Tag: Trust

Confidentiality

One of the most critical areas of leadership involves an understanding of confidentiality. Leaders must know how to keep something in confidence.

Confidentiality speaks to a sacred trust. Followers need to know they can place their lives into the hands of someone they trust.

1) When leaders keep confidentiality, relationships are built.
2) Confidentiality makes leaders approachable.
3) Doing so provides guidelines for developing greater leadership.
4) Keeping a confidence grows a more Christlike character.

Confidentiality is critical for leaders. They must guard what has been placed into their sacred trust. When they do, the resulting development of character builds a leadership worth following.

Security

When leaders provide direction that is fixed, followers feel secure.

When leaders keep followers safe and unharmed, they feel secure.

When followers are protected from the enemy, they are secure.

When leaders are stable, eliminate anxiety, and are unafraid, security exists.

Consider these thoughts in a spiritual context. Spiritual leaders must provide security that eliminates the fear and anxiety prevalent in the world.

To accomplish this, a few simple steps will help.

1) Be strong in faith.
2) Grow in knowledge of the word.
3) Trust in God.
4) Remember there is strength in numbers.
5) Lead with confidence.

Friendship

Friendship is a beautiful relationship of mutual trust and support.

I have witnessed the powerful effects of true friendship. Such mutual trust and support is unmatched.

Leadership is not always seen from the perspective of friendship. Leadership is often accompanied by loneliness. We often hear the idea expressed, “It’s lonely at the top.”

While this may be true in many corporate or political settings, it does not have to be true in every situation.

When leaders develop relationships of mutual trust and support, friendships blossom and provide a source of strength and encouragement for addressing all challenges.

Fearless

When someone is fearless, we tend to think about the absence of fear.

Consider another possibility as it relates to leadership.

Reverse the word and examine the idea of less fear.

It is doubtful that a leader reaches a point where they have no fear. Various events in life and leadership will always create times of fear. During those times we can demonstrate less fear, but what makes it possible to do so? Read Hebrews 11:1 – 12:4.

Enduring life’s challenges is an ability strengthened by victorious faith.

Trust that God will keep His promise.

Obstacles are temporary. Keep your eyes on Jesus.

Hold the Helm

Consider a statement made by Publilius Syrus, “Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.” Perhaps we could say, “It is not difficult to have faith when life is going well.”

The challenge to faith (holding the helm) involves trusting that God is in control and engaged in life, that He looks out for your best interest even when life is not going well.

Spiritual leaders will face numerous storms, disbelief in the vision and goals often exists, jealousy that creates doubt in your motives, and gossip, slander, and malice spread discrediting you.

Hold the helm! Remain strong in the faith! Keep your eyes focused on Jesus! Continue to lead!

Leading with Prayer

I recently heard a question asked, “Do we believe in prayer?”

Most people can attest to God answering prayers in powerful ways.

Perhaps the struggle we have deals with the temptation to doubt when various trials arise and challenge our faith in God’s power to answer.

There is no magic formula, special words, proper position, or time of day that makes a difference in prayer.

For Christians, prayer is about the simplicity of a humble heart that trusts God to answer in His time, in His ways, and in our best interest.

We may not always understand, but prayer is foundational to powerful leadership.

Transparency

Terry Starbucker’s e-book Leadership From A Glass Half-Full: The 5 Lessons You Need To Learn Before You Jump Into The Pool talks about the seven most important words in leadership.

The phrase is simply, “I don’t know and I’ll find out.”

The reality is we do not like not knowing the answer.

Worse still is the attempt to bluff our way through areas we know nothing about.

The transparency of acknowledging we do not know something and the willingness to find the answer is critical to great leadership.

We gain greater credibility and trust is established when we are are honest.

Learn and live by these seven words.

Time and Energy

When the only value people feel they provide for an organization is from a financial perspective, then the long-term structure crumbles. We all desire to know that the time and energy we contribute to growth has value, not just financially.

If we can incorporate the same into our spiritual leadership, the response is the same. Consider the benefit to the church when Christians see leaders give of their time and energy. The result is huge in raising the level of trust and the desire to achieve the vision set forth by leaders.

Test of Leadership

Abraham is a great example specifically identified with the testing of his faith. “God tested Abraham” is how the text begins with the command from God to offer his only son, Isaac, as a burnt offering.

James speaks to the purpose of testing as a way to produce endurance which ultimately results in completeness.

How should we respond to tests within our leadership?

Prayer is the best place to begin.
Hold fast to the word of God.
Seek the counsel of spiritual and godly leaders.
Remember to trust God is working to prepare us.

Trust

What is the leader’s greatest asset? In leadership circles, the greatest asset is trust. If people lose trust in their leader, they will not follow, and without followers there is no leadership.

What can leaders do in order to establish a relationship of trust?

Demonstrate competence.
Wisdom in decision-making and follow through helps leaders show a competence that followers need.

Eliminate inconsistencies.
Learning to align our words and actions with our core values may not completely eliminate inconsistency, but it helps.

Cultivate character.
While challenging, integrity is the foundation of our character upon which we cultivate trust.