A few weeks ago, a company I’d ghostwritten for over a number of years shuttered. There had been some telltale signs that the business wasn’t in the greatest shape, but I’d held out hope that our CEO would figure out a way to turn things around. Finally, though, the business died.
The failure of this startup by itself isn’t particularly anything special. The number of businesses that actually survive past the first few years is fairly small. Yet, what happened through the closure was, in my view, worth noting.
An series of unfortunate events (minus Lemony Snickett)
Normally, when a company has to shutter, the CEO has a meeting or sends out some kind of communication about it. The CEO of this company, however, apparently communicated the closure only to some employees. Instead of hearing about it directly, I learned people were being let go from their LinkedIn posts and profiles. In fact, I was reassured right up until the end that work was available. This was the reality despite the fact that I’d been one of their original ghostwriters and had served as one of most prominent freelancers in terms of output. I was left with no real understanding of what had happened, and polite communications I sent to the CEO asking for a letter of recommendation went unanswered. It was a textbook example of what not to do as a leader.
Why does God allow poor leaders to lead?
My CEO certainly is not the only individual who has missed the mark in leadership. Poor leaders are at the helm everywhere. Many of those have a lot to learn beyond how to properly close a company. They struggle not just with a lack of interpersonal or other skill, but with a range of improprieties. It all raises the question of why God allows these kinds of leaders to stay in authority when He does.
Coach and author Chris Patton offers a few potential explanations, reflecting on the poor leadership of Saul. He posits that
- David wasn’t ready,
- God was trying to reach Saul,
- God was orchestrating events, and/or
- God was teaching the Israelites.
Although we cannot know for sure which or if any of these hypotheses are true, the idea that God has something good in the works and has perfect timing in His adjustments to authority is comforting. It aligns with the nature of His character, which is defined by love and understanding.
Applying this mindset to the closure of my CEO’s company, it might be that the CEO needed to experience what it felt like to have a business crumble so that he could be better in the next business. Or it might be that God wanted some of the employees to move on. Maybe He wanted the clients of the business to learn to do their own storytelling more often.
For me, the closure of the company paralleled the need to be more involved with my family and focus more on my own publications. Had the business succeeded, I would not be in the position I am now of being able to reorient my attention, strengthen the connections that matter, and do more for Him in my writing.
Sometimes, we cannot see the plan God has until we look backward and connect the dots. But He always has a plan.
Look forward and go do
Regardless of what God might have cooking in the shuttering of the business I was in, I’ve been concerned for my finances and the finances of the writers and editors who were on staff, some of them who had new babies within the past year. My former colleagues have been honest that addressing their money needs is going to be a challenge. Yet, I recognize that, as Jesus taught, worrying is not going to benefit me or anyone else (Matthew 6:25-34). It also isn’t going to do me any good to lament what the CEO could have done but didn’t.
You can either look back in anger and disappointment, or you can face forward to what you need to do next. When poor leaders put you in a bad place, don’t get lost in the feelings you might have. As I told one of my former editors, when people give you fudges, don’t be holdin’ grudges. Keep your head on straight. Think. Pray. Your leader might not have taken action, but you absolutely can.