Four Benefits of Covenant Leadership
There is a difference between a contract and a covenant. A contract basically says, “I will do this if you do that.” A covenant says “I am going to do this no matter what you do.”
Ask yourself, “Do I lead with a contractual mindset or a covenant mindset?” There are four benefits to all of us who lead if we exercise Covenant Leadership – whether we are leading a company, a team, or a family.
Covenant Leadership
Example: The Covenant of Marriage
“for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do we part:” is a covenant statement. Notice that nowhere does it say, “as long as you do the same or equal my contributions.”
When I get myself in trouble is when I begin to treat my marriage as a contract instead of a covenant. That occurs when I start keeping score or start expecting my wife to keep up with my present contributions to our relationship.
Whether I am a husband or a wife, I am entering a covenant relationship that says, “I am going to do this no matter what you do.” I realize this is a very traditional view of marriage, but if more people held marriage as a covenant instead of a contract, maybe there would be fewer families in trouble.
Read a blog related to leading families by clicking on the following title: Determining Your Family Values
Four Benefits of Covenant Leadership
1. Clarity
If I am a Covenant Leader, I have clarity because I know what I stand for – my values. When I know what I stand for, the fog created by circumstances, crises, and/or other people does not obscure my vision.
If I know what I stand for, my decisions become clear even in the midst of uncertainty. While others struggle to see a path forward, the values that guide me steer me through the fog and provide the clarity others yearn for.
2. Control
If I am a Covenant Leader, I am in control. Because I operate from a covenant mindset that says, “I am going to do this no matter what you do.”, my decisions and choices do not depend on the actions of others.
I am in control of my decisions because what I do is independent of what others do. If I am dependent on the actions of others, I give up that control and will often feel like the proverbial cork in the ocean. I am tossed around by the waves, and rarely reach my desired destination. I am stuck reacting to others instead of leading.
3. Consistency
If I am a Covenant Leader, my decisions are consistent no matter the circumstances or the crises I am confronted with. Because I know what I stand for, I use my values to make choices that are determined by a set criteria – my values.
When I am consistent in how I make decisions, others see me as dependable and trustworthy. If my decisions matrix is not based on a solid set of values, no one knows what I will do, and they will not trust me.
4. Contentment
If I am a Covenant Leader, my satisfaction with my leadership is independent of others. I can lay my head on my pillow at night knowing I made my choices based on what I truly believed was the right thing to do.
My view of right and wrong does not change based on what is practical at the moment. I am content in knowing I made a decision based on a set of core values that I will always be able to defend, no matter the outcome.
Read another blog related to this topic in business by clicking on the following title: Values – What Do You Stand For?
The Bottom Line:
Whether I am leading a company, a team, or a family, Covenant Leadership creates benefits for both me and the people I am called to lead. The clarity, control, consistency, and contentment Covenant Leadership provides will not be accomplished with a contractual mindset.
Covenant Leadership requires me to know what I stand for and then to stand up for those values. Covenant Leadership is not easy. But, I believe that the leaders who treat leadership or marriage as a covenant will reap the benefits that others are missing.
Check out The Overwhelmed Manager’s Guide for videos and downloads by clicking this link: om-guide.com
Question:
Do you live and/or lead with a covenant or contractual mindset?
Dave,
This is a refreshing reminder about how to achieve the goals we set in life, both business and personal. When you’re operating in a covenant mindset you embrace your truths.
Thanks for that perspective.
It is something that I need reminded of frequently, as well.
Thanks for your efforts Dave. This is a great article…you are right, Covenant Leadership is not easy, and I think it requires a measure of maturity and selflessness.
What I don’t understand about the Covenants way of having Leadership teams is, why does the Leadership team get to decide for the whole congregation? Why isn’t there more opportunity for the feelings and emotions of the congregation to be shared and looked at? How can we feel confident in being led by a team that we all as a congregation don’t get to be apart of? (Maybe not all Covenant churches are this way, but this is what I am currently experiencing at my home Covenant Church).
Jaci,
I was addressing the individual living with a covenant mindset not specifically about the church leadership.
However, I do go to an elder led church. The senior pastor is one of the elders along with people who have been voted onto the elder board by the congregation after the current elders have vetted them.
The elders make the leadership decisions for the church. We do invite members of the congregation to attend elder meetings if they wish to have input on certain decisions. Also, there are certain policy decisions that we hold a congregational meeting to discuss. But ultimately it is the elders who hold the responsibility to make the decisions based on the biblical principles laid out in Acts, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus and other books.