Word of the Week - Centered Leadership

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens (centers) me.”  Philippians 4:13

Centered leadership?  I am a big fan of Craig Groeschel CraigGroeschelbio, and have listened to most of his Leadership Podcast.  This past week at the Impact Leadership Conference, which our firm had the privilege to sponsor, I was reminded by Chris Hodges about the importance of living a Centered life and being Centered leader.  I will share more about this amazing leadership conference and Chris’s message next week. This week I pulled most of my content from a podcast that Craig did on “Becoming the Centered Leader your team craves” CenteredLeadersPodcast . 

In a study by Bain Research on what makes leaders most effective, they found many different traits were mentioned but the one that stood out above the rest was Centeredness.  Centeredness is difficult to describe and impossible to miss. 

So what makes a Centered Leader?  Centered leaders are grounded, aware, secure and consistent.

• They are guided by values
• They are driven by purpose
• They have a mission that is bigger than themselves

“Trust in the Lord with all of your heart; lean not on your own understanding.  Acknowledge Him in all things and He will direct your paths and keep them straight”. Proverbs 3:5-6

What does an Un-Centered leader look like?  Many leaders are a little, if not a lot, uncentered.  They come in all shapes and sizes.  Most are not fully aware of their lack of Centeredness.  When you’re an uncentered leader, it’s obvious to your team.  You can’t hide it, you’re not fooling anyone.  Typically off-Centered leaders exhibit these three behaviors: 

• They are annoyingly insecure and looking for constant affirmation from team members.  They typically avoid conflict and lack direction.  Sometimes insecurity manifests itself as arrogance.  So, instead of being passive, insecure leaders are bullies, micro-managers, and know-it-alls that typically take credit for successes and pass off blame.  Insecure leaders produce insecure followers.
• They are unpredictable.  With this type of leader, the team has no idea what to expect.  The direction will change on a whim.  There’s always a new project, new emphasis, or new focus.  Team members wind up playing it safe.  Instead of bringing new ideas to the table, they keep them to themselves.  Unpredictable leaders produce hesitant followers.  When the leader lacks confidence, the team lacks commitment.
• They are self-absorbed.  The more success a leader gains, the more vulnerable they are to this behavior. Self-absorbed leaders believe that their team works to serve them – their vision, their dreams, their goals with little to no input from their team.  Self-absorbed leaders produce resentful followers. 

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2

Becoming a Centered Leader?  There are three primary traits that can help us make the shift towards being a more Centered leader:

• Gaining inward security and confidence.  Neediness and insecurity repels others, but inward confidence attracts.  You don’t have to be perfect or appear to have everything together to be secure and confident.  In fact, being your authentic self is most effective.  God does not make junk so he made you in His image and you are enough as your best you.  I believe one of the most important things we can do to gain security and confidence is to have the right perspective about who we are in Christ (Ephesians 2:10 below).  If we really know how God sees us then we will see ourselves differently.
• Being steady and consistent.  When a leader is consistent, you know what to expect.  Consistent actions, rhythms and processes create consistent results.  Consistently doing the right things over time generally leads to compounding positive outcomes.
• Being mission-driven.  Why we do what we do matters more than we can imagine.  So knowing our mission and having a true heart conviction about the mission is paramount.  We must fight to keep our vision, mission, values and purpose in clear focus for ourselves and our team.  We don’t want our people to simply do a job.  We want them living on purpose to fulfill a mission that they believe in.  People will work for a what but they will give their lives for a why.

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works that He prepared in advance for us to do”  Ephesians 2:10

Whether we realize it or not, as leaders, we reproduce what we are.  If our organizations are imbalanced and off Center, it’s a reflection of our leadership.  If we want strong healthy teams, we must become Centered leaders who are inwardly secure & confident, strategically consistent and mission focused. 

Craig Groeshel always ends his podcast with this quote, which I believe to be good and true:

“You don’t have to know it all to be a great leader!  Be yourself. People would rather follow a leader who is always real than one who is always right”.

Have a great week!!!

-Duane