‘The Glass Half Full’
This page is all about your own development as a leader. You’ll be challenged and encouraged to put into action some of the suggestions and to develop the skills in your own life. The ‘Releasing Young Leaders’ section is a practical guide and resource for you to inspire others to lead well.
A few weeks ago I was sitting in the pub with a friend who had recently made a decision to live with a ‘glass half full’ attitude. He had realised that his perspective on life was too negative, so he was giving a more hopeful outlook a try. As I asked him how it was going ad he mournfully responded ‘I’m trying to live life with the glass half full, but it is still only half full isn’t it!’ I pastorally nodded and agreed and then had to hold back the laughter as I realised how massively ‘glass half empty’ his statement had been!
Attitude is important. The way in which we look at life makes a big difference. Especially as you seek to lead and influence others. As much as we long for those we lead to hear what we teach and emulate what we do, we cannot get away from the reality that they will learn attitudes just by hanging around us. So what are the attitudes that summarise your personality? What values are you provoking by the attitudes that you demonstrate? Someone who lives life ‘glass half empty’ will multiply ‘glass half empty’ people, who lack expectation and on their bad days seem hopeless and uninspiring.
A positive outlook on life will come more naturally to some, but I believe it's something that we should all aspire to. Christian leadership is ‘glass half full’, how else could we interpret the scriptures? We serve a miraculous God who is for us and able to do more than we can think or imagine. We inherit half an eternal kingdom because of what Jesus has done, and he calls us to have faith and hope in him. Paul reminds us time and again in different ways, that even our suffering is temporary and that he has learnt the secret of being content in all situations because he trusts God. James encourages us to consider it pure joy when we face trials of many kinds. Even the lamenting Psalms often finish with a hopeful desire for God to break through – understanding that when we could justifiably be ‘glass half empty’, God is still God, which provokes a ‘glass half full’ response!
There are three particularly effective strategies to help us develop a ‘glass half full’ attitude in life:
1 – Remembrance: Begin having active times of remembering all that God has done in the past. Call to mind times when He has moved in some way and be encouraged and expectant for the same to happen again. We do this every time we have communion, but building it in as a regular pattern will build faith and trust in Him.
2 – Replace entitlement with privilege: don’t have an attitude fuelled by what you feel you are entitled to – always making bargains with God that ‘if you do this then I’ll do that'! We should carry a deep sense of privilege to be leading, amazed that God would trust us in a position of leadership, however big or small we perceive our influence to be. Set your mind on things above and be continually seeking to bless and serve him instead of standing on your rights as if you deserve even more from a God who has already given so much.
3 – Reality: don’t be afraid to be real. Having a ‘glass half full’ attitude doesn’t mean that we ignore the difficult aspects of life. It means being honest and real but living with a godly hope about the situation and expectation that God has not forgotten us even in the midst of struggle. (For more thoughts on this read about the Stockdale Paradox in Malcom Gladwells bestselling book ‘The Tipping Point’)
People who are ‘glass half full’ will have an above average score in the following areas: expectation, hope, faith, trust and vision. If you were to take the hypothetical exam, how would you fair?
Immediate Response
The next time you find yourself sipping a Latte, or slurping a milkshake (or drinking water for the more healthy conscious among us!), pause for a moment when the ‘glass is half full’ and thank God for all that he has given, all that he has provided, for all that he is doing, and make a commitment before Him to seek to season your leadership with a thankful, hope filled attitude. Every time you find yourself half way through a drink, use it as a prompt to remember the commitment you have made.
Leadership Quote of the Month
‘It is a terrible responsibility that we leave something of ourselves in the world by leaving something of ourselves in others.’ William Barclay
Releasing young leaders
Opening Up:
Place a half full glass in front of the young leaders and simply ask ‘ what do you see’. Some will quickly pick up on the illustration, which should lead into a discussion about whether they would call themselves a ‘glass half full’ person or a ‘glass half empty’ person.
Ask: Make a list of attitudes on a flip chart by asking those who feel that they are ‘glass half full’ people to describe what they think makes them that way.
Bible: ask everyone to turn to Romans 5:1 – 11. Split the group into threes and ask them to read through the passage finding reasons why Paul might argue that Christian leadership should be ‘glass half full’. Give them enough time to discuss and develop the ideas that they come up with, then have each group share their findings with the rest of the young leaders. If you have time provoke by asking questions about what they have found, for example ‘what does having peace with God’ look like in your life?’
Teach: Give out pieces of paper for each young leader to write down some thoughts. Ask them to write down one area in their life where they feel that they have a ‘glass half full’ attitude, and at least one area in life where they feel that they are ‘glass half empty’. Once they have all written something down, teach the three strategies from above to help guide them in ways of changing their attitude towards whatever they feel ‘glass half empty’ about.
Pray: get into pairs and ask the young leaders to pray for each other in relation to what they have written on their paper. Encourage them to follow each other up in a week to see if their attitude has changed.
