Sometimes the smallest shift can make a world of difference. And as a leader, there are times when you need to make a shift in your life or leadership so that you can become more effective and fulfill your purpose.
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In this episode, I’m sharing with you the 3 shifts you may need to make in order to become a better Christian leader this year. Shift is my word for this year, but even if shift is not your word for the year, I believe this episode will help you as you continue to grow and develop as a Christian woman leader.
What “Shift” Can Mean
There are 3 ways you might make a shift in your life or leadership:
- A small move… like shifting a puzzle piece slightly so that it locks into place.
- A big change… completely replacing one thing with something else.
- Changing gears… when you shift up a gear, you’re able to go faster. When you downshift, you are slowing down.
3 Shifts You Need to Make as a Christian Leader:
Shift 1: Your Actions
The first thing you might need to make a shift in as a Christian leader is your actions. This could encompass all kinds of things, but here’s a few examples:
Habits
Habits are the small things we do every day. Are there habits that need to shift in your life? This tends to be the time of year when we focus on creating goals, but as we talked about in episode 31, the key to reaching your goals is creating systems and habits that will help you accomplish those goals.
- Recommended reading: Atomic Habits by James Clear
- Habit I’m working on: Prayer
- 21 Days of Prayer & Fasting (my church participates in this)
- Val Marie Paper (I’m using the Fresh Start Journal right now)
- James 1:22
Stepping Out
Another action you need to make is to step out and do something that you have sensed God calling you to do. For many of us, we sense God nudging us to take a step of faith, but we often hold back for a variety of reasons.
Sometimes the thing God is calling you to do may look like foolishness to someone who is not a believer or sometimes even to other Christians. Stepping out doesn’t have to be a big thing; it can be anything that you sense God putting on your heart to do.
- The way I’m stepping out right now:
- Shifting my Morningstar Media Services business to serve Christian business owners and content creators
- Also shifting to do more teaching, mentoring, and consulting
- If you are a Christian woman in business looking to grow your audience and make an impact without compromising your faith and values, come connect with me on my new Facebook page.
“When God is calling you to do something, and you feel nervous or unsure, you’re not alone.”
Words and Conversations
The third shift you might need to make in your actions is in your words and conversations. For some of us, this might mean that we need to change the way we speak to be more encouraging and life-giving.
Another struggle for some of us is speaking too quickly or speaking out of anger. So we may need to shift towards slowing our words and waiting until we are calm to speak.
Finally, in regards to our words and conversations, a shift you might need to make is that you may need to be willing to speak up and have some hard conversations.
- Additional resources:
- 1 Thess. 5:11
- James 1:19-20
- 2 Timothy 1:7
Shift 2: Your Beliefs
When it comes to your beliefs, there’s a few areas you might need to shift.
What you believe about God
For many of us, what we believe about God, or our theology, is largely based on how we grew up. But sometimes, what we believe about God may not be entirely based on the truth of His word. So I want to encourage you to examine what you believe about God and really dig into whether what you believe about Him is true.
What you believe about yourself
Secondly, I want you to think about what you believe about yourself. Is what you believe about yourself based on truth and reality or it is based on lies? I encourage you to start with looking at how GOD views you.
“When you can get an accurate view of God and an accurate view of how He sees you, everything changes.”
What you believe about others
Finally, let’s look at shifting what we believe about others. Sometimes we can create a story in our head because of a past hurt or experience and that impacts how we view others in our current life. It’s important to check our thoughts and evaluate whether they are truthful or not.
There are a lot of beliefs out in our culture that sound really good. And sometimes, those beliefs can become part of our own thinking and way of life without us recognizing it. That’s why it’s essential for us to be aware and to evaluate our own thoughts and beliefs instead of simply taking them for granted.
- Shift I’m making right now related to beliefs: continuing to dig into apologetics and complete the certificate program I began in the fall of 2019
- Recommended reading: Mama Bear Apologetics
- Episode 59 with Hillary Morgan Ferrer
- 2 Cor. 10:5
- Romans 12:2
“We need to be aware of our thoughts and we need to make our thoughts obedient to Christ. That isn’t something that just happens automatically; it takes intentionality.”
Shift 3: Your Commitments
Here’s the thing: as a leader, I believe we often over commit. Because you may have a lot of skills or strengths or drive, you may get asked to do things often. And sometimes… or maybe almost always, you say yes.
“It’s vital for you to get clear on what your priorities are and to say NO to some commitments in order to be an effective leader.”
Here are 3 ways you may need to make shifts in terms of your commitments:
Your time
What are you committed to in terms of your time? What is on your calendar as a must-do? Do these things reflect your top priorities?
Your energy
Somethings don’t require a lot of time, but they do require a lot of energy, mentally or otherwise. You may need to assess where your energy is going and how you need to shift in order to stay healthy.
Your boundaries
What boundaries do you have in place and how committed are you to them? This is a constant area of growth for me. Often I will set up a boundary in my mind, but I will forget to communicate it to those whom it will affect. Another challenge for me personally is creating a boundary around work.
- Additional resources:
- Episode 33 all about my favorite tools for goal setting, planning, and creating habits
- Episode 81 with Laura Howe – good example of choosing where to put your energy
- Episode 20 all about creating boundaries as leaders
- Episode 92 of the Go to Gal Podcast about how to create clear boundaries especially around work
- Psalm 90:12
- Ephesians 5:15-17
Why this matters in terms of our faith:
How we spend our time is how we spend our life. The things we put our energy into reflect what is important to us. And the boundaries we create (or fail to create) will either help us be able to continue to serve and support others… or lead us to burnout.
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