I love this picture. Riley was about 3 or 4 years old and wanted to go out into the waves with me. She was uncertain about going out in the waves on her own so she asked me to take her out. She knows that she is safe with me holding her but look at her hand on my back with a fist full of my shirt. I am sure she had a smile on her face and if you asked her, she knew I would hold on to her. But, just to be sure, she was holding on. She was acting brave and eager but she still needed to hold onto something.
Sometimes, as a leader, you need to appear confident even when you aren't. You need to have that smile on your face and confidence in your voice. Maybe it is pushing forward to a level of performance you have never attained. Maybe it is a major change in direction. Maybe it is responding to a big problem that could potentially derail the progress you have made.
If a leader waits till they are completely confident to act, most things worth doing will never happen. But, if a team doesn't sense confidence from the leader, they will be very hesitant to accept change, or to push forward when things get rough.
So, as a leader, what will you be holding onto to create that confidence? Or, WHO will you be holding onto? Philippians 4:13 says "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me".
