During a drive home after work, I found myself talking to God about leadership.
I started leading a group, Artists Against Trafficking, back in August of 2020. With the project expanding, I was feeling more overwhelmed each day.
My baby of an idea had grown into a very healthy toddler. If you can picture it, I strapped one of those animal backpacks with the leash to my project. I was attempting to keep it at a comfortable distance from harm.
God stopped me mid-sentence as I was spilling out my stress and fears. He severed the leash as this image in my mind became crystal clear.
I saw myself pulling a cart by a rope. It wasn't moving. I then saw another picture in which I was pushing a cart alongside a group of others. The cart was moving with little effort.
To be a leader, I assumed that isolation was a natural occurrence. I thought it was normal and expected of me to be the driver in the front at all times. The second image showed me a new way of leading.
A good leader lets others push the cart with them. They give tasks to the people in their group who have the passion and skills to do them.
It doesn’t fall on the leader to complete the project on their own. It falls on the leader to delegate according to the strengths of the people around them.
As the stress started to lift, anxiety tugged right back as I realized what pushing the cart would mean. I would have to trust my precious project in the hands of others.
I battled head-on with my pride.
In my mind, it had to be perfect and there was no way somebody else could detangle my expectations. Yes, I can be one of those; a perfectionist. I’m not particularly proud of it. I definitely recognize the dangerous effect that it has on myself and those around me. It was not fair of me to assume that I was the only one who could execute each task.
Feeling enlightened and challenged, I sat on the edge of my bed and fought with my perfectionism. All the while, I felt like I may not have been the right leader after all.
God stopped me again while a clear statement rang in my ears.
“I’m not asking you to be perfect. I’m asking you to be a good and faithful servant.”
My train of thought was gone. The fears and the arguments in my head stomped to ash.
That statement changed my mindset going forward. Whenever I start doubting my leadership abilities, I remind myself who I’m doing it for. I’m not bringing awareness to human trafficking to fuel my perfectionist tendencies. I do it for God, the survivors, and my community.
I am a servant and all I need to be is good and faithful. That’s it!
Whether you recognize yourself as a leader or not, here's what I hope you take away:
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Let others push the cart with you.
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God is not asking for perfection.
I'm becoming a more confident leader as I share my project with God and others. I won’t get it right every time. I'm grateful God has a lot of grace for that. He is the best kind of leader so if anything, I look to Him as my example.
For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
- Romans 12:4-8
