Leadership in 4 Words

Leadership is a complex subject that requires a lifetime of continued learning. It requires constant practice, learning from mistakes and the willingness to take risks.

Leadership is influence.

Leadership is about inspiring people to a purpose that results ultimately in their best interest, both here on earth, and for eternity.

Thousands of books have been written on leadership, but if I had the assignment to teach leadership in 4 words, here’s what they would be.

Heart -> Connect -> Trust -> Follow

These four words provide a foundation for relationally-based leadership that when connected to a vision, will serve any leader well.

Here’s a summary. If you lead with your heart, people can connect with you. If people connect with you, they will trust you, and if they trust you, they will follow you.

Now read the summary with the reverse perspective for even greater clarity and insight. People will not follow anyone they do not trust. They cannot trust someone they don’t connect with, and they can’t connect with someone with whom they cannot find their heart.

Let’s break it down.

1) Heart

All leadership begins at a heart level. This is not meant to be a complex thought. It’s not lofty or ethereal. Leading from the heart is nothing more and nothing less than being yourself.

Leading from the heart requires that you are self-aware. It’s important that you know who you are, how God wired you, and His purpose for you.

Leading from the heart requires that you can manage your fears and insecurities. We all have them. The thing that sets you apart as a leader is whether those fears and insecurities manage you or you manage them. Successful leaders acknowledge fear and insecurity but work hard to rise above them. In time, both can be greatly minimized.

This allows you to become comfortable with who you are, and find your strength in God rather than in pleasing people through performance.

2) Connect

When you are comfortable being you, the real you, people will like you best. Like I’ve written before, not everyone will like you, but they enjoy you most when you are authentic. This allows genuine connection to take place.

The fears and insecurities I mentioned cause you to self-protect, and self-protection prevents connection. Some of the godliest and well-intended leaders I know unintentionally attempt to hide rather than be real. That never works.

It’s ironic I know, Christ has come to set us free, and perfect love casts out fear, but “hiding” is a potential reality for anyone who leads. It’s not always easy, but I’d like to encourage you to trust the God who made you, in order to become the very person He created you to be.

This invites joy into the process and leadership becomes fun.

3) Trust

When you lead from the heart and connect with others, you establish a basis for trust. The consistency of your character enables that trust to deepen and flourish. And the deeper the trust, the greater the commitment of those who follow your leadership.

That’s why it’s so devastating when trust is broken.

Whether you are leading your family, a company, or leading in a church, it’s personal. People bought into you, your heart and your leadership. They connected with you and gave you their trust.

If trust is broken, most of your energy is transferred to repairing that trust. When trust is solid, leadership has the potential to flourish.

Protect this sacred trust at all costs.

4) Follow

Followership now becomes practical. Give people a vision worth following. They have your heart, connect with you, and have extended trust. They are willing to follow, but not for long if you don’t have a vision, or if you are not helping lead the church’s vision.

You’ve got to know where you’re going and have a general idea of how to get there.

Yes, those who follow you buy into you, but since the purpose of the church is about something much greater, keep the focus on the church’s mission, not your own.

Let’s go back to insecurities for a moment. When a leader is insecure, there is great temptation to make it about himself or herself and not the mission. That’s a dangerous place to be because even though innocent, this can eventually break trust.

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The people you lead are highly intuitive. They may not know what they are feeling, but if something is off, they will begin to pull back.

If that happens, the best remedy is to go back to the beginning and start with the heart. Honesty and authenticity can restore most situations. That helps restore the connection, and in time trust can be rebuilt.

There is, of course, much more to leadership, but these four words can serve you well for a lifetime.