By Steve Gatena.
You finished the meeting, smiled through the debrief, and blamed the numbers on the market.
On the team. On the timing.
You drove home, already drafting the excuses in your head.
Jon Erwin did the same thing after “Woodlawn” flopped.
The film tanked.
The industry noticed.
And for a moment, it looked like his story was over before it really started.
But he didn’t look outward for the problem. He looked inward.
For four months, he sat with brutal feedback, dismantled the patterns that got him there, and rebuilt from the foundation up.
What came next was “I Can Only Imagine,” one of the most successful faith films ever made.
The shift Erwin made was internal, not tactical.
He realized the biggest ceiling in his company wasn’t the culture or the competition.
It was him.
That’s a hard thing to sit with.
Most leaders keep pushing harder, hiring faster, and managing tighter.
While the real work stays untouched in the mirror.
Your team doesn’t just reflect your strategy. They reflect your character.
So if something feels stuck, slow down before you restructure.
The root shapes the fruit.
Change the root, and everything growing from it starts to shift.
Real leadership isn’t about being the hero in every room.
It’s about building people who don’t need you to be.
Trusting them. Training them. And having the confidence to step back.
That’s the kind of leader whose work outlasts them.
And the fact that you’re asking hard questions about your leadership means the transformation has already begun.
Here’s your focus for today:
Own the mirror: Identify one pattern in your leadership you’ve been blaming on someone else, and name it honestly today.
Protect your culture: Write down the three values you want your team to feel, and check whether your last week actually reflected them.
Build, don’t hoard: Give one meaningful responsibility to someone on your team this week and resist the urge to take it back.
Anchor your day in this truth: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.” (Colossians 3:23)
Your setback isn’t the end of the story.
It might be the most important chapter in it.
Step into it.
