(This post is written by Meredith Knox. I'm pretty sure there isn't one thing Mere couldn't do. She can lead, preach, sing, write, laugh and love with the best of them. Needless to say, she's pretty intimidating. She currently serves on our staff at NewSpring Church as the Fuse Training Director where she gets to help raise up young leaders. Her passion is unmatched and I absolutely love what she wrote about leadership and love...)
PSA- I am a young leader. I am a young FEMALE leader. In the big picture of life, I have been doing this a very short time. No one is more aware of this than me. So when initially asked to write this blog, I immediately went to all the reasons why no one would listen to what I had to say. But then I got over it, and I truly believe what I am about to share with you from my short leadership life thus far could COMPLETELY change you…because it has completely changed me.
Leadership DOES NOT work unless it is powered by love.
What does a plug and a socket have to do with each other?
How about a battery and a remote?
A plane propeller and a motor?
Nothing. Except that neither works until paired together.
Removing love from leadership is like removing the motor from a plane mid-flight. Everyone dies. It doesn’t matter how high you’ve taken your company/ministry/business - if at any point love is removed, it’s going down. You’ve lost all power.
Leadership - Love = Destruction
Dramatic? Maybe. But I’m a woman and that’s what we know.
At the very core of leadership is a desire to advance. That’s not evil. Move forward. Move up. Reach. Gain. Fight. We lead because we believe there is a destination we are leading to. We have a goal. And we need people to help us get there.
It’s that last part that’s the hardest isn’t it? The people - so needed and so difficult to deal with. We all know because we are all people. But our people are our way to our destination. They are the battery. They are the socket. They are the motor. They ARE the power. And so often we use them like a power source that can be thrown away. Drain them dry then move on. “Thanks for helping us get this far! But we’ve got just about all we can use out of you. We’ve got to keep moving."
This method is broken, because it has caused us to sacrifice people on the altar of our cause. It is destructive.
How do you know if you are doing this? Think about your current leadership structure - whatever context you lead in. Does anything feel broken right now? If so, what? Who?
“And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” - Colossians 3:14
If something is broken in your team then it is because, at some level, love has been removed. Love BINDS. It does not break. If there seems to be disunity or disharmony, maybe your business/team doesn’t need a refreshing of vision or a more detailed handbook or better training, maybe it needs a leader who will put down the authority of leadership and pick up the humility of love. Maybe it needs to see a leader who cares more about them then he/she does their job.
I have been terrified in leadership positions before because I was afraid someone would find out I had no idea what I was doing. So I led louder and stronger and voiced my opinions with more authority. But the people I lead and lead around do not care how smart I sound. Sometimes they don’t care about the vision I give them. They wanted to know if they could trust me. They wanted to SEE if I cared about them.
Your vision is only as valuable as your passion is visible.
I believe in the vision of our church because I have visibly SEEN the passion Perry Noble has for the people we want to reach.
I have seen my pastor broken over the people in our church. I have seen him cry and pray on behalf of people on our staff. I have had him notice personal insecurities in me, and stop an entire meeting to speak directly to my purpose and identity. His passion for people has never come into question for me - and so his vision is valuable to me. I am with my pastor heart and soul because I have seen him lead with his heart and soul.
So IF...
Leadership - Love = Destruction
THEN...
Leadership + Love = Direction
You need direction in your team? You need some freshness and excitement and renewed purpose? Be willing to love your people deeply and visibly. Is this difficult? YES. It will require vulnerability and sacrifice and a little pain. But you don’t know how much you love something until you are willing to suffer for it. The things worth suffering for are usually the things that last.
I believe in the power of a leadership powered by love because I have seen it modeled to me and for me. And I believe the Lord wants to use this book to break your heart IN ORDER TO build your influence.
(If you've enjoyed reading this post, I hope you'll love my new leadership book The Most Excellent Way to Lead where I talk a lot about leadership by love. You can visit mostexcellenwaytolead.com to find a retailer near you and get your copy today!)