In his book “Cracking Your Church’s Culture Code,” Sam Chand says, “Strategy eats culture for breakfast.” In other words, you can have a well-conceived strategy and God-honoring plans, but if you have a toxic organizational culture, your strategy will never gain much traction.
By the same token, when it comes to your personal leadership, “Attitude eats gifting for breakfast.” You can have all the natural talent and skill in the world. But if you have an attitude that is negative, it will ultimately sabotage your effectiveness.
An attitude is an inward feeling … a basic orientation. It’s a frame of mind or disposition. And what’s interesting is it can be seen without a word being said. I’ve been in meetings where someone around the table has a countenance that gives their attitude away—their perpetual frown, or their pouty, critical countenance. A negative attitude is easy to spot. By the same token, I’ve also been in settings where when a certain person walks into the room, the atmosphere changes. When they arrive, there’s a sense of light and buoyancy that fills the place.
Obviously, life is often difficult and we run into issues that are taxing. But we get to choose whether we will deal with them with a positive nature that is bent toward a solution or a negative disposition that becomes a wet blanket. We choose the determination and resolve with which we’re going to tackle the situation.
In one of my pastorates, I went through an exceptionally difficult staff transition—a long-term staff member resigned in a way that threatened to tear apart the congregation. With immediate family in the church and on the board, it had the potential to splinter the church family. False narratives were swirling and, as is typically the case in situations like this, some people were deriving great satisfaction from stirring the pot. I determined the most important thing I could do was model a calm, assuring, positive attitude—not necessarily celebrating the decision, but reassuring folks God was in charge and that He had a plan and wasn’t sweating over what was going on. While we emerged from this season some months later a bit smaller numerically, we also emerged much more unified and healthier as a church body.
Granted—there were a number of other things I had to do to help us successfully navigate that precarious season. But it all began with my attitude—the mental approach I took to the situation. And … no matter what anyone else tells you, that’s always something that is within our power to choose.
Please understand—having a positive attitude isn’t about disingenuous hype or lying to ourselves and trying to convince ourselves something is so when it isn’t. To have a positive attitude doesn’t mean we refuse to acknowledge reality. Our attitude merely determines how we approach reality. Is it an obstacle or an opportunity? Is this a chore to be tolerated and endured, or a chance to stretch and grow?
While a positive attitude is no guarantee of a preferred outcome, it certainly does impact the creativity and initiative we’ll bring to the task as well as the level of joy we’ll experience during the process. And it will shape our relationships and connections with those around us in powerful and compelling ways.