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Fall In Love With The Process

“But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.”
— 1 Corinthians 12:31

In Perry Noble's new book, The Most Excellent Way to Lead, he discusses leadership through the lens of 1 Corinthians 13 and challenges us to fall in love with the process.  He was recently interviewed by Ken Coleman on the EntreLeadership podcast and talked about this topic more in depth.  I would highly recommend you to listen to it to gain further insight on this topic!

One of the things Perry challenges us to do is read 1 Corinthians 13 while replacing the word "love" with the word "leadership," as this is the most excellent way to lead.  For example, instead of reading the words "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast," he challenges us to read it as "Leadership is patient and kind; leadership does not envy or boast." 

“How you treat people is ultimately going to determine your leadership legacy.”
— Perry Noble

As basketball coaches, it is very easy for us to become impatient.  In fact, every quality that Paul says that love/leadership is in 1 Corinthians 13, is very hard for us to live up to.  The expectations we hold ourselves and our players to is extremely high.  We want to become the best that we can possibly be and we desire the same for our players.  Typically, when expectations aren't met or take longer than they should, we become frustrated.  

“You can’t hold people accountable for unspoken, unrealistic expectations.”
— Perry Noble

When I heard that I just shook my head.  I can't even count how many times that I've tried to hold our players accountable to something that I didn't clearly communicate or something that was simply unrealistic.  Instead of falling in love with the process, I was caught up in the "what's next" mindset.  If I want to be the kind of leader that God has called me to be I need to grow in this area.

VALUE THE PROCESS

Instead of always looking at the end results or what's next in our lives, we need to fall in love with the process.  The next game, the next season, the next job....whatever it is we just need to stop.  We need to stop and understand that the present moment is the one that God intended us to be in and we can learn something now. 

“If you’re in the middle of a process and you’re not getting the results you want, and every leader knows that tension, stop and literally ask, “what am I supposed to be learning right now?” Because it’s those lessons in the middle of the process that you will never forget.”
— Perry Noble

STAY FOCUSED ON THE PROCESS.  VALUE IT.  LOVE IT.  EMBRACE IT.

When the tension gets to be too much as a leader, always remember that you have been called by God to be in the position your in at this point of your life.  Encourage your players to be the best they can be while giving them clarity and understanding in realistic expectations.  Attempt to see the world through their eyes and make an effort to know them better.  It's all a part of the process.  It's all a part of the journey that will ultimately give you purpose as a leader.  Keep this quote close to you,

“Leadership is not about me. It’s about God using me to do something greater than I could have ever imagined.”
— Perry Noble