How Effective Is Your Leadership?

What effect does your leadership have on those you lead? Does it inspire confidence and trust in your leadership? Does it empower others and mobilize clear action? Or does it create uncertainty and confusion? Fear and suspicion?

We all want to be a stronger leader.  So we read books, attend workshops, and spend hours in prayerful reflection so we will be prepared for God’s use. (Hebrews 13:21) As I prayed about this recently, God revealed a crucial truth:

The strength of your leadership will be revealed in the effect you produce on those you lead. The strength of our leadership is revealed in the effect we produce on those we lead. Click To Tweet

Since then, I’ve been taking a hard look at my leadership and I’m not sure I like what I see. Too often, I straddle between pleasing people and pleasing God and in the end, I please no one — not even myself — and I leave confusion in my wake.

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Does my leadership set a clear tone or are my teams left wandering in an amorphous “grey” zone because I’m afraid to give a strong, clear directive?

But ambiguity won’t encourage or equip those I lead. There’s no fence straddling strategy that can affirm their faith and empower their service. Strong leadership is much more than a sincere heart and a highly developed skill set.

God is looking for servant leaders who will lead with courage, clarity, and conviction. God is looking for servant leaders who will lead with courage, clarity, and conviction. Click To Tweet

Is that you? Is it me? Lately, I’ve been wobbling around in the muddy zone of “middle ground.” Just to appease the masses. Oh, how the enemy loves a leader more focused on “keeping the peace” than on following God’s clear call to action. The enemy loves a leader more focused on “keeping the peace” than on following God’s clear call to action. Click To Tweet

But there’s no neutral zone a leader can hide in to escape the responsibility to actually lead. No “out” to avoid making clear decisions. Maintaining middle ground is no way to build leadership muscle, mutual trust, or ministry momentum. People-pleasing-vagaries leave others floundering in the cloudy water of ambiguity.

Ambiguity in leadership is the enemy’s sweet spot. He dons it like an elven cloak and moves among us undetected and unfettered.

~Creating anxiety

~Causing conflict 

~Killing confidence

I hate ambiguity.

It cripples me. And it really confuses those I lead. God wants so much more for those He has entrusted to our leadership. God seeks strong leaders to lay firm rails upon which others can travel with clarity and confidence. Is that me? Is it you?

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I want to be a leader who inspires confidence and mobilizes God’s people. One who is Spirit-strong. Effective. How about you?

What types of things have you done to strengthen and clarify your leadership?