When leading means not leading

I remember the day I realized I could be a leader. It was in Junior High. Bunch of kids hanging out and the direction of the group felt somehow wrong. So I spoke up. This is stupid, I said, I am going down another path. Come if you want, stay if you want. And they came. I remember walking away wondering what had just happened. I was small, not the strongest or the loudest or the bravest but suddenly they were following me.

That day began shaping my life and thinking. And I have tried to be a good leader ever since. But now I am asking myself if leadership is always defined as leading?

I have been thinking a bit lately about when it is appropriate as a leader to not lead. When it might be the very best form of leadership to not be the leader or not even help leadership to happen. Seems like a bit of a contradiction in terms and ideas, but I am coming to realize that there are times when the best form of leadership is deciding to just step back and let something that one could lead continue leaderless. The natural inclination of a leader is to see a situation and see the holes in the leadership of that situation and step in to fill those holes. But there are times when the health and future of a group or an organization is such that it is better to not provide leadership and just let it go its merry way, even if that means letting it die.

The problem with that is that the very act of doing noting in the context of a leadership vacuum is like telling yourself to feel free to breath when you know that your face is under water. (A moment I had to deal with a few years ago when I took scuba lessons.) Even though you know it is the right thing to do, it goes against every fiber of your being.

But God is teaching me that sometimes I do have to just sit back and let Him lead, even if it looks like the lack of leadership might lead to the death of a group or an organization. Suddenly I realize that doing nothing, if that is God's will, is in fact leading.

I am quitting now as I think I am developing a leadership headache!