How hard is it to follow a leader you barely know? How hard is it to trust a leader that you barely know? People have to buy into the leader before they buy into the vision. There isn’t a foundation of trust and history with the team members. That is one of the hardest things that I have learned during my last 5 years in ministry. Any leader who casts vision to a team that barely knows or trusts him is facing an uphill climb from the start. It raises all sorts of questions in the minds of the team.
How do we know that this leader knows what he’s doing?
Does this leader have what it takes to take us in the right direction?
Do we trust that this leader has the team’s best interests in mind?
How do we know that we’re not just following what the leader wants instead of what God’s called us to do?
These are good questions; questions that a leader has to address. A leader doesn’t have to answer all of these questions; he can’t, he shouldn’t. Only time and evidence will show their team the answers. How a leader addresses these questions goes a long way towards how the team receives their answers over time.
Leaders, don’t shy away from questions. Be open. Be honest. Spend time in the lives of your team members. Brace yourself for hard questions. And pray for God to give you clear vision and opportunities to prove yourself faithful to God and your team members.