Every person you know has a story occurring at the center of their identity and their progress that is too often expressed as an unanswered question: How do I connect my driving purpose to what I am doing every day? We ask it in different ways, but at the core of who we are as human beings is the question that connects the invisible pieces of our hearts with the visible pieces of our actions.
True leadership requires the courage to let go of what’s good in order to receive what’s better. Whether it’s possessions, positions, or plans, holding loosely allows us to lead with open hands, ready for transformation, collaboration, and God’s greater purpose.
You did it! You started a business with nothing more than a dream and a willingness to roll up your sleeves. You worked hard, really hard, and the business grew. You didn’t know what you were doing half the time, but you figured it out. You made it up as you went, and now you’re leading your very own multi-million dollar business.
The fastest way to lose sight of your business is to stop listening to your customers. What you think is happening inside your company and what your customers are actually experiencing might be two completely different stories. Too often, leaders rely on assumptions instead of real feedback—and that gap can cost you growth, loyalty, and trust.
In this post, Convene Chair Mike Edwards shares how to check in with your customers in meaningful, non-intrusive ways—and how to turn their insights into quick, high-impact improvements.
Are business growth and your faith opposed? Christian leaders often find themselves at a crossroads, seeking to balance ambition with their faith-based values. The desire to scale operations and achieve greater impact can sometimes feel at odds with the principles of service, integrity, and stewardship that underpin their beliefs.
Yet, scaling a business and adhering to Christian values are not mutually exclusive. In fact, by integrating biblical wisdom with sound business practices, Christian leaders can unlock a path to sustainable growth that aligns with their faith and honors God's purpose for their endeavors.
One of the most common questions we hear from organizations is about clarifying a Manager’s role in their business. To what level of detail should they oversee their team’s work? How do they create alignment among different stakeholders? How do they ensure they’re using a results-driven leadership style and not simply reacting to different requests?
Leaders know how frustrating it can be when team members fail to follow what seem to be simple directions to complete a task. It’s tempting to attribute the glitch on the staff member, but wisdom instructs leaders to rethink this notion. Instead the leader should consider whether the source of the problem might be his/her leader’s failure to communicate their purpose. “Purpose” tells people how to interpret orders, execute procedures, solve problems, resolve conflicts, and overcome unexpected challenges; it informs their judgment and allows them to improvise. “Purpose” is also the power behind initiative, goal setting, and perseverance. So it is always wise to communicate the purpose of a task or project when you assign it.
I believe what people say. More than that, I believe the attitudes they express knowingly or unknowingly. When I enter an organization, I pay close attention to what managers say, and I have learned some of the telltale messages of managers who aren’t leading anyone anywhere. Among the worst messages are those that shut down communication. When communication is blocked, trust erodes and decisions go uninformed. After that, little else matters.
The Bible says that with God, all things are possible. But, as Christian leaders we must establish goals that are first vetted with Him. “Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty” (Proverbs 21:5, ESV). So, make sure you follow the lead of the Holy Spirit in identifying the right goals, objectives, strategies, and tactics to fulfill the path that God has ordained for you (Proverbs 3:5-6) and to “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).
I was privileged to contribute a chapter to the book "The Selfless Leader," available at no cost here. Rather than toot my horn as one of the contributors, I'd rather point you to the words of the editor, Scott Rodin of the Steward's Journey, who blogs here.
"Perhaps the best way I can try to define a Selfless Leader is to contrast it with its opposite. Could we say that the converse of a self-less leader is a self-more leader? Put another way, does becoming a selfless leader require us to set aside our desires to want more of our self as the focus of our leadership?
