Every leader will have emotional highs and lows and decisions will have to be made during each of those periods. During the high emotional times it is easy to be proactive and during the low emotional times it is natural to become reactive. Unfortunately, the reactive times may hurt a leader personally and their ability to lead effectively. Read Numbers 20.

By this point in their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, Moses felt unendurably weary of the complaining, the stagnation, and the lack of progress among the people. He was running on empty. Every leader knows the feeling. In Moses’ weakened emotional condition, he made a decision that cost him his future.

In his anger over the constant grumbling of the people, Moses disobeyed the Lord’s command and struck a rock holding back the water God had promised He would furnish. With this act of anger, Moses usurped God’s authority, angered God and forfeited his opportunity to enter into the Promised Land. He reacted in fury rather than obeying with poise. This sad incident teaches us at least two lessons:

• First, do not make major decisions during an emotionally low time.
• Second, choose to be proactive, not reactive, in your leadership. Don’t act like the grumbling crowd you are leading. Get your cues from God and the mission He has given you.

The following questions can help a leader make better leadership decisions and may be of even greater value during times of emotional exhaustion:

• Do I tend to play defense or offense when I lead? Reacting to problems rather than looking ahead to see potential problems will keep a leader in emotional crisis. Good leaders react to and effectively solve problems. Great leaders head off problems before they happen.
• When given leadership responsibility, am I a people pleaser or a God pleaser? Establish a core belief that your first assignment is to bring glory to God and that your only source of truth is His word. Since our actions come from core beliefs, this core belief will direct your decisions in both high and low emotional times.
• Do I set the priority of tasks on my “to do” list? A leader can feel emotional control if they sense order and accomplishment per a plan and structured schedule.

What is your response when you are under pressure and emotionally drained? Leaders need to monitor their emotions during times of stress and be aware of the dangers of making decisions when they have low emotional reserves.

Tags: Decisions, Leadership, Proactive, Problem Solving, Reactive