Top 3 Leadership Lessons from Our Vacation

Top 3 Leadership Lessons from Our Vacation

We’re baaaaack! My wife LaVera and I just returned from an entire week of vacation in Cancun. What a fun and refreshing escape to paradise! Even on vacation, God taught me some valuable lessons about life and leadership. Apparently, God speaks en Español! Go figure.

 

1. Even Jesus rested. As a leader, it’s easy to operate under the delusion that everything depends upon me, that I have to monitor everything, and peoples lives hang in the balance if I take a break. If I’m gone, who will preach? Who will pray? Who will serve bereaved families? Well, the gospels recount to us that Jesus would often get away from the hustle of ministry to rest and rejuvenate (Luke 5:15-16), and he instructed his disciples to do the same (Mark 6:31-32). Surely, while he was gone there were people to heal, sermons to preach, prayers to pray and souls to save. Guess what? They were there when he got back. And he was more equipped to do so effectively after resting. If the God-Man needed to break away to rest, surely you do also. Work will be there when you return!

 

2. Great service goes a long way! The church could really learn a lot from the Mexican Resort Industry. Every employee of the resort, from the housekeepers to the shuttle drivers to the hostesses, were uniform in their polite service. They were gentle, helpful, and courteous. If they had a bad day, you couldn’t tell. Their service made guests feel valuable and welcomed. Since this is our goal each Sunday at the Heights, I wish I could afford to bring our entire HUGS Ministry (Hospitality, Ushers, Greeters & Security) back to Mexico to see how they do it! They were not perfect. There were a couple mistakes made during our week there. However, their world-class service inclined me to be patient as they worked through the imperfections. In other words, “Love covers a multitude of sin!”

 

3. It only looks like I’m flying. One of the fun activities we did while on vacation was swimming with dolphins. In the photo above, you see our dolphin friends lifting me out of the water. If you float in the proper position, the dolphins are highly trained to come behind you, push your feet with their noses, and lift you out of the water. For the picture, it looks like you’re flying. In reality, the dolphins are doing the hard work underwater… barely visible. The leader is usually the most visible. If things are going well, the picture might look like that leader is flying. The truth is, there are highly trained individuals who are pushing me. I’m maintaining position. They’re doing the hard work… barely visible. No leader is successful in a vacuum. It only looks like we’re flying.

 

How was your week? How can you apply one of these points to your own leadership? When was the last time you took time to unplug and rest? When was the last time you took time to thank someone who is pushing you to higher heights? Have you claimed your free copy of my new book, Are You Afraid of Heights?