Earlier this year, I wrote about five expensive leadership decisions that are worth more than they cost. Meaning, it is wise to spend the money and invest in your marriage and family, generous giving, wise counsel, developing leaders, and a seasoned leader on your team. There are leadership decisions that have a cost, but the blessings and benefits far outweigh the cost. On the flip side, there are inexpensive leadership decisions that are actually very costly. Here are three of them:
1. Erosion in your character
It does not appear to cost anything to stop repenting or to start compromising your integrity, until suddenly it costs everything. Erosion in character is very costly. Leaders can’t lead without credibility, and they can’t have credibility without character and integrity. Thus the seemingly small decisions that corrode one’s character are excessively expensive.
2. The wrong hire
A wise leader I worked alongside in the marketplace used to say, “You would much rather have a hole on your team than a butthole on your team.” She said it because she knew the temptation for leaders to settle when there are unfilled positions and to rush to place someone in a role because an unfilled position creates work for everyone else on the team. But what really creates more work, heartache, and chaos for the team is the wrong person in the role—especially someone whose character is unproven or whose values don’t match the values of the team, someone who will corrode the team with a negative attitude. The time and energy spent correcting the wrong hire, trying again, and finally acknowledging that the person is not right for the team is very costly.
3. Bad advice
Bad advice is rampant and there are plenty of places to find it. In fact, you don’t have to look for it, as foolish counsel will find you, and when you listen to foolishness the decisions are very expensive to unwind. It is wisdom you have to search for.
“… if you call out to insight
and lift your voice to understanding,
if you seek it like silver
and search for it like hidden treasure,
then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and discover the knowledge of God.
For the LORD gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.”
(Proverbs 2:3-6)
In the end the cheap things like erosion in your character, the wrong hire, and bad advice turn out not to be cheap at all. Wise leaders don’t buy them or take them—even if they appear to be free.
