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Writer's pictureRandy Swaim

Faith Based Leadership: How Does Your Team Truly Experience You?

For this blog, I offer a simple insight and the reader will probably remember that in a past Faith Based Leadership blog, I pointed out an insight from the story of David & Goliath that in that blog, I focused on the fact that it is Critical How You Think more than how you fight (thinking strategically) and David perfectly planned strategically as highlighted in my previous blog.


For this blog I simply want to point out another insight from David & Goliath that focuses on the question of how your team truly experiences your leadership, for either good or bad.


Faith Based Leadership:  How Does Your Team Truly Experience You?

Let me simply point out that as the story and pending fight between the two began to come on the scene, how the story described each of them individually was key. Dr. David Jeremiah brought these out and they are a key aspect of leadership as well. Let me highlight.


The story introduced Goliath by his “Physical Attributes” simply describing his:

  • SIZE (about 9 - 10 feet tall)

  • SIGHT (Gigantic, Threatening and strong)

  • & VOICE (Fearful & Threatening)

Many of your enemies will be very similar to this.


The story introduced 5-foot-tall David by his “Spiritual Attributes” as :

  • David did not let the disbelieving brothers and soldiers interfere with his purpose in life and in his journey.

  • He reinforced his focus on God.

  • He Reflected on his development with his previous struggles and victories.

  • David remembered For Whom he was Fighting and Why.

Let me ask you….as you lead your team, does your team experience you as Goliath and someone who is using your position to threaten them?


Do they experience that you are trying to knock them off center so they cannot think beyond what you are telling them? Does your team feel like they are constantly at risk?


Realize that in an Unpredictable and Rapidly Changing scenario, if this is their experience of you, they cannot process wisely and make good and right decisions at the point of attack. However, if they are experiencing you as David, they will usually have more buy-in and will feel more of the Covenant mentality creating Real Synergy and Teamwork. They will sense your courage and sense your belief in them as you lead them.


There was one occasion in my career where there was one “team member” who was not in authority at all but did everything in his power to control everyone including the bosses above him. There was one time in a team meeting where something came up and he looked straight into my eyes from across the room and pointed his index finger at me with hatefulness in his face.


My reaction was modelled after David above in that I remained seated and looked centered and calmly into his eyes and pointed my finger at him and smiled. He took it up a notch using Goliath’s approach and he could not handle that I stayed seated, Centered & very Calm. His arguments were calmly and professionally squashed by truth. Over the next 3 day or so, over half of the members that were present came up to me and applauded me for What I said & How I said it”. I give the team manager who was present my compliments because at no time in that situation, did he really interfere with my “David Reaction”.


I will simply tell you that when you employ David’s response, amazing things can result. Let me simply ask you this:


What do you need to adapt to create a more David approach in your interaction in your team so that they experience you much better and more of a Covenant Mindset is maximized and your team truly believes in You…and Each Other?




- Randy Swaim, Coaching for Relevance, LLC



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