Lead Like It Matters to God Summary

"God called me to be faithful, not successful." — Mother Teresa. What does it mean to lead with faith and integrity in today’s world?

1. Faith Should Guide Every Aspect of Leadership

Leadership, for Christians, is an extension of faith, not a separate domain. Instead of compartmentalizing work and religion, leaders should integrate Christian values into all their actions. This means representing Christ as an ambassador in all areas of life, including the workplace.

Faith-driven leadership creates a solid moral foundation. A Christian leader treats team members with respect and dignity, understanding they are all made in God’s image. At work, these leaders prioritize values like integrity, compassion, and fairness, rather than focusing solely on organizational goals or profits.

Example after example shows the importance of aligning work with Christian principles. As anthropologist Margaret Mead observed, even small groups of dedicated people can drive monumental change. By leading with faith, choices and actions can ripple outward, fostering workplaces rooted in trust, collaboration, and higher purpose.

Examples

• A team that follows a leader rooted in faith often finds meaning in their work.
• Leaders like Nelson Mandela inspired change by adhering to values of forgiveness and unity.
• Companies led by faith-based principles often prioritize ethical decisions over profits.

2. Surrender to God’s Plan

Stearns’ personal life story highlights the importance of surrendering one’s plans and ambitions to God's purpose. Initially focused on a successful corporate career, Stearns never imagined becoming the leader of a global Christian organization. Yet, he learned to put God’s will before his own, accepting change and uncertainty with humility.

Surrendering doesn’t mean avoiding ambition but offering one's goals to a higher purpose. It’s about trusting that God’s plan will lead us to growth, even when the path feels unpredictable or uncomfortable. Leaders who embrace surrender are less driven by ego and more focused on transformative stewardship.

Sacrifice is often a companion to surrender. Whether it’s giving up personal goals or accepting challenges, leaders who surrender find fulfillment through faith, knowing they’re making an impact not measured by worldly success.

Examples

• Stearns left his comfortable corporate life to serve as CEO of World Vision, impacting millions.
• Biblical stories, like Moses leading the Israelites, illustrate life-changing surrender to God’s calling.
• Many missionaries relinquish personal desires to work in underserved communities, driven by faith.

3. Approach Others with Love

Love lies at the heart of Christian leadership. While workplace conflicts and struggles occur, acting with love—seeing coworkers from God’s perspective—can heal relationships and create a positive work environment. Asking, “What would love do?” helps leaders prioritize actions that reflect care and kindness.

In the workplace, loving actions translate to showing interest in others’ lives, encouraging their growth, and treating everyone equally. By fostering a culture of mutual respect, leaders drive collaboration and innovation. Ultimately, showing love at work isn’t just a moral choice—it’s a practical way to improve teamwork.

Love also means focusing on patience and forgiveness, especially amidst misunderstanding or mistakes. When coworkers feel heard and valued, they respond with loyalty and respect, deepening the collective bond.

Examples

• Stearns suggests recognizing a janitor’s worth as equal to the CEO’s.
• Providing growth opportunities for junior employees reflects a leader’s care.
• A teacher who mentors students, even after graduation, demonstrates enduring love.

4. Positive Work Cultures Grow Through Encouragement

Praise is a powerful tool every leader should use. Jesus’s way of uplifting Peter, despite his flaws, remains an inspiring example. Positive reinforcement enhances performance, builds trust, and fosters a shared commitment toward organizational goals.

Leaders can also use humor to lighten tense situations, connect with teams, and humanize their role. Humor, when used appropriately, encourages creativity and strengthens morale. Stearns’ cheerful antics during stressful fundraising moments provided much-needed relief for his team.

Encouragement and humor transform the workplace into an inspiring, productive space reflective of Christian warmth and generosity. These elements echo Jesus's example, promoting fellowship and shared motivation.

Examples

• Jesus praised Peter, not chastising him for his impulsiveness.
• Stearns dressed as Santa to spread joy during hectic seasons.
• Teams achieving success often attribute it to the positivity of their work culture.

5. Integrity is a Leader’s North Star

Integrity must be the foundation of leadership. Without it, trust erodes, and decisions falter. Leaders must act transparently and hold themselves accountable to ensure alignment between words and actions, even when facing tough decisions.

When Stearns discovered that World Vision had not followed through on sending seeds to African farmers as promised, he took swift action. He emphasized to his team that compromising integrity, even for efficiency, was unacceptable. Leaders must model ethical behavior to set the tone for the entire organization.

Integrity becomes the compass guiding leaders through ethical challenges, helping them prioritize principle over profit. Following this moral code inspires others and fosters a reputational legacy rooted in honesty.

Examples

• Stearns launched an investigation into the missing pumpkin seed donations.
• Public scandals, like those at Theranos, highlight the consequences of poor integrity.
• Leaders in nonprofit organizations gain trust by continually delivering on their promises.

6. Set a Clear Vision and Stay Committed

Vision shapes teams and mobilizes organizations to achieve remarkable results. A leader with clarity and conviction provides not just direction but inspiration. Jesus’s call for a new kingdom of love and justice beautifully showed the power of visionary leadership.

Crafting a vision goes beyond defining objectives. Leaders must embody their vision through actions. Stearns’s hands-on approach at Lenox—joining design meetings to drive sales of fine china—proved how direct involvement strengthens both leadership influence and team morale.

Sticking to a vision requires courage, especially against opposition. By holding firm to his AIDS campaign vision at World Vision, despite criticism, Stearns achieved monumental change for millions of children in Africa.

Examples

• Leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. advanced justice through clear visions.
• Stearns improved Lenox’s market share through his focused dedication to product innovation.
• Team members often unite under a leader’s shared vision, creating collective purpose.

7. Lead with Humility and Self-Awareness

True leadership requires honest self-evaluation. Humble leaders excel because they recognize their weaknesses and actively seek constructive feedback. Regular reviews, as Stearns emphasized at World Vision, help leaders identify growth areas and refine their behaviors.

Self-awareness enables leaders to tackle biases. During a visit to Uganda, Stearns realized his unconscious assumptions about a colleague’s abilities, learning the value of evaluating people based on merit rather than appearance.

Listening isn’t passive—Christian leaders should embrace others’ wisdom, recognizing every individual as God’s creation with valuable ideas. When leaders listen, they build trust and foster collaboration across ranks.

Examples

• 360-degree evaluations pinpointed Stearns’s leadership flaws for correction.
• Self-awareness helped Stearns acknowledge hidden biases in Uganda.
• Listening to a diverse team opened up fresh solutions for World Vision projects.

8. Faith Trumps Conventional Success

Society often prioritizes wealth and status, but Christian leadership rejects these shallow definitions. Instead, faith and values determine true achievement. When Jackson, a child supported by World Vision, became an archbishop years later, it highlighted how small acts of faith yield extraordinary results.

Success, measured through God’s lens, centers on service and love. Christian leaders embrace faith as the ultimate goal, trusting God will use their efforts in profoundly impactful ways—even if visible results take years to materialize.

Faith-grounded leadership creates resilience. Goals may shift, but faith anchors leaders to their purpose.

Examples

• Donations from Jack’s childhood sponsors led to his becoming an archbishop.
• Mother Teresa prioritized faith over fame, serving the marginalized.
• Martin Luther's faith-driven acts reshaped religious norms.

9. Balance Matters in Leadership

Work-life harmony is essential. Leaders must resist the temptation of overwork, ensuring time and energy are preserved for family, health, and faith. Balanced living not only sustains the individual but enhances decision-making and relationships at work.

Clear boundaries help teams feel supported while preventing burnout. Leaders who model balance lead healthier, more motivated staff. When life outside of work thrives, productivity and creativity within the workplace also improve.

A well-rounded leader inspires others to achieve balance, integrating spiritual practices, rest, and recreational pursuits with occupational responsibilities.

Examples

• Stearns emphasizes drawing clear workplace boundaries.
• Balanced leaders often handle stress better, modeling constructive habits for teams.
• Teams with flexibility often express higher overall satisfaction.

Takeaways

1. Actively integrate Christian values, like compassion and integrity, into daily interactions at work.
2. Prioritize faith over ambition, trusting that small acts of love and leadership can have lasting impacts.
3. Set clear work-life boundaries and model such balance to maintain spiritual and emotional wellbeing.