We've all heard it, and some of us have said it. "That's a winner's problem." But what is a winner's problem, and why does it matter to servant leaders?
Sometimes a winner's problem is a can we kick down the road. It's a problem we don't have an answer to now or choose not to answer now for various reasons, instead relying on someone else to solve it later. Maybe it costs money now but might not be required later so we delay the cost.
Sometimes a winner's problem is a deliberate decision to challenge ourselves in the future, but only after we achieve a certain milestone. Businesses will lure talent through promised bonuses, relying on that talent to make those bonuses possible.
But what is a winner's problem for us, Servant Leader?
A winner's problem for a servant leader might look like a challenge implementing a servant style of leadership in a highly competitive environment. It might look like retaining your resolve when the company party is in a distillery. It might look like standing your ground and defending your employee to a senior manager who refuses to see the employee's value.
Consider this. When you search for a location on the Internet, you get a few square miles of map. You may see a few roads or businesses, but not a lot of detail. Most maps will allow you to zoom out even as far as viewing the Earth from space. You can't see the location you searched, but you know it's there. You can also zoom in close enough to tell where I park my car or if I mowed my grass recently.
This is our winner's problem, Servant Leader. As a faithful servant of the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, you are already a winner. So, your winner's problem may be a few square miles to you, but it's just a speck on the global map that is His Kingdom. Still, He cares enough about your winner's problem to zoom in close enough to tell the condition of your grass.
It's all about perspective, Servant Leader. You are already a winner, so all of your problems are winner's problems. The choice you have to make today is whether you are going to kick the can down the road or grab hold of the confidence that comes from knowing that the One True God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, the Alpha and Omega is close enough to see your grass.
