This is a FANTASTIC Leadership Conversation with my former boss, Andy Stanley. If you’re a Leader, Parent, or Entrepreneur who has found yourself in the tension of leading through “problems” that cannot (and should not) be solved…this is for you!
I first leaned of this leadership principal while serving on staff at North Point Community Church. There were several times in leadership meetings where we would find ourselves circling around leadership challenges looking for a solution that spoke to each of the valid but seemingly opposing ideas. And inevitably someone would say, “Well…this sounds like a Tension to be managed.” That framework always seemed to bring greater clarity and a fresh approach.
Learning to recognize the difference between “problems to solve” and “tensions to manage” could lead to an otherwise unforeseen breakthrough for your life and leadership.
To help you do so, Andy offers a couple of great questions to consider:
1) Does this problem or tension keep resurfacing?
2) Are there mature advocates on both sides?
3) Are the two sides really interdependent?
These are GREAT questions for each of us to consider as we live and lead through challenging realities.
Are there problems that you thought it was your job to solve, either at home or at work, that are really just tensions to be managed?
You can subscribe to the Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast (which I HIGHLY recommend you do)
by clicking HERE.