What are you tolerating that's taking up space, but producing no results in leadership? Avoiding hard conversations with unfruitful efforts might be your biggest mistake. I'm Chris Moore and this is Leading 10 where we explore how the leadership of Jesus speaks to how we lead today. In Mark 11, Jesus is hungry. He sees a fig tree with leaves and walks towards it, expecting fruit, but when he gets there, there's nothing. It looked alive from a distance, but it had nothing to offer up close. Then Jesus does something surprising. He curses the tree. He says, no man, eat fruit. Hereafter forever. The next day as disciples pass by again, the tree is withered. From the roots up to the top mark, chapter 11, verse 14. And Jesus answered and said unto it, no man, eat fruit of thee hereafter forever. And his disciples heard it. Jesus wasn't just talking to a tree, he was teaching his disciples and us a leadership lesson. Leadership isn't just about looking productive, it's about producing real fruit. The fig tree had leaves the appearance of health, but no results. How many teams, strategies, beatings, or systems, are exactly like the fig tree? They look fine on the outside, but they're not producing anything worthwhile. Jesus addresses unfruitful, not with tolerance, but with truth. Think about that program in your business that's been running for years. No one questions it, but if you measured it. It's not really bearing any fruit or that team member who's always busy but never moves the needle or the weekly meeting that drains energy, but produces absolutely no decisions. We've all got fig trees in our organizations. They take up space, they consume resources, they give the illusion of productivity, but at some point we've got to ask. Is this really bearing fruit? The fig tree moment happened right before Jesus cleansed the temple. It was a prophetic sign showing that God doesn't just care about appearances. He's after the true substance. That's what leadership integrity looks like, not settling for what's easy, not continuing what's comfortable, but being honest about what actually is producing results. And truth is that things that re produced results in the past. Aren't always producing them today and hardly ever will produce them in the future. As leaders, we must be willing to inspect what we expect. We have to look at it and look at it. Honestly, Jesus's actions, they were not cruel. It was clear. It was setting a tone. Faith and fruitfulness go together. If we say we're rooted in him, our lives and leadership should bear evidence. So do a fruit check in your leadership. What areas of your business or team just are not producing? What systems, routines, or relationships are still in place? Only because they're familiar, not because they're fruitful. Don't rush to cut them down, but do have the courage to inspect them, ask the hard questions. What is this producing? Is it aligned with our vision for where we're going and what we're doing? Who is this helping us? Our customers, just the vendor. If we stop this tomorrow, what would actually change? I've been amazed at organizations where they have canceled certain activities. Reformed divisions even gotten rid of an entire division and merged that into other operations, and nobody missed it. Nothing actually disappeared. I've seen things that people were spending millions of dollars for a year that they suddenly stop. And it just goes straight to the bottom line because it wasn't useful for anybody. It was just taking up time. So if we stop this tomorrow, what would actually change? And then pray. Ask God for wisdom. Just because something was fruitful in the past doesn't mean it still is today. And just because it looks healthy doesn't mean that it's delivering the outcomes that we need for our businesses or for our lives. So identify one area of your leadership that needs a little inspection. Um, a little truth, you know, it might be a habit, a system, a meeting might even be a whole project. And write down what it's costing you and what it's producing. And ask, is this leafy or is it fruitful? Then take one step, adjust it, prune it. Or remove it, make room for what truly matters. Now, this doesn't mean that we always have to fire employees. It may mean that we need to redirect, retrain, give them some additional opportunities, or maybe just some bandwidth to succeed in the things that we are really good at and need done. If this devotional challenge you to think differently about results, share it with a fellow leader and remember, good leaders know what looks healthy. Great leaders know what actually produces fruit and the outcomes that we need. Thanks for joining me on Lead In 10, inspect what you expect, prune with courage and lead for real results. And I'll see you next time.