As a woman in leadership, I have always found this responsibility to be both exhilarating and challenging. One thing I have always said is that leadership is not for the faint at heart. To be a leader, one must have GRIT. GRIT is to have courage, resolve, and strength of character. The person must be unrelenting and never give up. We have an added responsibility for women in leadership who are also Believers. Our human frailties will take a hit through hurt feelings, insecurities, threats, and fear of failure, and our spiritual side is also challenged. We must remind ourselves to walk in faith and to be led by the Spirit. We must balance our egos between the Fruits of the Spirit and winning. Ken Blanchard reminds us of how EGO can take on two very different meanings. We must think of which definition we will intentionally embrace—-EDGING GOD OUT OR EXALTING GOD ONLY. I try very hard to do the latter, but I must admit the former can quickly get in the way.
Why is it necessary to recognize our leadership abilities and go a step further in unleashing what is inside us? Because understanding what makes a strong leader can help us identify characteristics that define our leadership potential. As a leader, we influence others, and we can unleash our follower’s potential. When we recognize our natural God-given talents of nurturing, we can create an atmosphere of trust; trust breeds the creation of space for open and often communication. We can create a feeling of succeeding and failing together as a pack and build a strong foundation for connection.
Why should you step into your leadership role? Because leaders influence change. Followers are not the ones who are making the change we see or want to see in this world. The ones with the power are the ones who can do that. Whether the leader is formal or informal, that person influences change, good or bad.
That’s a business perspective, but how about church? While things have improved for women in business, what about in the church? We can agree the church still has a long way to go.
Perhaps you are a woman who has felt the call of God, and yet you’ve been met with an “unwelcome mat” when using your leadership gifts.
How do we square religious tradition, various Scripture passages, and how Jesus interacted with women leaders? How do we embrace our role of women in business and leaders in the church healthily and biblically? You ask for it, and when given the opportunity, you accept it and step into it. You Lean In.
Because women who feel a call to serve God often possess a divine grace and humility — they don’t make waves; they do not lean in. They wait and remain quiet, watching from the sidelines. Many strong, gifted women walk away from their greater calling to lead because they feel ill-equipped. But you are not ill-equipped. Those He has called; He will also equip (Exodus 4:10-11; Acts 29). If He has chosen you to do this work, don’t deny, reject, or ignore that call.
I have studied Leadership for a very long time. Not only have I studied it, I’ve been in leadership since my early twenties. When I was a young adult, I can recall thinking that I could do the job of those who were in charge. When I was a lower-level manager, I thought I could do the middle manager’s job. When I was a middle manager, I couldn’t wait to be the senior level manager. I remember climbing the leadership ladder as if it were yesterday. Here I am today, with the same enthusiasm for leadership but a whole lot wiser than I was as a young manager.
Dr. LaSharnda Beckwith 