Christ: The Foundation to Successful Leadership
This is week two of exploring the foundation to great leadership. You can read week 1, Your Real Job Title, here.
11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. (1 Corinthians 3:11-15, NKJV)
We’re Approaching Leadership All Wrong
Primarily, our approach to leadership has been founded on characteristics, skill, and the ability to drive results. While not all leaders are born, a person generally needs to develop common leadership traits to be successful.
These include being a visionary, an influencer, and having integrity. Leaders need to be able to communicate well, have resilience, and hopefully a high level of emotional intelligence. These are just a few traits of successful leaders. And, any Google search will result in tons of articles that share more.
However, when we only lean on these characteristics and skills, we’re approaching leadership all wrong.
Character is shaped and formed by experiences. And we have all seen people with a good character turn bad. And people with a bad character turn good. Skill sets are learned, but if not properly nurtured and grown, they become stagnant and useless.
Most people want leadership that is stable. Founding our leadership on things that can shift erodes that stability and diminishes the impact of our leadership. And, I believe that it makes being a leader more challenging than it needs to be.
Everyone’s leadership will, at some point, be tested in a way that will either break them or help them grow to higher heights. And when our leadership is founded on things that are temporary or can be changed, it makes successfully surviving the test much harder.
But there is a way to approach leadership that resolves these challenges.
Jesus is the Real Foundation to Leadership
The resolution to those challenges is to build our leadership on a foundation that will not change and is not temporary. That foundation, as verse 11 tells us, is Jesus Christ. He should be the foundation to all that we do and build.
To say that Christ is our foundation is to say that we approach our leadership from and exercise our leadership through our faith in Him. The roots of our leadership are founded in Christ and in the examples that He sets forth.
When we build on Jesus, we build on what He has already laid. As the living Word of God, He came to provide the examples of what we need to live a life in alignment with God. Leading from a God-aligned place ensures that we can handle the enormous responsibilities and trials that come with leadership.
When Jesus is our foundation to leadership, we’re building on a foundation that will never change, crumble, or be destroyed. It will stand the test of time, always have integrity, give us everything we need, and will help us be resilient.
The character of our leadership should exemplify the following:
- The fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control)
- Meekness or humbleness
- Strength
- Power
- Commitment to justice, mercy, equality, and equity
- Consistency
- Persistence
The actions of our leadership should stem from:
- A solid prayer life - seeking God first in all that we do, and taking every challenge, decision, and situation to Him
- Knowledge of God’s Word - being able to use God’s Word to provide counsel and direction for our leadership
- Engagement with the Holy Spirit - Engaging the Holy Spirit, who is the power within us, throughout our daily activities and interactions
- An alignment to our spiritual job titles
Building our leadership on Jesus as the foundation will improve the quality of our work and leadership, helping it to survive the test of trials and challenges (the fire). And as our work endures these trials, we will receive promotions and rewards that are both spiritual and material in nature.
A final note of hope: The Word is clear that our leadership will be tested. The ultimate test will be when we have our day before the Lord. However, we will also experience tests while living our earthly lives. We will experience times when our work burns. That is to say, we will experience some failures, some losses, and hard lessons.
But, in verse 15, the Word gives us this hope - that if our work is burned, while we’ll suffer loss, we will be saved! This salvation allows us to keep building, growing, and learning so that our work continues to improve and will ultimately survive the fire!
Weekly Power Shifts
Power Shift 1: Examine Your Foundation
Reflection Question: Where is your leadership truly anchored right now? Is it on Christ, or your competencies, experiences, and results?
- Your Action Step: Set aside 10–15 minutes each morning this week to intentionally re-center your leadership on Christ. Pray specifically over your current leadership responsibilities, asking: “Lord, where have I been relying on myself instead of You?” Write down what He reveals and identify one area each day where you will consciously lead from faith instead of skill alone.
Power Shift 2: Align Character with Christ
Reflection Question: Which fruit of the Spirit is most lacking or inconsistent in your leadership during pressure or testing?
- Your Action Step: Choose one fruit (e.g., patience, self-control, gentleness) and make it your focus for the week. Before key conversations or decisions, pause and ask: “What would this look like if I led through the Spirit right now?” At the end of each day, briefly reflect and capture one moment where you succeeded and one where you need growth.
Power Shift 3: Lead from Spiritual Rhythm, Not Reaction
Reflection Question: How consistently are you inviting God into your leadership decisions, challenges, and daily interactions?
- Your Action Step: Implement a simple “pause and seek” rhythm: before any significant decision, meeting, or response, take 30–60 seconds to acknowledge the Holy Spirit and ask for guidance. Pair this with one Scripture for the week that you will revisit daily, allowing it to shape your mindset and responses.
Click here for a free printable reflection with Power Shifts for this devotional.
