The Pastor’s Attitude Toward Others

In this series, we are examining the effects of leader attitude toward their own success, toward critics, and toward everyone within their sphere of influence. We reinforced the idea that attitude makes a monumental difference in how we experience life and leadership. In addition, we considered how to strengthen our attitude when facing criticism. Criticism may be irrelevant, completely destructive, and some criticism may even be constructive.

Have you ever known someone with myriad talents and high intellect, who failed to reach their potential for influencing others? More than likely it was their attitude which became a limiting factor on their capacity to accomplish greater things. Our attitude either propels or stifles progress in our lives and achievement in our careers. Success and performance are heavily influenced by our attitude.

In ministry, we may feel like we are the primary contributor and therefore inherently deserve most of the credit. Remember that success is not our destination. Mission attainment in a church will always be a team effort. It is due to those around you. Excellent leaders take more than their share of the blame and less than their share of the credit. Unfortunately, many leaders take less than their share of the blame and more than their share of the credit, which is why they lose respect from those around them.

In dealing with the failure of others, our attitude may be the difference between damaging the self-esteem of others or helping them rise to a meaningful experience. An effective attitude toward others will include grace-filled words and an intentional focus on assisting them in improving their skills or redirecting their efforts to something with better fit.

In this video:

We discuss five ways to develop the right attitude toward others. It may seem like a little thing, but attitude makes a big difference. It can be like a rudder on your boat, either guiding you to your desired mission or forcing you to take the long way home.