I apologize for this being a less than jam-packed week for posts. I proclaimed “Leadership Week” and then left you hanging—my bad. I hope I can make up for it on a slam-dunk, week-ending post.
Last Friday our Missional Team Leader for Campus Crusade for Christ, Brian McCollister, had the leaders of our movement over for dinner. Brian talked about Jonathan in 1 Samuel 14:1-13. In the passage, Jonathan asks his armor-bearer to fight against over twenty men in a half-acre area. His armor-bearer responds by saying, “Do all that you have in mind. Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.”
Jonathan asked this man to follow him into a wildly outnumbered battle. The odds were stacked against them. Despite the outlook from the follower’s view, he said yes—instantly—without hesitation.
Are you the type of leader that can inspire followers to go with you into an incredible battle? Will those your leading be with you “heart and soul?”
How confident are your followers about where they are being led? Are you the kind of leader who is unsure of direction, leading without vision, unaware of what your followers are capable of? Or are you a leader who has served followers and trusted in their abilities when times were tough?
The more effectively you lead your troops, the more their trust in you and loyalty to you will grow. The odds may seem stacked against you, but if you are confident about your calling, your followers will be right behind you, saying yes to your requests without hesitation.
What are you doing today to build the trust of your followers?
I’m not talking about blind following. I’m talking about an established track record of trust that’s been built from the ground up. I’m talking about being a leader so full of integrity, character, and honesty that followers will go to the ends of the earth behind him—a leader so confident in his purpose and the abilities of his followers that no battle seems too tough.
What are you doing today to become a leader that resonates with followability?