Leading Long: Keys to Faithful, Lifelong Leadership

Photo by Gary A. Runn, Altare della Patria, Rome, Italy

We all know people who, from our point of view, should have resigned long before they stepped down from leadership. We also know solid, effective leaders who seemingly left their leadership positions prematurely. Remaining in leadership is not a guaranteed proposition. To be able and qualified to lead over time requires intentionality, a bit of endurance and resilience, and a fair amount of grace.

There is a significant difference between longevity and sustainability. Longevity, at its core, is about duration. It is about leading over a length of time. In its most simple form, it is existence. Sustainability means maintaining it at length without interruption or weakening. For something to be sustainable, it must not become depleted or damaged. It is lasting and prolonged. It bears up under suffering. More than that, if something is sustainable, it nourishes, nurtures, and promotes growth. In leadership terms, longevity is existence. Sustainability is confirmation--proof of leadership.

There can be great value in longevity in leadership. It can catalyze trust and strategic familiarity and help fuel legacy. But longevity without sustainable practices can also perpetuate benign or toxic leadership. Neither is profitable. Longevity without sustainability simply takes up space. Sustainable leadership nourishes and nurtures growth in others—it proves itself through the fruit it produces over time.

Four Characteristics of Leading Long

• Longevity with Integrity

  • Remain true to your calling and values, even as other things shift around you

• Sustained Influence

  • Build trust and legacy through consistent investment in people, teams, and the mission

  • Focus more on depth of influence over breadth of influence

• Faithful Stewardship of Your Life and Leadership

  • See your leadership as a lifelong stewardship—not a role, a season, or a job

  • Own your leadership and care for your leadership by caring for your body, mind, soul, and relationships—avoid burnout or compromise

• Finish Well

  • Leadership isn’t about how you start or succeed—it’s about transitioning, passing the baton, and leaving a legacy.

Seven Major Contributing Factors to Leading Long

• Rhythms of Renewal

  • Weekly rest

  • Sabbaticals

  • Silence, solitude, and reflection

  • Time with life-giving people

• Mentorship & Community

  • Stay connected to mentors, peers, and friends who will speak the truth in love, help you carry burdens, and are not impressed with your title

• Purpose Clarity

  • Know your “why” and return to it often

  • This is about leading with conviction out of a clear calling

  • Leaders with a vague sense of purpose and calling will get sidetracked

• Learning Agility

  • Keep growing intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually

  • Never let devotion become preparation

  • Never stop learning and growing

• Healthy Self-Leadership

  • Understand your design, wounds, the primary ways in which God uses you, and how others receive you

  • Own your inner life as much as your outer leadership

• Character over Competence

  • Integrity

  • Humility

  • Servanthood

• Spiritual Dependence

  • Ultimately, leading long requires daily grace

  • Keep returning to the Source

  • Live and lead from communion over performance and productivity

  • Let God define success

Validation Through Biblical Examples

Allow me a final word to further illustrate the points above. A famous chapter In the Bible Is Hebrews 11. This chapter is sometimes called the ”Role of Heroes” or the “Hall of Faith.” There are 16 people, men and women, who are separately named, and they make up this honored list. Many of the names are familiar to you. Some may be less familiar. Two things stand out to me about this list. First, they all were leaders in some way and used by God to help move salvation history forward. I think they could rightly be called sustainable leaders. But second, none of them were perfect. Their biographies are fully available in the Old Testament. Sustainable leaders who lead long are not perfect leaders. We all stumble and are in continual need of God’s grace.

By conspicuous absence, one name stands out to me from this list. The list moves from Samuel, a prophet and priest of Israel, straight to David, the second king of Israel. King Saul, the first king of Israel, is not mentioned at all in this list of sustainable leaders. Why? You can read his leadership biography in 1 Samuel 9-31. Essentially, Saul feared people more than he feared God, and that fear led him to make rash decisions and overstep his authority. As a result, God chose to replace Saul with another king, David. But Saul refused to acknowledge God’s will and would not relinquish the throne. Most scholars believe that Saul reigned at least for 40 years. Yet, David was anointed king much earlier and could not assume the throne for some 15 years--because Saul would not give up the throne. Saul led long but was not a sustainable leader.

May we lead long, nourishing lives and nurture others toward real growth. May our longevity be matched by sustainability and the grace of God, our sustainer.

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