Adapted from The Discovering Leadership Podcast by Frank Bealer.
I was almost an Eagle Scout.
Ever since I was a little kid, I can remember wearing my uniform proudly every Monday night. Collecting badges and honors like the Arrow of Light.
I had my tribe. My people. The same group of guys from our small town would gather to learn how to make knives, tie knots and repel off mountains (I later discovered that these were small hills but at the time, they might as well have been MT Everest).
I learned some critical leadership skills but you'll never find it on my resume because I never became an Eagle Scout and saying I'm a Life Scout just doesn't quite have the same ring to it.
The first decade was incredible but then everything changed. The student leader of our ragtag bunch of guys, Scooby who was just weeks away from becoming an Eagle Scout himself walked into our meeting and delivered a crushing blow.
Scooby went on to explain how our troop leader had made a choice that changed the trajectory of our group forever. After a decade of leading us, he decided to steal all the money from our bank account (including our hard-earned car wash money to be used for the big camping trip). Suddenly we found ourselves without a leader. He was gone. He had taken more than our money. He took our tribe. In the midst of the transition, Scooby aged out of scouts falling short of achieving Eagle Scout. As you can imagine our group fell apart and because I was from a small town that was the only group that was available to me. With just six months until I would achieve the rank of Eagle Scout, I was searching for a new tribe. Where was I going to find connections and leadership?
I guess I could try a new group, I told myself.
It was the end of my Freshman year and walking into that new group for the first time I realized this was nothing, absolutely nothing like what I had experienced before. So before long I found that I didn't have a place to belong. My tribe was gone and I stood in a crowd feeling all alone. My focus shifted to sports and music and my life as a scout was over.
I was Almost an Eagle Scout
Today we talk about: Transitions.
I think I might have finished the requirements to achieve the status of Eagle Scout if someone would have been there to help me through the transition.
After all, navigating transition can be difficult. Sometimes we forget just how difficult. As you encounter the people you have the privilege of investing in today, think about this: A guide during transition is a welcome gift.
You have the opportunity to help someone through the extremely difficult task of finding a new rhythm in the midst of transition.
And the reality is, it’s never as easy as we would like to think and yet much of life is determined in these moments.
Where you go, what you achieve, who you will be influenced by are all magnified during transition.
Today, I encourage you to find out what transitions are happening in the lives of the people you lead. Find out what’s in their head and heart. Give them some fresh perspective and speak hope and life into their situations.
Bottom Line: A guide during transition is a welcome gift.
This post is brought to you by You Lead Coaching. Do Ministry Better. Find out more at ylcoaching.com
Don't miss a post by subscribing to the podcast here