The Main Point Before Therefore

Sunday school teachers taught us that whenever we see a “Therefore” in the Bible, we need to consider what it is there for. Therefore is always a reflection on the past or an awareness that is worth not only considering, but acting upon.

In Philippians, Paul describes the attitude we are to have. He says, “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place” (Phil. 2:9). This statement is about God’s exaltation of his Son, but it demands that we pay just as much attention to why God did it, and avoid the temptation to only see what he did. God’s exaltation of his Son is relevant because of the broader context of how Jesus approached his life and what he did. “He made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Phil. 2:7-8). 

A Trusted Mission and Leader

 As human beings, we will not trust a person or a mission we can’t see.

We are moving so fast that we do not pause to define who we are going to be and why. That causes us to become walking facades people may follow for a while, but whom they will not follow for long.

Trust requires us to see one another.

Trust requires us to see one another. To see one another we must know ourselves and our why at a level that runs much deeper than a 30-second slideshow on Instagram. 

Thoughtful Action

When I established the WiLD Leaders’ mission to prepare a generation of courageous and sacrificial leaders, we knew that awareness was always going to play as big a role in the development of whole leader’s capacity as does action.

To that end, we built a developmental structure to help leaders and their people move toward wholeness, trust, and purposeful action. It is simple and practical, and can be used in any developmental conversation. It invites enough depth to build trust over time. This process connects purpose to mission, and links action steps to their why and to the deeper story of their development.

Three "Therefore" Questions

“Therefore” is a reminder that what is next is based on what came before. Ask yourself or someone else these three questions.

1. Regarding your personality, your competence, the calling on your life, your investments in others, and your purpose in your job, what are you aware of that is important for you to pay attention to at this moment in your life? (Therefore...)
2. Based on that awareness, what is the impact of that on you, your family, and others you work with? (Therefore...)
3. What are you going to do, or change, based on your awareness of the developmental moment you are experiencing and the people who are impacted? (Action...)

A Purposeful Foundation

Paul reminds us in Philippians that it is precisely who Jesus is that caused the Father to take the action he did.

Every action we take as leaders must be based on a foundation of courageous and sacrificial purpose. It is a foundation of understanding with awareness of necessary sacrifices. It allows us to recognize who we are becoming, and the opportunity we have to see one another more honestly and more whole.

That level of understanding of ourselves and each other is the platform of trust we must build.

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Dr. Rob McKenna has been named among the top 30 most influential Industrial and Organizational Psychologists. He is the founder of WiLD Leaders, Inc. and creator of the WiLD Trust Platform. As an author, speaker, and influencer, Dr. McKenna has devoted his life to developing leaders and transforming the way we see each other in our organizations - seeing them as whole. Learn more at www.wildleaders.org

Listen to Dr. Rob McKenna on Best Christian Workplaces’ The Flourishing Culture Leadership Podcast as he discusses “Leadership Under Pressure: Thriving in the Hot Seat.”

 Learn more about Outcomes magazine.