December 10, 2025 • 20 mins
Hey, Friend!
Everyone wants to lead…until it’s time to face the mirror.
In this week’s podcast, I share Ten Signs You’re Not Ready to Lead (Yet).
This is not intended to discourage you, but to invite you to see leadership through God’s lens.
Here’s the truth: Leadership isn’t about titles or power. It’s about who you are when things get messy, when plans fail, and when speaking up would be harder than staying silent.
If you’ve ever wrestled with questions like:
Am I really cut out to lead?
Why does leadership feel so heavy sometimes?
How do I know if God is calling me to step up?
…then this episode is for you.
Remember, seeing yourself in any of these signs doesn’t disqualify you. It just means God is still shaping you.
I pray this blesses you,
Becky
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Today, we're diving into a challenging but necessary conversation.
(00:05):
Ten signs that you are not ready to lead yet.
Now, before you panic, let me reassure you.
This is not meant to shame you or disqualify you every leader, including myself, has seen
themselves in these ten signs at some point.
The point isn't perfection, it's growth.
(00:28):
This leadership in the kingdom is not about titles or applause.
It's about serving Jesus, even when it's hard.
We're going to walk through these together.
Want to know more?
Let's dive in to today's episode.
Hey, friend, are you a people-pleasing conflict-avoiding leader?
(00:48):
Is your secret relationship with fear affecting your leadership decisions?
Do you want to learn how to build credibility and confidence or to navigate difficult conversations?
Do you long to manage your time without sacrificing your family or self-care?
Welcome to Leadership BecomesHer.
(01:08):
I'm Becky Burroughs, your host and a minister and life and leadership coach with over 50
years experience in leadership.
I firmly believe God has given you everything you need to lead well.
You have the toolbox.
You just need to learn how to use the tools.
So get comfy or start a mindless task.
You know how to pause or rewind if you need to.
(01:30):
Let's get started.
So we're going to briefly uncover these ten signs that you might not be ready to leave
yet.
Number one, you avoid hard conversations.
We always look to Jesus as an example and when you think about Jesus with Peter, after
(01:54):
Peter denied him, Jesus didn't avoid the conversation.
He didn't avoid Peter.
He restored him with truth and love.
Sometimes having those hard conversations means addressing a team member who keeps missing
deadlines or who's consistently coming in late or who leaves early with no explanation
(02:19):
or is not ready for Sunday or is having conflicts within his own or her own ministry.
Avoiding the issues, whatever they might be, doesn't help them grow.
Leaders need to be able to step into discomfort for the sake of others.
And sometimes I've worked with a lot of leaders who are admittedly conflict avoiders because
(02:45):
they want to keep the peace, but avoiding conflict does not keep the peace.
Avoiding conflict stuffs the conflict and it will come out in some way when you least
expect it.
So it is much, much more beneficial when there is a hard conversation that needs to be had
(03:06):
that you go ahead and have it and work through and resolve whatever the conflict or the
disagreement is.
It can be something as simple as a coworker said something that hurt your feelings or that
embarrassed you publicly in front of your peers.
And you don't want to say anything.
(03:26):
You don't want to stir anything up.
You just quietly see and find yourself not seeking that person's company out anymore.
Maybe you don't voluntarily engage them in conversation.
You don't realize you're stepping away from them, even avoiding them because of this hurt
or this conflict that has not been dealt with, how much better it would be than to circle
(03:51):
back around at a later date and say, "Hey, I want to revisit something that was said in
last week's staff meeting.
You made a comment about me and I'm not exactly sure where that was coming from, but it was
hurtful."
I want to know if there's something I need to be working on or maybe help me understand
why you said what you did.
(04:13):
And that might even lead to a wonderful conversation where you ask the person, "Well, next
time when you see me doing X, Y, Z, would you take me aside privately?"
That would mean so much to me.
And so those hard conversations, even though they are difficult, are intended so that we
can learn and grow and even deepen our relationships.
(04:36):
Our relationships will not be deeper if we avoid the hard stuff, but only if we tackle
it and resolve it and move past it.
Number two, you care more about being liked than being honest.
Think about King Saul when he lost his anointing because he cared more about pleasing people
than obeying God as recorded in 1 Samuel 5.
(04:59):
This would be in today's time, this would be what we call a people pleaser.
And I know leaders who admittedly will say, "Well, I'm a people pleaser."
And they view that as, "I'm a people person, I like people and I want to make them happy.
I'm a people pleaser."
But here's the hard truth.
(05:23):
Many times you cannot please people and at the same time please God.
If you're always saying yes so that no one is upset, you deal with the fire of the moment
with the person once in the moment, not thinking about your consistency, not thinking about
any precedence that you might be setting, you just want to make that person happy in that
(05:46):
moment.
In particular, you want to make them happy with you.
You're going to eventually burn out.
It's going to eventually cost you your credibility because people talk.
And your "yes" won't mean much anymore because people do talk, not necessarily maliciously
or because they desire to gossip, but just as part of conversation.
(06:09):
I've been in situations where a church has a very specific, very well laid out policy
for days off, but a particular minister says, "I'm just going to go ask the boss if I can
take some extra days because I need a, I need a mental health day."
And so this person goes to the boss and the boss says, "Yes you can."
(06:31):
Well nobody else knows there's such a thing as a mental health day.
Nobody else gets to take that day off.
And then later on when people say, "Well where were you?"
"Oh well boss said I could take a mental health day."
That immediately affects your credibility because everybody else is saying, "Well where's
my mental health day?"
What's so special about you?
So it's really important that you be consistent because earning your credibility is your
(06:53):
responsibility, but little things like this is just one example of how your credibility
can be killed by inconsistency.
Number three, a sign that you're not ready to leave yet.
You ignore feedback.
Think about Proverbs 12 one that says, "Whoever loves discipline, loves knowledge, but whoever
(07:14):
hates correction is stupid."
Ow!
But true.
Maybe somebody told you that your presentation style is confusing.
You use terms that nobody knows.
You talk too fast.
You don't take questions.
Maybe somebody has some comments to make about an event that you held that would really
(07:38):
be constructive, that would really help you in future events, but you don't want to hear
it.
You want to walk away from your event thinking it was the best ever.
And you are easily offended when someone suggests there is something that you could have tweaked
to make it go better.
If you dismiss feedback, you're going to be stuck.
You're not going to learn.
(07:59):
You're not going to grow.
If you're willing to receive feedback in a mature way, you will learn.
You will grow and you will become stronger as a leader.
Number four, sign that you're not ready to leave yet.
You want the title, but not necessarily the responsibility.
Think about James and John who asked to sit at Jesus' right and left hand in glory as
(08:24):
recorded in Mark 10.
Jesus reminded them that leadership is about drinking the cup of sacrifice, not status.
Today that might look like wanting to be the director or the leader.
It sounds exciting until you realize what it means.
It means late nights.
It means tough calls.
(08:45):
It means bearing weight for others.
So think very seriously before you accept any kind of leadership role, even leading a committee.
If you're on a committee, very often all you have to do is show up for the meetings.
If you lead the committee, there are things you have to do in preparation and there are
things you have to do after the meeting.
(09:05):
Number five, a sign that you're not ready to lead yet.
You try to control everything.
Think about Moses' father-in-law, Jethro, who warned him in Exodus 18 that trying to do it
all would wear him out.
So he had to learn to delegate.
Today, if you try to micro-manage every detail, you are denying your team the blessing of personal
(09:30):
growth and development.
You are failing to develop those under your leadership, which is a major responsibility
of leadership.
And I know why we do it.
It's like, "I'm just going to do it myself so that I know it's done right."
I've heard that a lot.
I've said it before.
Or how about this one?
You know, at the end of the day, my name is on this.
(09:52):
It's a reflection on me.
So I want to make sure it's done exactly like I want it done.
And I can totally resonate with that sentiment.
But the problem when we approach leadership that way is that we are overworked and the
people under our leadership are not being developed as leaders.
(10:14):
They're not learning.
They're not growing.
And you don't know, but that your replacement might be somewhere among the people volunteering
at your church.
You don't know, but that somebody at your church has tremendous leadership capacity in some
way, and they're not being utilized.
And if you just had your head up and your eyes open, looking for giftedness, think about
(10:37):
all the ways in which you could develop that person.
When we are all about control, what we're saying is, I want you, I want to have credibility
with you.
Credibility is when others trust your leadership.
But I don't trust you to do the job well enough.
So I'm just going to do it myself.
(10:58):
Credibility works both ways.
Trust works both ways.
And as a leader, we have to lead with trust.
So whereas control kills trust, delegation multiplies it.
Number six, a sign that you are not ready to lead yet.
You only fix problems instead of addressing root causes.
(11:21):
Jesus didn't just calm storms.
He rebuked unbelief.
He didn't just heal.
He forgave sins.
He always went deeper than what the surface appeared to be.
Think about when you go to the doctor and you say, doctor, I've got this terrible cough.
I can't sleep at night.
Is there something you could give me for my cough?
(11:42):
And the doctor says, well, first we need to try to figure out why you're coughing.
What is causing you to cough?
And we need to deal with that.
So in leadership, instead of patching over a late report, think about, is this a random
thing or is this a time management problem?
(12:04):
When you look at conflict among coworkers, say, well, is this a single episode of conflict
that they need to work through?
Or is this evidence of more relational problems on staff?
When someone is consistently having to come in early, leave late and work on the weekends,
(12:29):
is this a time management problem also?
Or is it a workload problem?
Are they not organized?
There's all kinds of things you can look at.
So it's important when you see a problem to try to go to the root cause.
Number seven, that you might not be ready to lead yet.
(12:49):
You panic when plans change.
Paul had plans to go one place, but the spirit redirected him to Macedonia as recorded in
Act 16 and his willingness to be flexible led to the gospel being spread further.
What might that look like today?
Let's say you're planning an event and the venue cancels at the last minute.
(13:14):
Leaders don't fall apart.
Leaders.
Sorry, that was my alarm to take medicine.
Leaders don't fall apart.
Leaders rally the team.
Adaptability is one of the most important skills a leader can have.
(13:35):
Number eight, a sign that you're not ready to lead yet.
You need to be the smartest person in every room.
Solomon asked God for wisdom not to look brilliant, but to serve well.
Today that might look like really great leaders hire people who are smarter than they are.
I once knew a very successful corporate CEO and he said, "I make sure that the people that
(14:03):
I hire are the best in the business at what they do and I can't do what they do."
He was talking about everything from the CPA to the director of operations, to sales, all
the way down.
He knew that he did not know how to do what they do the way they did and he wasn't intimidated
(14:23):
by that.
In fact, he took great pride in being a boss that knows how to hire the best people.
I've talked in previous episodes about the importance of confidence with humility and
the humility piece is acknowledging that you're not always going to be the smartest in every
room, which basically means you too have something to learn.
(14:47):
You can learn from the people who work with you.
You can learn from the people who work for you.
You can learn from the people that you serve.
Demonstrating humility and that openness to learning and growing is a hallmark of a great leader.
If you always have to prove that your idea is the best one that you know best what we
(15:08):
should do in every situation, one by one, you're going to shut down your team and you're
going to silence any chance of innovation.
Number nine, assign that you're not ready to lead yet.
Think about John the Baptist who really modeled humility.
In John 330, he says he must increase but I must decrease.
(15:30):
I believe that a leader should take all of the blame, but only about half the credit and
always look for opportunity to spotlight those on their team.
So when your team pulls off a great event, do you spotlight them or do you make sure everyone
knows that you were in charge?
(15:52):
Leaders know how to celebrate others.
And number 10, assign that you're not ready to lead yet.
You think leadership is about titles and power.
You know Jesus washed feet, King of kings, Lord of lords, Son of God, and yet he humbled
himself to wash feet.
(16:12):
He stooped low to serve.
That's leadership.
Today, leadership is not about sitting at the head of the table.
Leadership is about setting the table.
It's about showing up even in unseen places.
It's about getting your hands dirty, not always being the one out front, but sometimes being
the one behind the scenes doing the hard work.
(16:34):
Here's the truth.
Everyone wants to lead until it's time to face the mirror.
And the mirror doesn't show titles or applause.
The mirror shows character.
But here's the hope.
If you saw yourself in one or more of these signs, it doesn't mean that you're unfit to lead.
It means that God is inviting you to grow.
(16:56):
Leadership is a journey.
It is a journey of being refined day by day, season by season.
So let me leave you with this thought.
Where is God stretching you right now?
Which of these signs do you need to bring to Him in prayer?
Because in the kingdom, leadership is not about being the loudest voice in the room.
(17:17):
It is about serving.
It is about sacrificing.
It is about pointing people to Jesus even when it's messy.
So here are some questions that you can ask yourself to see if any of these 10 signs fit
you.
In regard to hard conversations, ask yourself, "What conversation am I avoiding right now
(17:39):
that a leader in my position needs to have?"
Or, "What's the worst that could happen if I speak up?"
What's the best that could happen if I do?
In regard to being liked versus being honest, do I care more about others' approval than
God's approval in my leadership?
And where have I compromised truth for comfort?
(18:00):
In regard to being willing to accept feedback, when was the last time I received feedback
that stung a little?
Did I dismiss it?
Or did I reflect on it?
And how can I make feedback a tool for growth instead of a threat?
In regard to titles versus responsibility, do I crave recognition more than responsibility?
(18:23):
And where is God asking me to carry weight for others instead of seeking position?
In regard to control, what is one area that I need to release and trust someone else
with?
And how does my desire for control reveal a lack of trust in people or in God?
(18:44):
In regard to root causes, am I leading reactively by putting out fires or proactively by addressing
patterns?
What root issue is God asking me to see more clearly right now?
In regard to flexibility, how do I respond when plans fall apart?
Do I panic or do I adapt?
(19:04):
That's one past situation where God brought good out of my interrupted plans.
In regard to needing to be the smartest person in the room, do I listen more than I talk in
leadership settings?
Who in my circle is wiser than me in certain areas and how can I learn from them?
In regard to chasing credit, do I secretly need recognition to feel valuable as a leader?
(19:31):
How can I intentionally celebrate and spotlight someone else this week?
And finally, in regard to titles and power, do I see leadership as serving or as status?
And where is God inviting me to wash feet in my leadership right now?
As you reflect on these questions, remember, seeing yourself in any of these signs does not
(19:56):
disqualify you as a leader.
It just means God is still shaping you.
Hey, let's do this again next week.
It is my prayer that this podcast inspired you, blessed you, or made you think.
If so, please share it with a friend, subscribe, and please leave a review.
(20:18):
Hey, I want to connect with you.
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Send me a DM or email me at hello@beckyburroughs.com.
If you are a Christian woman who leads and you are interested in one of my Leadership Boot
camps for Women in Ministry, this is a four week workshop, or becoming part of a Kairos
(20:39):
Cohort, year-long group coaching, send me a DM or an email for more information.
We'll talk soon.
(upbeat music)
(upbeat music)
(upbeat music)
(upbeat music)
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Today, we're diving into a challenging but necessary conversation.
(00:05):
Ten signs that you are not ready to lead yet.
Now, before you panic, let me reassure you.
This is not meant to shame you or disqualify you every leader, including myself, has seen
themselves in these ten signs at some point.
The point isn't perfection, it's growth.
(00:28):
This leadership in the kingdom is not about titles or applause.
It's about serving Jesus, even when it's hard.
We're going to walk through these together.
Want to know more?
Let's dive in to today's episode.
Hey, friend, are you a people-pleasing conflict-avoiding leader?
(00:48):
Is your secret relationship with fear affecting your leadership decisions?
Do you want to learn how to build credibility and confidence or to navigate difficult conversations?
Do you long to manage your time without sacrificing your family or self-care?
Welcome to Leadership BecomesHer.
(01:08):
I'm Becky Burroughs, your host and a minister and life and leadership coach with over 50
years experience in leadership.
I firmly believe God has given you everything you need to lead well.
You have the toolbox.
You just need to learn how to use the tools.
So get comfy or start a mindless task.
You know how to pause or rewind if you need to.
(01:30):
Let's get started.
So we're going to briefly uncover these ten signs that you might not be ready to leave
yet.
Number one, you avoid hard conversations.
We always look to Jesus as an example and when you think about Jesus with Peter, after
(01:54):
Peter denied him, Jesus didn't avoid the conversation.
He didn't avoid Peter.
He restored him with truth and love.
Sometimes having those hard conversations means addressing a team member who keeps missing
deadlines or who's consistently coming in late or who leaves early with no explanation
(02:19):
or is not ready for Sunday or is having conflicts within his own or her own ministry.
Avoiding the issues, whatever they might be, doesn't help them grow.
Leaders need to be able to step into discomfort for the sake of others.
And sometimes I've worked with a lot of leaders who are admittedly conflict avoiders because
(02:45):
they want to keep the peace, but avoiding conflict does not keep the peace.
Avoiding conflict stuffs the conflict and it will come out in some way when you least
expect it.
So it is much, much more beneficial when there is a hard conversation that needs to be had
(03:06):
that you go ahead and have it and work through and resolve whatever the conflict or the
disagreement is.
It can be something as simple as a coworker said something that hurt your feelings or that
embarrassed you publicly in front of your peers.
And you don't want to say anything.
(03:26):
You don't want to stir anything up.
You just quietly see and find yourself not seeking that person's company out anymore.
Maybe you don't voluntarily engage them in conversation.
You don't realize you're stepping away from them, even avoiding them because of this hurt
or this conflict that has not been dealt with, how much better it would be than to circle
(03:51):
back around at a later date and say, "Hey, I want to revisit something that was said in
last week's staff meeting.
You made a comment about me and I'm not exactly sure where that was coming from, but it was
hurtful."
I want to know if there's something I need to be working on or maybe help me understand
why you said what you did.
(04:13):
And that might even lead to a wonderful conversation where you ask the person, "Well, next
time when you see me doing X, Y, Z, would you take me aside privately?"
That would mean so much to me.
And so those hard conversations, even though they are difficult, are intended so that we
can learn and grow and even deepen our relationships.
(04:36):
Our relationships will not be deeper if we avoid the hard stuff, but only if we tackle
it and resolve it and move past it.
Number two, you care more about being liked than being honest.
Think about King Saul when he lost his anointing because he cared more about pleasing people
than obeying God as recorded in 1 Samuel 5.
(04:59):
This would be in today's time, this would be what we call a people pleaser.
And I know leaders who admittedly will say, "Well, I'm a people pleaser."
And they view that as, "I'm a people person, I like people and I want to make them happy.
I'm a people pleaser."
But here's the hard truth.
(05:23):
Many times you cannot please people and at the same time please God.
If you're always saying yes so that no one is upset, you deal with the fire of the moment
with the person once in the moment, not thinking about your consistency, not thinking about
any precedence that you might be setting, you just want to make that person happy in that
(05:46):
moment.
In particular, you want to make them happy with you.
You're going to eventually burn out.
It's going to eventually cost you your credibility because people talk.
And your "yes" won't mean much anymore because people do talk, not necessarily maliciously
or because they desire to gossip, but just as part of conversation.
(06:09):
I've been in situations where a church has a very specific, very well laid out policy
for days off, but a particular minister says, "I'm just going to go ask the boss if I can
take some extra days because I need a, I need a mental health day."
And so this person goes to the boss and the boss says, "Yes you can."
(06:31):
Well nobody else knows there's such a thing as a mental health day.
Nobody else gets to take that day off.
And then later on when people say, "Well where were you?"
"Oh well boss said I could take a mental health day."
That immediately affects your credibility because everybody else is saying, "Well where's
my mental health day?"
What's so special about you?
So it's really important that you be consistent because earning your credibility is your
(06:53):
responsibility, but little things like this is just one example of how your credibility
can be killed by inconsistency.
Number three, a sign that you're not ready to leave yet.
You ignore feedback.
Think about Proverbs 12 one that says, "Whoever loves discipline, loves knowledge, but whoever
(07:14):
hates correction is stupid."
Ow!
But true.
Maybe somebody told you that your presentation style is confusing.
You use terms that nobody knows.
You talk too fast.
You don't take questions.
Maybe somebody has some comments to make about an event that you held that would really
(07:38):
be constructive, that would really help you in future events, but you don't want to hear
it.
You want to walk away from your event thinking it was the best ever.
And you are easily offended when someone suggests there is something that you could have tweaked
to make it go better.
If you dismiss feedback, you're going to be stuck.
You're not going to learn.
(07:59):
You're not going to grow.
If you're willing to receive feedback in a mature way, you will learn.
You will grow and you will become stronger as a leader.
Number four, sign that you're not ready to leave yet.
You want the title, but not necessarily the responsibility.
Think about James and John who asked to sit at Jesus' right and left hand in glory as
(08:24):
recorded in Mark 10.
Jesus reminded them that leadership is about drinking the cup of sacrifice, not status.
Today that might look like wanting to be the director or the leader.
It sounds exciting until you realize what it means.
It means late nights.
It means tough calls.
(08:45):
It means bearing weight for others.
So think very seriously before you accept any kind of leadership role, even leading a committee.
If you're on a committee, very often all you have to do is show up for the meetings.
If you lead the committee, there are things you have to do in preparation and there are
things you have to do after the meeting.
(09:05):
Number five, a sign that you're not ready to lead yet.
You try to control everything.
Think about Moses' father-in-law, Jethro, who warned him in Exodus 18 that trying to do it
all would wear him out.
So he had to learn to delegate.
Today, if you try to micro-manage every detail, you are denying your team the blessing of personal
(09:30):
growth and development.
You are failing to develop those under your leadership, which is a major responsibility
of leadership.
And I know why we do it.
It's like, "I'm just going to do it myself so that I know it's done right."
I've heard that a lot.
I've said it before.
Or how about this one?
You know, at the end of the day, my name is on this.
(09:52):
It's a reflection on me.
So I want to make sure it's done exactly like I want it done.
And I can totally resonate with that sentiment.
But the problem when we approach leadership that way is that we are overworked and the
people under our leadership are not being developed as leaders.
(10:14):
They're not learning.
They're not growing.
And you don't know, but that your replacement might be somewhere among the people volunteering
at your church.
You don't know, but that somebody at your church has tremendous leadership capacity in some
way, and they're not being utilized.
And if you just had your head up and your eyes open, looking for giftedness, think about
(10:37):
all the ways in which you could develop that person.
When we are all about control, what we're saying is, I want you, I want to have credibility
with you.
Credibility is when others trust your leadership.
But I don't trust you to do the job well enough.
So I'm just going to do it myself.
(10:58):
Credibility works both ways.
Trust works both ways.
And as a leader, we have to lead with trust.
So whereas control kills trust, delegation multiplies it.
Number six, a sign that you are not ready to lead yet.
You only fix problems instead of addressing root causes.
(11:21):
Jesus didn't just calm storms.
He rebuked unbelief.
He didn't just heal.
He forgave sins.
He always went deeper than what the surface appeared to be.
Think about when you go to the doctor and you say, doctor, I've got this terrible cough.
I can't sleep at night.
Is there something you could give me for my cough?
(11:42):
And the doctor says, well, first we need to try to figure out why you're coughing.
What is causing you to cough?
And we need to deal with that.
So in leadership, instead of patching over a late report, think about, is this a random
thing or is this a time management problem?
(12:04):
When you look at conflict among coworkers, say, well, is this a single episode of conflict
that they need to work through?
Or is this evidence of more relational problems on staff?
When someone is consistently having to come in early, leave late and work on the weekends,
(12:29):
is this a time management problem also?
Or is it a workload problem?
Are they not organized?
There's all kinds of things you can look at.
So it's important when you see a problem to try to go to the root cause.
Number seven, that you might not be ready to lead yet.
(12:49):
You panic when plans change.
Paul had plans to go one place, but the spirit redirected him to Macedonia as recorded in
Act 16 and his willingness to be flexible led to the gospel being spread further.
What might that look like today?
Let's say you're planning an event and the venue cancels at the last minute.
(13:14):
Leaders don't fall apart.
Leaders.
Sorry, that was my alarm to take medicine.
Leaders don't fall apart.
Leaders rally the team.
Adaptability is one of the most important skills a leader can have.
(13:35):
Number eight, a sign that you're not ready to lead yet.
You need to be the smartest person in every room.
Solomon asked God for wisdom not to look brilliant, but to serve well.
Today that might look like really great leaders hire people who are smarter than they are.
I once knew a very successful corporate CEO and he said, "I make sure that the people that
(14:03):
I hire are the best in the business at what they do and I can't do what they do."
He was talking about everything from the CPA to the director of operations, to sales, all
the way down.
He knew that he did not know how to do what they do the way they did and he wasn't intimidated
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by that.
In fact, he took great pride in being a boss that knows how to hire the best people.
I've talked in previous episodes about the importance of confidence with humility and
the humility piece is acknowledging that you're not always going to be the smartest in every
room, which basically means you too have something to learn.
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You can learn from the people who work with you.
You can learn from the people who work for you.
You can learn from the people that you serve.
Demonstrating humility and that openness to learning and growing is a hallmark of a great leader.
If you always have to prove that your idea is the best one that you know best what we
(15:08):
should do in every situation, one by one, you're going to shut down your team and you're
going to silence any chance of innovation.
Number nine, assign that you're not ready to lead yet.
Think about John the Baptist who really modeled humility.
In John 330, he says he must increase but I must decrease.
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I believe that a leader should take all of the blame, but only about half the credit and
always look for opportunity to spotlight those on their team.
So when your team pulls off a great event, do you spotlight them or do you make sure everyone
knows that you were in charge?
(15:52):
Leaders know how to celebrate others.
And number 10, assign that you're not ready to lead yet.
You think leadership is about titles and power.
You know Jesus washed feet, King of kings, Lord of lords, Son of God, and yet he humbled
himself to wash feet.
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He stooped low to serve.
That's leadership.
Today, leadership is not about sitting at the head of the table.
Leadership is about setting the table.
It's about showing up even in unseen places.
It's about getting your hands dirty, not always being the one out front, but sometimes being
the one behind the scenes doing the hard work.
(16:34):
Here's the truth.
Everyone wants to lead until it's time to face the mirror.
And the mirror doesn't show titles or applause.
The mirror shows character.
But here's the hope.
If you saw yourself in one or more of these signs, it doesn't mean that you're unfit to lead.
It means that God is inviting you to grow.
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Leadership is a journey.
It is a journey of being refined day by day, season by season.
So let me leave you with this thought.
Where is God stretching you right now?
Which of these signs do you need to bring to Him in prayer?
Because in the kingdom, leadership is not about being the loudest voice in the room.
(17:17):
It is about serving.
It is about sacrificing.
It is about pointing people to Jesus even when it's messy.
So here are some questions that you can ask yourself to see if any of these 10 signs fit
you.
In regard to hard conversations, ask yourself, "What conversation am I avoiding right now
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that a leader in my position needs to have?"
Or, "What's the worst that could happen if I speak up?"
What's the best that could happen if I do?
In regard to being liked versus being honest, do I care more about others' approval than
God's approval in my leadership?
And where have I compromised truth for comfort?
(18:00):
In regard to being willing to accept feedback, when was the last time I received feedback
that stung a little?
Did I dismiss it?
Or did I reflect on it?
And how can I make feedback a tool for growth instead of a threat?
In regard to titles versus responsibility, do I crave recognition more than responsibility?
(18:23):
And where is God asking me to carry weight for others instead of seeking position?
In regard to control, what is one area that I need to release and trust someone else
with?
And how does my desire for control reveal a lack of trust in people or in God?
(18:44):
In regard to root causes, am I leading reactively by putting out fires or proactively by addressing
patterns?
What root issue is God asking me to see more clearly right now?
In regard to flexibility, how do I respond when plans fall apart?
Do I panic or do I adapt?
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That's one past situation where God brought good out of my interrupted plans.
In regard to needing to be the smartest person in the room, do I listen more than I talk in
leadership settings?
Who in my circle is wiser than me in certain areas and how can I learn from them?
In regard to chasing credit, do I secretly need recognition to feel valuable as a leader?
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How can I intentionally celebrate and spotlight someone else this week?
And finally, in regard to titles and power, do I see leadership as serving or as status?
And where is God inviting me to wash feet in my leadership right now?
As you reflect on these questions, remember, seeing yourself in any of these signs does not
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disqualify you as a leader.
It just means God is still shaping you.
Hey, let's do this again next week.
It is my prayer that this podcast inspired you, blessed you, or made you think.
If so, please share it with a friend, subscribe, and please leave a review.
(20:18):
Hey, I want to connect with you.
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Send me a DM or email me at hello@beckyburroughs.com.
If you are a Christian woman who leads and you are interested in one of my Leadership Boot
camps for Women in Ministry, this is a four week workshop, or becoming part of a Kairos
(20:39):
Cohort, year-long group coaching, send me a DM or an email for more information.
We'll talk soon.
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