Learning About Passionate Leadership and How to Keep It Alive

Photo by Etienne Giradet on Unsplash

The Bible primarily uses two different words for our English word, "passion." The most common word speaks to our normative thinking about the passions of the flesh. These represent our self-indulgent desires, our over-desires that only serve self and usually lead to sin. The other word used for passion in the Bible means suffering. We often refer to Easter week as the Passion of the Christ. We understand this to mean the sufferings a holy messiah experienced on our behalf in going to the cross. Another way of framing this as a follower of Christ is to look out on the world's landscape and consider what breaks the heart of God that should also break our hearts. That kind of holy passion fuels compassion and motivates us to act. When it comes to leadership, we make use of both meanings. 

When leaders exercise their leadership from a foundation of self-indulgent desires, they almost always will resort to manipulation, coercion, or abuse of power to get what they want. We witness this regularly when we look upon the world at large and observe leaders in many arenas. These passions are always focused on serving self as a leader. These passions are acted upon to make the leader look great. But when leaders consider those things that break the heart of God, they choose to transcend self and serve. The focus changes from self to God and the things God deeply cares about. The result is compassion that fuels action to serve someone else and meet their need as a priority. No longer is self-aggrandizement the goal. Instead, the goal is to shine a light on God's greatness and the well-being of another person.

I have recently had the privilege of working with a group of Ugandan leaders who help run an orphanage. We are doing six weeks of group coaching to provide leadership development. This past week our topic was passion. We explored both the negative and positive sides of this powerful word. Remember, I was supposed to be the facilitator leading them toward greater understanding. But on that day, I went to school. They were the teachers, and I was the student. My development became central. Did I mention that two of the three Ugandan leaders grew up and were raised as orphans in this very orphanage? What did I know about everyday suffering?

I asked two simple questions for group discussion: "What does good passion look like in leadership?" and "How does a good leader keep holy passion alive?" I commend to you the list below as a source of understanding and learning.

What does good passion look like in leadership?

• Good passion motivates us to act

• It builds commitment and endurance

• It helps keep relationships together (we can't do the mission alone)

• It feeds intentionality

• It enables the leader to become better and grow as a leader

• It helps to create a healthy environment

• It produces compassion

• It builds motivation

• It empowers others

• It focuses on solutions versus a hyper-focus on the problem

• It allows leaders to stay positive and hopeful

• It aids leaders in being humble and respectful

• It celebrates God, others, and fruitfulness through big and small achievements 

How does a leader keep holy passion alive?

• We must cultivate and demonstrate empathy toward others (put yourself in someone else's shoes)

• We must see and feel the needs around us to keep passion alive

• We must continue spending time in God's Word and prayer

• We must keep the overall vision clearly in focus--it pulls us forward

• We must believe in ourselves as leaders

• We must keep the result clearly in focus

• We must seek to understand others and their passions 

• We must believe in others

• We must nurture emerging leaders to build a legacy

• Seek to understand them

• Seek goodly wisdom

• Believe in them

• Believe that there are answers within them

These are two good lists for discussion and thoughtful application around passionate leadership. If you would like to further explore your personal passions and better understand your self as a leader, click on the button below for a 30 minute consultation to find out more about group or individual coaching.

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