This wouldn’t be the case if we married robots or led teams of robots who simply do our bidding. But we lead people—stressed, high-maintenance, overwhelmed, wonderful people. As long as that is the case, we need to become better leaders.
There are numerous tensions in leadership. But I want to bring just one to light today: the tension of integrity and productivity.
Leadership = Integrity
Let me clarify with some questions:
• What actions are you doing that make your behavior replicable?
• What are you doing that others should model?
• Who are you that others should imitate?
Leadership is hard because it isn’t about just what you say. It’s about who you are and how that manifests in what you do. Any kind of leadership is hard. For example, as a worship leader, let’s take a few scenarios:
During Sunday morning worship, it’s not enough to tell people to worship and call them to Jesus. You must enter in yourself and live the life of a worshiper. It’s not enough to just cast vision to your team about greater excellence and preparation. You need to embody it.
You can’t just challenge people to seek God. It must be your very breath.
Leadership = Getting It Done
But it doesn’t stop there. Leaders can’t keep quiet. They need to lead. They need to be bold. They need to follow up. They need to show the path. They need to be clear and communicate.
A leader who talks a big game but has inconsistencies in their own integrity will eventually burn out. They may be able to build something big and even gain momentum but eventually they will burn out and the foundation of their ministry will be compromised.
A leader who has integrity behind closed doors but doesn’t speak up and invest in others isn’t really a leader. They are simply a doer.
We need to find the healthy balance of both worlds.
