The Most Overlooked Leadership Skill

The Most Overlooked Leadership Skill

By Steve Backlund

If someone asked us to name the greatest leadership qualities, we might think of vision, wisdom, communication, or integrity. Those are all important. Yet I believe that after love, hope is the most influential leadership quality we can possess.

The Greek word for hope in the New Testament means “the confident, joyful expectation that good is coming.” Hope is far more than optimism. It is a conviction rooted in the goodness of God that enables us to see beyond present circumstances into what He is doing and what He is about to do.

I've often said, "He who has the most hope has the most influence." The longer I lead, the more convinced I become that this is true.

Why? Because it is difficult to influence that which we do not have hope for.

When we lose hope for a marriage, a child, a church, a business, a nation, or even ourselves, our influence begins to diminish. We may continue doing the outward work of leadership, but something powerful has leaked from our hearts. Hope carries faith, expectancy, creativity, energy, perseverance, and love. When hope increases, influence increases.

During the years I pastored, I discovered this personally. As the Lord increased my hope for the people I was leading, I found myself believing more deeply in what He was doing in them than in what they were demonstrating. That changed the way I preached, encouraged, corrected, prayed, and related to them.  My confidence wasn't rooted in people's performance. It was rooted in God's commitment to finish what He starts.

Paul expressed this beautifully to the Philippians: "Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6). Notice Paul's confidence. He wasn't merely hopeful that the Philippians would mature. He expected God to continue His transforming work in them. That belief shaped the way he led them.

I began noticing the same principle in my own ministry. As my hope for people increased, I saw more transformation in their lives. I don't believe that was accidental. People are deeply affected by what those who lead them truly believe.

Hope-filled leaders don't ignore weakness. They simply refuse to define people by it. They interpret lives through God's promises instead of present limitations.

Joshua and Caleb modeled that leadership. They saw the same giants everyone else saw, but they interpreted them differently. The difference wasn't their eyesight. It was their hope. They viewed the future through God's promise rather than through human probability.

I believe the Holy Spirit is empowering us into that same perspective. He is teaching us to become leaders who recognize what He is already doing, who expect good to increase, and who speak to people's destinies more than their deficiencies.

Like Joshua and Caleb, leadership is largely the ministry of interpretation. We all encounter delays, disappointments, and resistance. The question is not whether those things exist, but the question is what we believe they mean.

Hope-filled leaders interpret life through the goodness of God. That is why I work on my hope more than any other aspect of my leadership (except my intimacy with the Lord). If my hope level drops, my influence begins to shrink. If my hope increases, my capacity to strengthen others increases as well.

Every conversation gives us an opportunity to leave people more hopeful than when they arrived. Every meeting gives us an opportunity to strengthen faith instead of fear. Every challenge becomes another opportunity to agree with Heaven's interpretation, instead of settling for earth's conclusions.

An application of this teaching: 

Ask the Lord this question, "Where have I quietly lost hope?" Then invite Him to replace that discouragement with the confident, joyful expectation that good is coming. If a person or situation comes to mind, declare Philippians 1:6 over it and trust God to help you see it through His eyes.

As our hope grows, our influence grows. Because after love, hope is the most powerful leadership gift we have to give.

Declarations: 

1. I am filled with the confident, joyful expectation that good is coming because God is good and faithful.

2. My hope level determines my influence level, and I am growing in hope every day.

3. I am confident that He who began a good work will complete it in me and in those I lead and influence.

4. I leave people more hopeful than they were before they encountered me.

5. Hope is one of my greatest leadership strengths because I believe God's best is still unfolding.