4 Capable: Chase a Level of Excellence That Will Stretch You and Astonish Others
Excellence is a nonnegotiable and one we have many times not led with in the Christian community. Put into practice competence, excellence and a standard of reaching for perfection. Demand perfection from yourself, before anyone else demands it from you.
“Make It Happen” is one of my life’s mottos. A strong sense of vocational calling must match a high level of excellence. And for Christians, this is more than a matter of survival. It’s a matter of stewardship. If we believe we are called by God to the work we do, then we bear the responsibility of doing this work with an unrivaled standard of excellence. We must strive for excellent work because we serve an excellent God.
Capable leaders are willing to set standards that scare the daylights out of them. A true change maker strives to be the absolute best in the world at what they do. They hustle, they are hungry and are committed to getting better every single day. The stakes are high. Make sure your standard is not just being a bit better than average. Or merely being better than your competitor. You must always strive to be the best you can be.
Capable leaders get their hands dirty; they make it happen and get it done. I worked on a four-diamond working guest ranch for five years right after college. And yes, I scooped a lot of horse manure. Every day. It was very humbling. It also provided me with an appropriate theology of work, living out Colossians 3:23 every day: “Whatever you do, do your work with great heart for the Lord rather than for men.” We had a strong sense of pride that we kept the corral at Lost Valley Ranch the cleanest in the country. We wanted our guests to know that we valued them by working our guts out to keep the ranch clean and provide them with an amazing experience.
Best is where you want to live. It’s about confidence, not arrogance. Walt Disney once famously stated, “Do what you do so well that [your guests or cli¬ents] will want to see it again and bring their friends.” So true. God demands our best. Period.
You have to be a hustler, and willing to work harder than anyone else, stay late, arrive early, start new proj¬ects, learn more, make it better, take out the trash, stand on the stage, accomplish the menial tasks, and push yourself lower while pushing others higher. Being a capable leader doesn’t mean being big. Or being expensive. It’s being excellent. And it’s a nonnegotiable.
5 Courage: Learn to Push Through Fear and Take Risks
Without courage, your calling is crippled. Even if you have a crystal-clear vision from God about the path you should pursue—and most of us don’t—it will not alter your direction one whit until you have enough courage to act on it. Courage moves us from ideals to action, from potential to actuality, from sitting to running.
Young leaders who are making an impact today are the ones who are taking risks, confronting evils, and rushing into dangerous places. Courage doesn’t mean you’re not afraid; it means you battle against your fear and confront it head on. Courage pushes you to resist the impulse to shy away from the things that stir up your innermost anxieties. Courage is required and must be a constant. It’s tiny pieces of fear conquering all glued together.
The lives of great Christian leaders teach us that those who follow a God-sized calling need God-sized courage. They embody the psalmist’s words: “Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in the Lord” (Psalm 31:24). Do you hope in the Lord? Then be courageous, the psalmist says.
What would you pursue today if you weren’t afraid to fail? If you knew for certain that you were the one to make it happen? Go do that.
Making a difference many times starts with just simply making a move. We can’t live and lead in a state of fear and inactivity. Don’t sit on the sidelines. As fol¬lowers of Jesus, if we’re not chasing after something that is much bigger than we are—and there’s no way we could ever accomplish it without God—then we are playing it too safe. “Fear not” and “do not be afraid” as Scripture reminds us. No matter what your calling or what challenges you’re confront¬ing, every leader must make a choice. You can sit on the mountaintop and enjoy the view, or you can leap into the free fall of riskiness. The jump may be risky, but the decision to stay where you are is even more so.
6 Principled: Root Yourself in Unchanging Principles Rather Than Shifting Circumstances
I’ve learned that leaders are defined by their inner strengths and convictions, not the outer portrayal of who they are. Your character will determine your level of leader¬ship and even your legacy.
A principled leader is one who is disciplined, has integrity, and remains humble. Who you are becoming as a leader is more important than what you are doing. What matters is what’s on the inside.
A catalyst leader is humble and hungry, not arrogant and entitled. Humble leaders are willing to pass on the credit but absorb the criticism, push others higher while making themselves lower, and put the desires of the team ahead of their own. They lead without grabbing the spotlight.
Humble leaders don’t need praise, accolades or credit in order to perform. They listen more than they talk. They may be lesser known but are often more influential. They lead without stopping for fanfare or pats on the back. They don’t view themselves as too important to perform a task “below their pay grade.” If needed, they may be seen taking out the trash, or carrying boxes to the warehouse.
Principled leaders are disciplined. Our tendency as human beings is to favor the quick over the slow, the cheap over the expensive, and the easy over the difficult. That’s why we often seek the fastest shortcut to the biggest bang. We want a homerun in one swing. A touchdown in one Hail Mary pass. The making of a leader takes time, even though our social media-soaked world gives us a different impression. In anonymity and obscurity is where most leaders are truly developed.
In a world of skeptics and pessimists, people are more attracted than ever to leaders of integrity. If you’re known as a person of character, you’ll attract better employees and keep them longer.
In order to build integrity, begin by identify¬ing land mines. What are the areas in which you are most vulnerable? What are your hidden weaknesses that could blow up in your face?
Once you identify these areas, establish an accountability system. Leaders can’t afford to be insulated or isolated, and accountability is one of the best ways to guard against it and one of the great engines of leadership longevity. Who speaks truth into your life? Who can honestly tell you when you are wrong?