What 37 Years of Leadership Have Taught Me About Belief

When I was 19 years old, Kevin and Tina Hudson asked me to lead the youth group at our church.

Looking back, that moment changed my life.

As you would expect, I didn't begin with great confidence. I didn't have a polished leadership philosophy, a long track record, or a clear sense of how everything would unfold.

What I had was an invitation, and behind that invitation was belief. Someone saw something in me that I could not yet see in myself.

This is one of the quiet miracles of leadership ~ people often grow into the identity others speak over them.

As John Maxwell has said,

"People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision."

In other words, belief is not a soft extra in leadership. It is often the starting point.

You know how it goes ~ someone notices potential in us before we can see it in ourselves.

They encourage us, trust us and allow us to grow. Sometimes they give us a responsibility which can feel too big. Sometimes they simply say, "I think you can do this." Those words can become a turning point.

But borrowed belief only takes us so far.

At some point, every leader has to answer a personal question:

Do I believe God can use me?

This isn't about arrogance or self-confidence. It's about trusting God's calling more than our own insecurities. It is the difference between saying, "I am enough because I have everything figured out," and saying, "I am willing because God is faithful."

As the familiar saying goes,

"God doesn't call the qualified. He qualifies the called."

This may be a simple phrase, but it captures a deeply biblical principle.

Throughout Scripture we see this pattern again and again.

Moses questioned his ability, saying, "Who am I that I should go?

Gideon doubted his significance as his clan was the weakest.

Jeremiah protested that he was only a youth.

Timothy needed Paul to remind him not to let anyone look down on him because he was young.

Yet God consistently worked through people who felt inadequate but chose to trust Him. God's answer was not to flatter their insecurity but to anchor them in His presence.

This is why faith matters so much in leadership.

Martin Luther King Jr. once said,

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."

Leadership can often feel like this. You rarely get the full map. You usually get enough light for the next step.

I've discovered that believing in myself isn't about believing I can do everything. It's about believing that God equips the people He calls. It means I can lead without pretending to be perfect. It means I can make decisions without being paralysed by fear. It means I can step forward even when I still feel the weight of my own limitations.

This simple shift has helped me to grow as a leader.

It's also influenced the way I develop others.

If someone believed in me before I believed in myself, perhaps my responsibility is to now become that person for someone else.

Leadership is not only about vision, but it is also about multiplication.

Simon Sinek puts it this way:

"Leadership is not about being in charge. It is about taking care of those in your charge."

When we believe in others, we do more than encourage them. We create space for their calling to emerge.

Jack Welch once said,

"Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others."

This has become increasingly true for me. The longer I lead, the more I realise that one of the greatest gifts I can give another person is not control, but confidence. Not pressure, but permission. Not comparison, but encouragement.

I have seen this over and over again. A young leader who needed someone to say, "You can do this." A volunteer who needed permission to try. A team member who needed a trusted voice to remind them that failure is not final. Sometimes the most powerful thing a leader can do is not to impress people, but to invest in them.

This is why belief is contagious.

When leaders carry confidence rooted in God, it gives others courage. When leaders speak life, others begin to imagine possibility. When leaders trust God's work in people, they help those people step into maturity.

And perhaps this is one of the deepest lessons of leadership ~ the goal is not simply to become more capable ourselves, but to become the kind of person who helps others become capable too.

I often think about the difference between human approval and divine calling.

Human approval can open a door, but it cannot sustain a life. Divine calling may begin quietly, but it gives us the strength to keep going when the applause fades. This is why leaders need more than affirmation from others, they also need a conviction from God.

The apostle Paul understood this. He reminded Timothy, "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers" (1 Timothy 4:12).

In other words, Timothy's authority would not come from age, status or personality alone. It would come from a life shaped by faithfulness. That same truth still applies today. God is not looking for perfect leaders. He is looking for available ones.

So if you are waiting until you feel completely ready, you may be waiting longer than you need to.

Readiness is often formed in the very act of obedience. Courage grows as we move. Belief deepens as we trust. Leadership matures as we keep saying yes to God, even when our confidence is still catching up.

Who first believed in you? And who is waiting for you to believe in them?