The world needs leaders, especially during times of uncertainty. But not just any leaders. In this series, Andy Stanley discusses three essentials for leading through uncertain times
Leading Through Uncertain Times
My Takeaways
- Whether you’re leading a family, a business, a nonprofit, a division, a department, a team, a city, a state, or a nation, remember this. Leadership — at every level — is always stewardship. It is always temporary. And you are accountable. And here’s why. Because the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men, and he gives them temporarily to anyone he wishes.
- And here’s the second part. Not only is stewardship, but leadership is also temporary. The clock is ticking. Time will eventually run out on your influence. Time will eventually run out on your authority. Eventually, it’ll either be taken away from us, or we will simply give it away because it’s temporary. And the reason it’s temporary is we’re temporary. And knowing there’s an expiration date on our influence should inform our posture and our tone and our humility as leaders.
- Everybody is accountable to somebody for how they steward or manage their influence.
- Having the discipline and the humility to admit that you don’t have all the answers, actually makes you a better parent, a better boss, a better teacher, a better government official, and a better coach. It makes you a better leader. There’s no point in kidding ourselves and there’s no point in kidding the people who are looking to us for direction.
Uncertainty is a permanent part of life, and it’s a permanent part of the leadership equation. In fact, uncertainty is why the world needs leaders. It’s why your family, your company, it’s why your city needs you.
Andy Stanley
About Andy Stanley
Communicator, author, and pastor Andy Stanley founded Atlanta-based North Point Ministries (NPM) in 1995. Today, NPM consists of eight churches in the Atlanta area and a network of 180 churches around the globe that collectively serve over 200,000 people weekly. A survey of U.S. pastors in Outreach Magazine identified Andy as one of the ten most influential living pastors in America.
Andy holds an undergraduate degree in journalism from Georgia State University and a master’s degree from Dallas Theological Seminary. He is the author of more than 20 books, including Better Decisions, Fewer Regrets; Irresistible; The New Rules for Love, Sex & Dating; How to Be Rich; Deep & Wide; Enemies of the Heart; When Work & Family Collide; and Visioneering.
His success reaches well beyond the Atlanta area. Over 10.5 million of his messages, leadership videos, YouTube videos, and podcasts are accessed each month.
Your Move with Andy Stanley premiered on NBC after Saturday Night Live in 2012 and on CBS after The Late Late Show with James Corden in 2017, giving him an even wider audience with which to share his culturally relevant, practical insights for life and leadership. Currently, over 10 million messages are consumed each month through television, YouTube, and podcasts, underscoring Andy’s impact not only as a communicator but also as an influencer of culture.
Nothing is as personal as his passion for engaging with live audiences, which he has pursued for over three decades at leadership events around the world. In high demand, he speaks at various annual events before audiences of both church and organizational leaders.
“I cannot fill their cups,” he often says of the opportunity to impact leaders in business and in ministry, “but I have a responsibility to empty mine.”
Andy and his wife, Sandra, have three grown children and live near Atlanta.
