When the Lights Went Out

Written By Michael Brown

Leadership in the Dark

Sunday night, December 14th, was the most terrifying moment of my life. We were driving home from Dallas, and approaching the final home stretch of our road trip. We were on Interstate 49, south of Fayetteville, which if you’re not familiar, is a road through mountains with substantial drops on one side of the road and trees or cliffs on the other. I was cruising at 76 miles per hour, and we wanted to turn off the interior screen light to make the driver more pleasant.

Then it happened … the wrong button was pressed, and everything went dark. There was no light in the car or outside the car … not even moonlight. At this very moment of going dark, I was navigating a high-speed curve. Immediately, I started praying we wouldn’t hit the guardrail, another car, or spin out of control while attempting to find the small shoulder on the other side of the road.

I found the rumble strip on the passenger tires and then again on the driver’s tires and came to a stop. There we were in the pitch black, stopped on the shoulder of the interstate. We started frantically looking for the button to press to turn all the lights back on. It felt like minutes, but it was probably seconds. Ezra was terrified. Elliott was sleeping. I was trying to hold it together, and we had 30 minutes until we arrived home.

I’ll tell you what – there’s not a scenario much scarier than driving your family down a curvy mountain interstate with no light.

We need the light in the darkness. The light illuminates the information we need to make decisions while on the road.

Visibility and speed were no longer something I could take for granted. Without visibility, I didn’t know how to stay in the lines, navigate the turn, or view obstacles in the road. Without speed, I didn’t know if I was driving a safe speed to navigate what was coming ahead.

It makes me wonder about our leadership. How do you know you are safely leading your organization, your team, and/or yourself around what is ahead?

What do you have to have so you don’t lead in the dark? Here are some of the non-negotiable “lights” you need to illuminate your path and lead well:

Organizationally:

  • Clear Culture

  • Constant and Consistent Communication

  • Buy-In During Change

Team:

  • Aligned Goals

  • Clear Roles

  • Ways of Working

Personal:

  • Aligned Purpose

  • Rhythms of Rest

  • Execution

Leaders, if you are floundering and trying to turn the lights on so you can see around the corner, then pull off the road for a minute and reset. Get a light back on and take a breath. Then start doing what you know how to do and get your leadership health back.

This Christmas season is all about finding the light. It’s a game-changer when we can see clearly … and not fumble in the dark.

Michael Brown

Michael Brown is a husband, father, leadership practitioner, entrepreneur, author, and church planter. Michael has extensive experience coaching, training, facilitating and developing leadership programs for some of the world’s largest organizations and best-known brands. He holds a Master of Arts in Strategic Communication and Leadership from Seton Hall University. Michael is a certified TotalSDI facilitator, Core Strengths facilitator and DiSC certified. He has also served as an adjunct instructor at the University of Arkansas, Ozark Christian College, and Cincinnati Christian University.

Michael has developed customized leadership training programs and curriculum for the past seven years for senior level leadership. Michael also launched Thrive Christian Church in Fayetteville, Arkansas. In his spare time, he makes divots in fairways, tries to fly fish, mountain bikes and coaches his kids’ U8 and U12 world championship soccer teams. Okay, they might not be world champions yet.

https://insightlg.com/
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