Integrating Faith and Leadership Supports a Cohesive Mindset

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Although keeping a distance from faith and politics in most circles may be a smart decision, we are also taught at a secular level that faith and leadership do not mix at work. Unfortunately, most Human Resource practices and strategies have us coming away with a misguided interpretation of how faith and leadership can actually co-exist.

What I mean by that is evangelizing at work is different than sharing one’s faith. When faith is shared in how one speaks, acts, and treats others, then the individual is, in fact, integrating their faith in a way for others to see and feel. They are not imploring tactics like Bible pounding, Buddha bias, or Jewish Jingle to convince someone else what faith to follow. These tactics are not effective and certainly frowned upon in the workplace.

But what if a leader lived out his or her beliefs in a manner for all to see?

Let one’s words and actions provide the foundation for integrating faith and leadership.

When we speak, we create life. And every action builds trust. Words and works matter. Choose wisely.

People are not just interested in what a leader says, but what the leader does and how the leader thinks. Successful leaders of people manage the distance from what is said and what is done to almost a negligible difference between the two. This mindset of cohesion has many benefits for the team.

Learning and Leading

From a social learning perspective, there are three stages of social learning: observing, assessing, and implementing. People pay attention to the behaviors exhibited by their leader, assess what is observed, and then make a decision to implement that behavior by adopting it for themselves.

It’s a simple thing to put your beliefs into action, yet it can be the hardest to do. Engaging in this type of activity requires a swanlike finesse. Integrating faith into everyday activities should be organic, light, and authentic. Even though we may feel like we are paddling madly under the water, our surface composure should be smooth and effortless.

In looking back at some of my coaching experiences with young professionals, I have found that many of these leaders were thrust into leadership roles at a young age. They were lulled into believing they had to know it all, do it all, and be perfect while doing it.

My mom, a.k.a Fanny, asked me one time, “What is the difference between being a Mr. Know It All and a Mr. Learn It All?”

In my mentoring sessions with her, I uncovered: When leaders are proud to be a know it all, they often tend to talk a great deal, have the answers for all questions, and know the best way for things to happen.

Yet, leaders willing to learn it all practice the art of being teachable and humble, and seekers of truth.

Learning is the act of gaining new information, being open to new ideas and perspectives not of one’s own, and having the courage to test theories and paradigms for understanding without rendering a decision that one is wrong or right before gaining comprehension.

Patrick Lencioni refers to learners with a zeal to gain knowledge in his book, “The Ideal Team Player,” as one of three important characteristics: hungry, humble, and smart. Hungry leaders want to learn and teach. They operate with pure intentions, are willing to help others selflessly, give constructive feedback that builds up others, and recommend solutions through compassion, grace, and peace-making.

When we’re thrust into leadership roles, especially when we’re young, we’re often consumed with a self-imposed pressure to render decisions with perfect outcomes. We find ourselves in the position to be know-it-alls. But instead, what if leaders focused on being the Mr., Mrs., or Ms. Learn-It-All?

The 7 Attributes of a Leader of Cohesion

Leaders with a cohesive mindset are focused on building cultures where people have a sense of belonging, are valued, and share in mutual commitments. They understand the need to infuse cohesion into the workplace in a way to ensure all team members feel included, have meaningful work, and can freely participate in collaborative opportunities that succeed when unity for all and trust are present.

As a self-proclaimed Southern Baptist born and raised in West Virginia, I found the Beatitudes to have had a significant impact on my life. From the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus’s proverb-like proclamations have guided my effort in expressing what I value in leadership.

Here I present seven attributes of an effective leader of cohesion replayed from my bestselling title, “Cohesion Culture: Proven Principles to Retain Top Talent.”

The following seven attributes inspire leaders who can rally others to succeed through faith, values, and behaviors.

1. Being Teachable

Being teachable allows us to be open and consider others’ input—especially when the idea is contrary to our inherent ideology.

When something is new, when it’s a perspective you’re not familiar with, do you remain teachable? Far from being weak or inconsistent, being teachable enables us to have influence.

When we navigate our world with a belief system that says, “New information is important to me,” we model openness and confidence that inspires this quality in others.

2. Having Compassion

To have compassion is to show kindness. Compassion is the way we relate to one another. It proves emotional connection and emotional intelligence.

It enables individuals and groups to have the confidence to strive forward without being hampered by the concept of needing flawless precision or the fear of making mistakes.

3. Extending Grace

Grace is the free and undeserved help we give others.

Through this process, we regenerate and inspire virtuous impulses to impart strength of body, mind, and soul.

Those we lead do not have to do anything or fulfill a requirement, as in a quid pro quo scenario, in order for us to offer grace. Instead, we think of how to serve those we lead as if they are the only ones who matter. As we operate with and through grace, there is an expression of gratefulness on our part.

4. Seeking Truth

Leaders must also seek truth. When we operate from a perspective that’s grounded in fact, not opinion, we are better equipped to navigate conflict.

Conflict typically stems from opinion; resolutions stem from truth.

Jack Welch, renowned past CEO of General Electric, declared it a leadership hallmark when he said, “Face reality as it is, not as you wish it to be.” Seeking truth means a leader faces reality, be it opportunity or within an organization’s culture. At its core, seeking truth requires a high level of accountability.

5. Showing Humility

Humility should dictate how we interact with others. When we operate from a position of humility, we show respect for others and take their viewpoints, feelings, and contributions into consideration. This alone establishes value.

Such a leader doesn’t take credit for ideas that aren’t hers. Such a leader shows a brand of kindness that’s more reflective of compassion than modesty. Such a leader demonstrates that he thinks about and respects others.

6. Exhibiting a Pure Heart

This may sound too esoteric for the business world, but I interpret being pure in heart to mean having a pure intention.

Am I genuine? Am I authentic? There is a gulf between a leader who operates authentically and one who operates synthetically. We shouldn’t ask how an employee is doing if we don’t intend to truly listen and potentially act on whatever information is offered. We don’t say only what we think others want to hear, and we don’t necessarily do what others want us to do. We say and do what’s appropriate and whatever will produce the result a situation demands.

7. Bringing Peace

Lastly, leaders are peacemakers. We create a harmonious space in which everyone gets along. We do this by bringing two opposing forces into a space that neither force previously occupied. We create a compromise that is consistent and that everyone agrees to.

When individual leaders polarize their followers, peace within the culture or within the group is almost always unachievable, and peace must exist. Peace eliminates dysfunction and unrest and is what establishes and solidifies cohesion so that rather than choosing sides within an organization, all sides work together.

Independently, each attribute contributes to effective leadership. However, when they are combined, the leader enjoys a synergistic value far greater than the individual parts.

For new or seasoned leaders looking to give their leadership a quick start, I recommend beginning with “being teachable.”

Set your mind upon learning, and putting into action what you know in a way that includes the views and opinions of others. Practice the art of leadership and one who is willing to motivate, influence, and enable others to be successful. Be the leader who puts the needs of others before self.

You Don’t Have to Know Everything, You Just Need to Be Teachable

Teachable leaders not only acquire information, they put that information into action.

Knowledge alone is not power. It is only a collection of facts and descriptions. There is no value in hoarding information. Become the type of leader who integrates faith and leadership such that you put knowledge into action. When knowledge is put to use, it is called wisdom.

Use the integration of faith and leadership to support cohesion. Be teachable and ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you seek information from those who do not look, think, or act like you?
• How frequently do you ask colleagues, peers, coworkers what they know about a situation before you start telling them what you know?
• What ways have you integrated faith into leadership in your everyday practices?
• How would you practice infusing cohesion into your work culture to foster belonging, value, and commitment?
• Are you a social learner who observes, assesses, and implements? If so, seek to understand how that process works for you.

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