Home Pastors Articles for Pastors 10 Rewards of an Encouraging Leader

10 Rewards of an Encouraging Leader

Encouraging Leader

My experience in life is that you get what you go for.

When a leader builds others through encouragement, they create a world of big-spirited, big-hearted people who in turn lift their leader higher and help them soar. It’s true—the best leaders are encouraging leaders.

Encouraging leaders don’t lead by intimidation or through forced allegiance to their authority. Instead, leaders must see the very best in other people and spur them onward and upward through an unwavering belief in the potential of those around them.

Here are a few qualities of encouraging leaders:

1. You are a DOOR OPENER

An encouraging leader knows when it is time to open new doors for those they lead, rather than keeping the door firmly shut and holding back opportunities.

The first thing my wife wanted people to feel as they walked into any Hillsong Church around the globe was a genuine sense of welcome. So, a sign saying “Welcome Home” prominently greets everyone who walks through our doors. It’s an intentional message that says, “Our doors are open.”

In the same way, when entering a store if someone holds a door open for you—there’s a kindness involved in that gesture that says, “Here, you go first.” In other words, it’s a display of humility. I think it can be so easy to believe that opening doors for others will lead to closed doors for you, but that’s never the way it works with God. God promotes the lives of those who promote the lives of others.

So, let’s be leaders who:

—Open doors of ministry and opportunity for the gifted.

—Open doors of safety and security for the vulnerable.

—Open doors of warmth and value to the family.

—Open doors of welcome, love and acceptance to the stranger.

I want to live my whole life as a door opener.

2. You are a PLATFORM BUILDER

An encouraging leader recognizes that their God-given platform is an opportunity to promote and enlarge the world of others.

By God’s grace, the Hillsong platform has done exactly that for many of our guests and speakers whose own ministry platform has notably grown after their exposure through our Hillsong or Colour Conference platforms.

Everyone’s platform extends well beyond the particular room they are in. The greater the influence God gives you, the higher your own platform becomes and the further your voice carries. I’m not necessarily just speaking about an actual or physical platform; rather, being a platform builder is about having an attitude and openness to use whatever influence you’ve been given to promote and increase others. As Matthew’s gospel puts it, “To whom much is given, much is required.”