One of the biggest challenges most leaders face is implementing change. Let me say, I know change is inevitable and necessary, and there is no way to avoid it. Change generally is never easy for most people. And it gets more difficult when a leader comes along and attempts to change things that people are used to.

Many leaders find it challenging to implement changes either because the people are resisting the change, or the way the leader has decided to do it.

I can recall while pastoring I came up against having to make changes with some inflexible people who I knew would resist the changes. It was difficult, I was able to make some of the changes, and some I had to accept were not going to happen under my leadership.

Here are some things I have learned about implementing change.

As a leadership coach, one of the comments I most often hear from leaders is about how overwhelmed they are by all they have to do. I know very few leaders who are not feeling constantly overwhelmed.

Some are so overwhelmed they are unable to sleep well, relax on vacation, or be present in the moment. Too many leaders have lost the ability to fall asleep naturally; their minds are unable to rest when they are trying to sleep because they feel so overcome.

You lead because you want people to follow; but not all leaders know how to get others to follow. Many think others will follow because of their knowledge. Others think their positional authority as a leader should be reason enough for others to follow. Good leaders need neither of those things for others to follow them.

Someone once said, “Leadership is influence.” People are more likely to follow because they are influenced by the leader than by the giftedness of the leader or the positional power which comes with leadership.

How does one become a leader that leads through influence?

In the story of the rich young ruler (Mark 10:17-22) Jesus tells the young man to go and sell everything, give his money to the poor, and follow Him.

The man left very sad because his riches meant more to him than following Jesus.

Jesus also said that to follow Him we must be willing to hate/give up the most important relationships in our lives (Luke 14:26).

By Jesus’ own clear instructions, we are told we should not allow anything [riches] or anyone [parents, spouse, siblings, etc.] to stand between us and our relationship with Him.

Jesus wants our undivided, uncompromising loyalty and attention.

Sometimes weakness will manifest in leaders doing things they should not be doing, or things they are simply unsuited to do. At other times, weakness may result in leaders avoiding things they really ought to do.

Weaknesses can get in the way of leadership. However, we often do not talk about another side to weaknesses in leaders. That is, a leader who focuses on her weaknesses to the extent that she does not lead from her strengths?

Moses and Gideon are two good biblical examples of such leaders. When God called Moses to lead the children of Israel out from under the bondage of slavery in Egypt, Moses pointed to his weakness (Ex. 4:10) as the reason he could not (or should not) be the one to lead the children of Israel.

From the beginning of Chapter 3 up to Chapter 4:9, God has been demonstrating to Moses His great power to do miracles. But when called upon to lead, Moses’s response was to point to his weakness saying, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”

With the constant movement of people, whether because of shifting employment or looking for a better life, along with the influence of technology in our lives, changes occur rapidly.

One group which is challenged with figuring out how to deal with all these changes is ministry leaders. Since what they have to offer is free – the message of the cross – and counter-cultural, they must figure out daily how to adjust to changes and remain relevant while also staying true to the message of the Gospel.

As a leader, are you aware that your style of leadership and the direction in which you lead your people is a reflection of your focus, or where you are centered?

Usually a leader is centered on one of three areas:

• Self
• God
• Activity

Where you are centered determines your leadership style, influence, accomplishments and legacy.

Leadership is generally understood as leading others to get things done. “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.” (Dwight D Eisenhower)

The challenge many leaders face is the tendency to focus on what they want those under their leadership to get done at the expense of one of the most important aspects of their responsibilities: the human side of leading. What I mean by the human side of leadership is the relationship aspect of leading.

Relationship-driven leaders empower and inspire their followers to do great things.