“And Samuel told him, “Although you may think little of yourself, are you not the leader of the tribes of Israel? The LORD has anointed you king of Israel.”
1 Samuel 15:17 NLT
“Then Saul admitted to Samuel, “Yes, I have sinned. I have disobeyed your instructions and the LORD’s command, for I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded.”
1 Samuel 15:24 NLT
Saul’s leadership problems started with his own poor self-image. This led to his insecurity and his fear of those he was leading. Saul’s eventual downfall as the king was the result of these two things: a poor self-image and his insecurity.
Of course, we can’t forget the fact that Saul’s biggest sin was in not obeying God’s commands. This sin cost him his Kingdom. It is pretty clear that Saul’s disobedience, however, was a result of his insecurity as a leader. “I have disobeyed your instructions and the LORD’s command, for I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded.”
Our view of ourselves is going to determine our success or failure as a leader. If we have a poor self-image, we are not going to have the confidence to make the decisions that we need to make. We will be insecure and will end up micro-managing our people.
Here are a few tips to boost your confidence and develop a better self-image.
1. Find out who God says you are. So many Christians struggle with their identity, not really understanding what God has done for them. The Bible is full of God’s thoughts about you and plans for you and they are so good! When the devil tempted Jesus, two of the three temptations started with the the phrase, “If you are the Son of God…” We should not be surprised that our identity is the first place he attacks us.
2. Act like you are a confident and secure person. You may not feel confident and secure. Many leaders go through situations where they do not feel like they know what they are doing. The best leaders, though, stand up straight and take command. Acting with a positive and confident attitude will eventually translate to us becoming confident and positive leaders.
Practice being self-confident and soon it will become second nature. “Fake it to you make it” sounds like a terrible cliche but every leader knows that there are times that you have to do just that. You make that decision and act confident about it even though you are not one hundred percent sure you were right. The reality is that we are never one hundred percent sure.
3. Surround yourself with the right people. If there are a lot of negative people in your life, limit the amount of time that you spend with them. I understand that some of these might be family, but we can make a conscious effort to create relationships with positive people. This is one of the reasons that being in a great local church is vital. A life-giving church should encourage you to be that leader that God has called you to be.
Being a part of a small group will allow you to make relationships with like-minded people, as well. When we read about King Saul and then King David, David appeared to have the much healthier relationships. Having friends and leaders who speak positive words into our life will help us to become a more confident and effective leader.
Do you ever struggle with your self-confidence? How do you deal with it?
David and Annie are serving the Lord in the US, South America, Africa, and India. Would you consider joining their team? Just click here to get involved. Thanks so much!
