Four Essential Traits of a Leader

What do followers need from leaders to thrive? Those who lead congregations through seasons of renewal must ask this question. The outcome often hinges on how well leaders can engage council members, staff members, and the congregation at large.

New research from Gallup helps us to understand what effective leadership looks like. Global Leadership Report: What Followers Want sheds light on this topic and offers helpful insights for church leaders.
Across demographics, locations, and industries, followers consistently identified four key traits they value in leaders. Research also shows that these traits are strongly linked with followers’ well-being.

What Followers need from church leaders

A Sense of Hope

Hope is the belief that “the future will be better than the present and that people feel empowered to make it so.” It includes inspiration, vision, and integrity. Gallup says, “Hope is a powerful motivator; it gives followers something better to look forward to, enabling them to navigate challenges and work toward a brighter future.”
Followers say they need hope far more than any other trait, especially younger adults (18- to 29-year-olds). Followers’ sense of suffering is reduced by a third when they serve under a hopeful leader.

The ability to trust

Trust is built on honesty, respect, and integrity, and it thrives in communication and collaboration. Trust is the bedrock of any relationship. In the church, trust is the currency that allows people to work together toward a vision of the future.
Followers trust their leaders when they know the leader keeps promises, follows through, and acts in their best interest.

An experience of compassion

Compassion is the need to feel cared about and listened to. It includes emotional intelligence, mentorship, and support. Leaders demonstrate compassion by building authentic relationships, sharing ideas, and encouraging others.
The old adage often attributed to Theodore Roosevelt is once again proven true: “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

A feeling of stability

Stability is the need for psychological safety and a secure foundation during uncertain times. It includes accountability and responsibility. Leaders who exhibit strong and stable values across time offer stability to followers.
Church renewal often requires uncomfortable change in numerous areas, making stable leadership even more essential. Without it, trust can erode, and momentum may collapse.

Which of these four traits comes most naturally to you, and which ones need further development? As you consider the path forward, Gallup has important wisdom: “No leader is perfect. Everyone has strengths, weaknesses and ways of leading based on innate talents and limitations. Many fall prey to spending most of their time developing their innate weaknesses rather than maximizing their strengths to compensate for them. The best leaders do things the other way around, straying from the usual way of doing things and instead focusing on what they are naturally good at. To be effective, leaders should base their decisions and actions on their innate strengths and consider which of them to lean into at different times to get the best out of a situation.”