One of the things no leader can delegate is the task of staying fresh. It's easy for leaders to get stale, to do the routine, to follow a pattern of what's been done before.

Staying fresh means learning something new. Seeing what you've not seen before. Finding the unexpected. That's the key to ever-growing, ever-developing leadership. But this doesn't happen easily or automatically.

Ironically, trying too hard to be innovative and creative usually backfires. Seeking to be creative is like trying to be profound. The pursuit fails because the wrong goal is in view.

Years ago, I was with a minister who had recently assumed a new pastorate, following a man who had been there decades.

"My predecessor was a living legend," he said. "Every sermon of his was profound. For the first 18 months I was here, I tried to imitate him. Every week I sat in my study trying to come up with something profound. But during my sermons all I got from the people were a lot of blank ...