GLS22 Special Edition Notes—Strategic Unreasonableness 

Reasonable leaders get reasonable results and make reasonable progress. Sounds reasonable, right? But to accomplish significant progress, change, and effectiveness, you may need to think unreasonably.

In his talk at The Global Leadership Summit: Special Edition on February 24, 2022, Craig Groeschel unpacked how to be strategically unreasonable. There seems no better time in our world, our churches, and our businesses that some unreasonable leadership might be the way forward.

Enjoy these official notes from Craig Groeschel’s session on Strategic Unreasonableness.

Unusual times often demand unreasonable leadership.

Unreasonable leaders might:

• • Lead with top-down force demanding unrealistic results.
  • Be blindly unaware of the real issues at hand.
  • Lack empathy that devalues the team and kills morale.

Reasonable Leaders

• • Reasonable leaders tend to produce reasonable results.
    • • Progress often depends on unreasonable leaders.
      • It takes intentionality to overcome the gravitational pull to reasonableness.
  • Reasonable leaders are rarely controversial.
    • • It does not often require risk.
      • They rarely rock the boat.

If you want to break out of what is and break into what could be, you’ll have to be strategically unreasonable in your leadership.

3 Ways to Be Strategically Unreasonable

1. Think “what” first. Think “how” later.

• • What is your “what”? Be incredibly clear about what you want to accomplish.
  • Be clear about the words you use to define your goals.
  • Build toward something in the future.
  • It’s impossible to have a “how” without a “what.”
  • If your “what” is compelling enough, you’ll figure out a “how.”

2. Embrace your limitations.

• • More resources do not drive innovation. Limitations drive innovation.
  • You have everything you need to do everything you are supposed to do.
  • You don’t need more time or more money, you need more unreasonableness.
  • Quit saying “We cannot because we don’t.” Say, “We can because we do not…”

3. When you fail, fail actively, not passively.

• • As a leader, you’re not going to hit every target or achieve every goal.
  • When you do fail, fail leading with faith instead of cowering with fear.
  • Sometimes failure is the tuition that you pay for success.
  • Sometimes you have to be willing to fail.
  • Failure is not an option; it’s a necessity.
  • If you aren’t failing every now and then, you’re playing it way too safe.
  • If you’re succeeding too easily, you’re not thinking big enough.

Call to Strategic Unreasonable Leadership

• • To do something great, you’ll have to lead with unreasonable faith.
  • You have to continue to believe.
  • In the middle of a difficult time, dream some unreasonable dreams.
  • People who do five times as much as you are not five times as smart as you.
  • Find comfort in being uncomfortable. Growth and comfort never coexist.

You’re a leader. You go first. You have vision and passion. You create culture. You add value. You take risks. Lead with integrity, multiply resources. Your calling is too great, and your God is too good for you to play it safe in your leadership. What are you waiting for? It’s an unstable time. It requires leadership. There are problems to solve, opportunities to be seized. It’s time to be unreasonable in your leadership.