of doing.
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The Leadership Professors wish you the very best this holiday season!