A Leader’s Anxiety

Okay, let it be know…leader’s have anxiety! Whew, I am glad that’s out of the bag! The truth is, we all have anxiety in certain areas we deal with. As leaders, it can be difficult because we do not want others to know we are dealing with anxiety, but a true servant leader is not afraid to show their inadequacies; they are transparent. Transparency in leadership is crucial to developing a followership that is transparent.

THE WAY LEADERSHIP GOES IS TRULY THE WAY FOLLOWERS GO!

There is nothing worse than having an organization, which is built on distrust, or unknowns. When leaders allow themselves to hide behind the, “I’m an all powerful leader, and I can handle everything” mentality, it flows to their followership. This type of thinking creates an unhealthy environment that ultimately causes breakdown. Transparency is the forefront of any good leadership. Leaders cannot be afraid to show they are not sure, at times. Followers will ultimately respect those leaders who demonstrate their humanity. Years ago, the Strong Man leadership was the model of leadership all organizations seemed to thrive with, but growth in the area of leadership has asserted other models. The model I suggest using is the Coaching Leadership model. Coaching leadership will help followers to rise up and become leaders within the organization. Coaching is a relationship, which is built on mutual respect, and boundaries, but which instills purpose in the followers.

MUTUAL RESPECT, BOUNDARIES, AND TRANSPARENCY

A leader that has mutual respect, boundaries, and ultimately is transparent will enable free communication to emerge between a leader and their followers. Free communication is the foundations of successful organizational growth. When followers feel free to bring their concerns to leadership, the chances of organizational catastrophies are lessened, and the chances of organizational growth will increase!

THE SPIRITUAL LEADER

Now, that we have discussed transparency with followers, let’s go even further. We are to be transparent with others, but it is most important to be transparent before our Creator. Philemon 4:6 states, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Leadership can release their anxiety through prayer to God, and in giving thanks. Have you ever been around someone who is seemingly always happy? Have you taken a moment to look at their lives? People who are seemingly always happy, are not people without problems, they are people who have learned to be thankful. Thankfulness comes when we realize we cannot control everything; when we release our anxieties to God. A spiritual leader learns to be content in the fact they cannot control everything. What a leader can control is how thankful they are. When it seems like everything is crashing down, instead of fretting, ask God for help, then begin to thank God for the little things, and see how your attitude shifts, inspite of what is going on.

The Awakening of Leadership

Okay, it happened again! The truth of leadership principles smacked me right in the skull…WHACK! I was challenged, once again, to begin understanding my role as a leader. While I have been in leadership for over 12-years now, I have new opportunities to learn more about leadership every day.

ALL BY YOURSELF
Sometimes it can seem so easy to sit back and do things yourself, because you do not want to burden those who are volunteering, but as my team reminded me tonight, it is better to take charge and utilize their abilities, rather than waste their time. They did not say those exact words, but what they did communicate was their desire for more structure. From this I gain: teams like to be challenged and have a structure in place, which drives them.

LEADERSHIP’S FEAR
Fear can creep into leadership: (1) The fear of over-pressuring those who serve, and (2) the fear of damaging friendships. I find it easy not wanting to over-burden those who follow. Imagine you have a team of people who are diligent workers. They commit in everything they do, so you decide you do not want to overdo it, and ask too much. In all, you do not want to appear demanding, because you do not want to lose those team members. Does this type of mentality even make sense? No, of course not! Leaders must utilize the full potential of their team to fulfill the mission of the organization. Once again, my leadership fear was a desire to not over-burden those who take their time to serve, nor to appear demanding. The term authority was brought up by team members. It became overtly present in the conversation that, (1) while I know the direction I am desiring to take our organization, I have forgotten to communicate it directly in the way I lead, and (2) I must regain authority, which has been diminished by my desire to care for those with whom I serve.

LEADERSHIP TAKEAWAY
Having concern for your team is important. There must be a balance of having sympathy, and knowing team members are welcoming the demands of their position. Leadership must be able to communicate their needs to team members in order to build the organization. Do not allow concern to diminish your leadership input. Your team may be more concerned about authority vs. your appearing too demanding.