Leadership Pushups

Working out and exercising does our bodies good. The Bible says that it profits us.

“Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.”

1 Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭8‬

We know eternity is more important; however, it is good and it helps us to impact eternity while we’re here.

I encourage you to engage with this in your life. It helps us as leaders sweat out the stress, strengthen our bodies and give us a healthy outlet.

But this blog isn’t about working out and exercising. It’s about doing leadership pushups.

This requires intentionality just like physically working out. If we don’t focus on and strengthen our leadership skills, it won’t get done.

I’m a big believer in consistency because it produces long-term results that improve the ability to lead. Steady growth over time is far greater than quick bursts of growth that don’t last.

So, doing leadership pushups requires us to be focused, consistent, and scheduled. That’s right, scheduled. If don’t put it in our calendar it won’t get done.

The best way to do leadership push-ups is to let other leaders in our lives. This can be in-person, podcasts, group coaching, books, courses, and more. We all need it and must seek it to have it.

The biblical precedent for this is found in the Old Testament.

“9. Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. 11. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? 12. A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”

Ecclesiastes‬ ‭4‬:‭9‬-‭12‬

Notice what relationships do in our lives through these verses.

This speaks of letting leaders in our lives so we develop as a leader.

So, here are three ways to do leadership push-ups.

1st – Seek out help.

This is huge because it requires us to be humble. Too often we think we don’t need help and that we’re good like we are.

The problem is, that’s incomplete!

We all can grow and we all need others to do it. We don’t know it all and we’re in the process to become more.

So seeking out help is a massive step in doing leadership push-ups. It’s moving forward with a posture that is not trying to prove anything, but rather receive everything God has for you.

To do this, God uses other leaders to help us grow and add to our lives. When we seek out help, we’re in a place to grow to new levels and develop our abilities.

2nd – It’s ok to feel small.

This is big. Most leaders do not like feeling small. Most people don’t like feeling small.

But as leaders, we must be willing to do this because, it allows us to be with people who are doing more than us, more developed than us, and have more than us.

This is how we grow and learn new things. Furthermore, when we’re around leaders like this, it shows what we can have and what we can do.

We must resist the need to be the big fish in the room and be ok to feel small.

If you’re the smartest person in the room all the time, you’re limited and stuck. If you need to feel better than others, you’re shrinking.

To be great as a leader we must be ok to feel small.

Embrace it. Be around leaders who intimate you. Push through yourself and discover what’s in you by being ok to feel small. Because when we do, we’ll get bigger and stronger as we do our leadership push-ups.

3rd – Ask good questions.

Asking questions is a part of growing as a leader. It shows hunger, humility, and the desire to learn new things.

Furthermore, asking questions helps us break through feeling intimated about what we don’t know and reach for what we need to know.

Thinking through where we are as a leader and where we want to be, helps us to know what to ask and what we teach for.

Questions pull on the wisdom of others and help us develop.

“Though good advice lies deep within the heart, a person with understanding will draw it out.”

Proverbs‬ ‭20‬:‭5‬

Notice what questions can do. They pull out the good advice and wisdom of other leaders. Moreover, those that ask questions show they have understanding.

No one owes us anything, so we must reach for knowledge, reach for relationships, reach for growth, and reach for leaders ahead of us.

This is how it works. When we ask we receive. When we don’t ask, we don’t receive. Hmm, I think someone said that in the Bible, oh yeah, Jesus!

So, are you doing leadership push-ups?

Please move forward to strengthen your leadership muscle and grow your gift.

Who you are and what you can be is linked to your leadership push-ups.

Side note.

I encourage you to be consistently listening to podcasts and reading or listening to books. This is a must for leaders and it’s a great way to do leadership push-ups.

I believe in you and there’s greatness in you!

PD