By Dale Sellers

“At best, people are open to scrutinizing themselves and considering their blind spots; at worst, they become defensive and angry.” —Sheryl Sandberg, Lean In

The story of Elijah reveals how he arrived at a place of despair. After running from Jezebel, he prayed, “Enough of this, GOD! Take my life—I’m ready to join my ancestors in the grave!” Then “exhausted, he fell asleep under the lone broom bush” (1 Kings 19:4–5).

Elijah’s story has always fascinated me. How could a man of God who had just prayed for fire to fall from heaven get discouraged enough to want to die a few days later? He had seen God do incredible things through him as well as for him … Now he was deciding to quit? What happened to him?

What happened to Elijah is the same thing that makes all of us think we should be there by now. He got blindsided. The lesson for us is that it doesn’t matter whether you can call down fire from heaven or if you’re leading a church of thirty. Any leader can be blindsided.

The reason you get blindsided isn’t just to stop you from being effective today. It’s much more than that. The ultimate purpose is to destroy your ability to be effective in the future. We will dive deeper into this long-term hidden agenda a little later.

The reason you get blindsided isn’t just to stop you from being effective today. It’s much more than that. The ultimate purpose is to destroy your ability to be effective in the future. We will dive deeper into this long-term hidden agenda a little later.

I have had several leadership failures when facing challenges. My greatest failures happen when I get blindsided by a problem. It’s as if an unseen force launches an assault against me in a battle I didn’t even know I was engaged in. I’m unaware of it until something goes wrong. Seldom is there a more difficult situation to overcome than being blindsided. The time needed to assess and react is not available when you feel ambushed. The attack usually ends in defeat.

Seldom is there a more difficult situation to overcome than being blindsided. The time needed to assess and react is not available when you feel ambushed. The attack usually ends in defeat.

The precursor to being blindsided is developing blind spots. The biggest problem with my blind spots is that I can’t see them, although many of the people around me can easily identify them. I find it fascinating that I can be oblivious to things in my life that are obvious to others. I’m not sure if this happens because I’m unaware of who I really am or because I intentionally ignore the problems.

Both of those reasons for blind spots are detrimental to effective leadership. And intentionally ignoring them comes with an ever-increasing price. There has always been a cost to effective leadership.

Sellers, Dale. Stalled: Hope and Help for Pastors Who Thought They’d Be There by Now (p. 39).

Have you reached the point yet where you are willing to acknowledge your blindspots? If not, maybe it’s time to do some reflection on what’s keeping you from dealing with them. I can assure you that those closest to you see them. I would love to connect with you to help you pursue a pathway to wholeness that tackles your blindspots.

What are you doing that is working well? What is not going so well? Let’s connect and have a conversation about it. At 95Network, we are here to support and serve you in anyway we can. If you feel like you’re in a season where your stalled out and can see the way forward then please reach out to me at [email protected]

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