What do you need to become a super healthy leader over the long haul?
Too many leaders get discouraged, drained, and defeated over the long haul in leadership. None of them set out to end up that way, but without careful attention to important disciplines, it happens.
That question can seem difficult to answer until you realize that leaders who do well in the long run all seem to adopt common habits and practices that help them thrive, not just survive, in leadership.
After two decades in church leadership and leading my own company, here are ten things that thriving leaders almost always have in common and abundance.
And, conversely, leaders who are missing most of these generally don’t survive in our changing culture.
The good news is you can thrive—not just survive—in today’s church culture if you pursue the right things.
Here are ten best practices I see super healthy leaders embrace:
1. Cultivate A Few Great Friends With Whom You Can Be 100% Honest
Ministry is hard. Isolation is harder.
When you’re transitioning a church (and these days, we’re ALL transitioning churches because change is so rapid), it’s important you have a trustworthy few with whom you can be 100% honest.
You can’t publicly or even privately complain about the situation you’re facing with the people you’re leading. It’s bad leadership.
You do need a few people who understand your situation and who can empathize, pray with you, and correct you (you’re not always right, and your attitude needs adjusting from time to time).
In this respect, I usually find I connect best with peers who hold a similar position and responsibility in another city. They get what I’m struggling with, and I can play the same role for them.
2. Relationships With Leaders Who Are One Or Two Steps Ahead
Having a few friends with whom you can be 100% honest is different than finding a few leaders who are one or two steps ahead of you.
The first group functions as friends and colleagues, and the second as mentors.
You don’t have to piggyback your leadership on someone famous. Too many leaders hold out for that opportunity to be mentored by someone like Andy Stanley and decide they can’t settle for anything less.
Guess what? That will probably never happen. (It was also one of the reasons I started my leadership podcast, so you could be mentored by leaders like Andy, Perry, and Craig Groeschel, even virtually. Best of all, it’s free).
But nothing is stopping you from finding a pastor or church leader who is just one or two steps ahead of you. Maybe you’re trying to break the 200 attendance barrier, and they’ve got a church of 300. Ask to go for lunch and come with great questions and an open notebook.
Maybe you’re looking to lead more volunteers than you’ve ever managed before? Find the ministry leader who’s handling twice the number you are and ask her for lunch. You’ll learn a ton.
Mentors are closer than you think and more accessible than you think. Mentors are closer than you think and more accessible than you think. Share on X
3. Spend Meaningful Time With People Who Give You Energy
This group isn’t necessarily people with whom you can be 100% honest. They’re not even mentors. It’s different.
This group is about people you personally find energizing.
I frequently ask ministry leaders, “When was the last time you went out for dinner with a couple who left you feeling completely energized and replenished?”
The blank looks and the looks of shock and disappointment on leaders’ faces tell the story.
We don’t do this nearly enough.
Ministry is giving. And because ministry is giving, it can be draining.
Your leadership is like a bank account. You can only give so much without becoming overdrawn. Be overdrawn long enough and you go bankrupt.
Go find some friends who energize you. Then, hang out! Leadership is like a bank account. Be overdrawn long enough and you go bankrupt. Share on X
4. A Bullet-Proof Devotional Routine
You got into ministry because you love Jesus. But far too many leaders fall out of love with Christ while in ministry.
Why is that?
Too often, we let doing the work of Christ destroy the work of Christ within us.
The best way I know how to keep your passion for Christ fresh and alive is to develop a bullet-proof devotional routine.
By bullet-proof, I mean it needs to work at home and when you’re on the road, when you’re busy and when you’re on vacation, when you’re at your most stressed and when you’re at your most relaxed.
I outline my devotional routine here.
5. Exceptional Clarity Around How And When To Say No
The enemy of great leadership is not lack of opportunity; it’s the overabundance of opportunity.
The more successful you become, the more opportunity you will have. At first, your temptation is to say yes to everything. After all, you’ve waited your whole life for a crack at some things.
But saying yes to something good means you’ve likely said no to something potentially great.
Doing a few things extremely well always trumps doing many things adequately.
If you’re struggling with how to say no (and most of us are), here are some guidelines I use. But saying yes to something good means you’ve likely said no to something potentially great. Share on X
6. Regularly Scheduled Work-On-It Time
The problem with most of our jobs is that they are largely reactive unless you decide they won’t be.
You can spend an entire day answering emails, responding to messages, and attending meetings you didn’t call, only to hit 6:00 p.m. and realize you didn’t move the mission forward one iota.
Long term, this will kill your ministry.
Realize that in a post-Christian culture, momentum doesn’t come naturally.
The most effective leaders always budget significant blocks of time to work on their ministry, not just in it.
Here are 7 work-on-it things you should start budgeting more time for starting this week if you want to be effective. The most effective leaders always budget significant blocks of time to work on their ministry, not just in it. Share on X
7. A Diversified Learning Menu
A challenge for many of us in church leadership is that we listen to the same voices over and over again.
You become a fan of a certain preacher or a certain theologian, and you only read and listen to them.
I find I often learn the most from people who are least like me. So, pick up a book or listen to a podcast by someone who comes from a different background or worldview than you.
Sometimes the answers to your problem lie outside your discipline, not within it. Sometimes the answers to your problem lie outside your discipline, not within it. Share on X
8. A Great Marriage Or Healthy Personal Life
It’s hard to lead well at work and at home. Usually, one suffers at the expense of the other.
You either use your best energy at work and have none left for home, or you use all your energy on your personal life and have little left for work.
As a result, married leaders who excel at work often end up with a less than ideal family life… and single people who pour their heart into their ministry end up with a much reduced personal life. (I wrote about what I’ve learned in my marriage here.)
Neither is a great scenario.
If you pour the level of intentionality into your life that you pour into your leadership, you will have a better life.
9. A Hobby That Takes Your Mind Off Things
One of the challenges of leadership in ministry is that it requires both your mind and your heart. And the great leaders always throw their heart and mind fully into it.
Which means it can be hard to turn things off when it’s time to go home.
I talk to too many leaders who just can’t seem to turn it off.
Which is why having a hobby or something else that takes your mind off of work is one of the best things you can do.
What works? Anything that will take your mind off of your day job. That can be cycling, cooking, woodworking, hiking, art, or watching a movie. Anything that gives your mind a break.
10. Enough Financial Margin
If there’s one thing the future will require, it’s more sacrifice.
This seems a bit tough in an era in which many church staff are underpaid and many are bi-vocational.
But developing financial margin is critical. Having no margin severely limits how you can respond to the opportunities in front of you.
I think more of this margin will be required in the future than in the past as church budgets struggle and as governments inevitably take away tax savings from churches and church staff.
The bottom line is this: the more margin you have, the more opportunities you can seize.
The less margin you have (as a person or as a church), the more those opportunities will pass you by. The more margin you have, the more opportunities you can seize. Share on X
