“Over the next nine years I am absolutely certain that I’m going to disappoint you multiple times; maybe even monthly if not more often.” These words come from friend, colleague and new Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church as he begins his tenure.
Overwhelming those who have heard him share this prediction, have found it honest, refreshing and in some cases quite inspiring. Far too often folks only hear either great platitudes or unfounded excuses from their leaders. The reality is having this level of candor about the high likeliness of disappointment actually builds greater trust towards.
A therapist friend once shared with me that the fear of disappointment is one of humanity’s greatest inhibitors. Many individuals have been scripted in a culture of the trifecta of disappointment often accompanied by guilt and shame, all of which cripples our capacity to thrive.
Disappointment does not have to be embraced through the lens of failure. The nucleus of disappointment is expectation from ourselves and others. What if we utilized those disappointments to both reexamine the expectations – the hoped for outcome – and as an opportunity to recalibrate our approach. In doing so we will undoubtedly gain both clarity and creativity to the desired destination. This is exactly what innovators do in the Innovative Loop: imagine – implement – reimagine.
Martin Luther King, Jr. has a particularly salient perspective, “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” Disappointment is surely going to come our way…it is only a stumbling block if we loose our focus on the hope on the horizon.
“…knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts…” Romans 5:3-4
BP