During the holiday season we hear words like faith, hope, and love. Last post I shared how hope helps us in our leadership. Today I want to look at faith. Before going any further allow me to share two definitions of faith I found:
“Belief and trust in and loyalty to God” or “firm belief in something for which there is no proof, trust”1
I’ll address the first definition at the end. What I want to explore is how the second definition affects our leadership and those we lead.
Grows Confidence
“You can’t follow someone who isn’t credible, who doesn’t truly believe in what they’re doing – and how their doing it.”
Gayle Hamilton, Pacific Gas and Electric
Have you ever had to sell an idea you didn’t really believe in? Maybe it was passed down the “ladder” and you had to share it. How did your team receive it?
On the other hand, think of a time when you were passionate about the idea you were proposing. How did that impact your team? I bet they were energized from your enthusiasm and faith that the plan would work. This enthusiasm and faith build the initial energy to move forward. As the idea becomes reality people’s faith grows and your credibility with them.
Credibility is the foundation for confidence. Imagine weighing 300 pounds and trying to sell someone on the idea of weight loss. They will not be as confident in you as they would in an athlete selling this idea. When we have proven ourselves to come through in the past people have faith in us and increased confidence which helps the team move forward.
Solidifies Buy In
“People buy into the leader, then into the vision.” John C. Maxwell
When we first assume a leadership position one of the major tools we have is faith. People may not know us, or we have not proven our leadership so we have to demonstrate we can be trusted. As the leader you paint a picture of a possible future and have faith that can become reality.
At first you may be the only one who believes the project can be completed on time. You set small goals with deadlines and the team hits these goals. Their faith increases. They start to trust the process and you. As they trust that you are integrous and can get results their faith increases and so does their buy-in. As the entire team buys in the goals are reached more rapidly.
Provides Peace
You can skip this section if you want, but I want to explore the first definition. As a person of faith that believes in God, it makes it easier to lead. Stress increases if everything depends on me to accomplish the vision. I have limited awareness.
As a person of faith, I know there is someone in control of everything and even in the bad moments He is still in control. Bad moments have occurred in my life and business, but when I have acted with good faith and good intentions often I have seen good ultimately come out of it. Maybe you are not a person of faith and that is ok. Consider this: if there were someone bigger than you in control would you have more peace? Take the next best step and have faith that even a mistake is not fatal because someone bigger than you is still in charge. This mindset gives me peace and maybe it will help you as well.
This week what do you need to do to increase the confidence and faith of yourself and those you lead? Who can help you in this? If I can help you, let me know. Lead Well!
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- https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/faith retreived 12/11/22
