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on April 14, 2022 in Performance

Police Pull Over A Driverless Car

On April 1st, San Francisco police pulled over a car for an unknown traffic violation.  As they approached the vehicle, officers realized no one was driving the Chevy Bolt.  Shown in the video above, this particular car was being operated by the autonomous driving company Cruise.

It created a perplexing and somewhat humorous situation for officers.  There would no license and registration requested, no “Sir, do you know why I pulled you over?”, and no “Sir, will you please step out of the vehicle?”  The driverless vehicle resulted in confusion and lack of accountability.  As a result, the car eventually drove away without a citation.

I wish the results were just as benign when no one seems to be at the wheel in business, religious, educational, non-profit, or athletic organizations.  When a weak, incompetent, or even absentee leader is in charge, the results can be disastrous.

Sheep Without A Shepherd

Psalm 23:3 (ESV) says, “He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”

In his outstanding book A Shepherd looks at Psalm 23, W. Phillip Keller discusses what happens when sheep are not being led by a skilled shepherd.  You see, sheep are notorious creatures of habit.  If left to themselves, sheep will follow the same trails over and over again until the ground develops ruts and becomes barren.  Sheep will also pollute the land with their own waste until the ground becomes filled with disease and parasites.

Many beautiful pastures have been ruined by over-grazing, mismanagement, and careless sheep owners.  A good shepherd has a systemic plan to take his sheep to new ground on a weekly basis.

10 Signs Of An Organization With A Lazy, Careless, Or Absentee Leader

A leaderless organization is similar to sheep without a shepherd.  The following are 10 signs of an organization with a lazy, careless, or absentee leader:

  1. There is no personal or organizational growth.  The people do the same thing over and over.
  2. Unhealthy habits have been formed and viewed as normative.
  3. There are no new or fresh ideas.  You have become an expert in what used to work.  You’re in a rut.
  4. There are fewer and fewer customers.  The land has become barren.
  5. Your culture has become polluted.
  6. Instead of attracting people who can move the organization forward, you attract parasites who suck time and resources away from the organization.
  7. Your organization is filled with prideful, stubborn leaders.  They are stiff-necked because they think the organization is healthy when in fact it is plateaued, declining, or even dying.
  8. Your organization is filled with careless leaders.
  9. Your organization is filled with absentee leaders who neglect the pasture and sheep.
  10. There are no systems or plans in place to grow the people or organization.

We are so much like sheep, stubborn and stiff-necked, it is frightening.  Driverless vehicles will become more and more normative.  But healthy organizations still need great leaders at the wheel.

The Top 75 Leadership Quotes From 2021 Part 2 is my latest ebook.  For many entering a post-pandemic environment, leadership looks completely different than the pre-pandemic world.  People are more broken now. They are more uncertain. Fear and anxiousness are unwelcome constant companions. Cultures are more unhealthy. Relationships are more dysfunctional.  Hope seems to be in short supply.  Every day seems to bring a new hacking, natural disaster, or unexpected calamity.

Therefore, the fundamentals of leadership are more important than ever. The quotes in this book deal with the basics of leadership.  If you want to be the best leader you can possibly be, click HERE or on the image provided to download this FREE resource.  The lessons learned from last year, if applied, will sustain you for years to come.

 

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