Why Leaders Need To Show Up Consistently

I volunteer part of my time serving at our church’s youth group. I recently had an extremely sad conversation with one of our youth students.

Before our youth group started, I opened my Instagram app on my Samsung Galaxy S9. I saw one of the students had just started an Instagram Live session. I clicked and listened to her talk for a few minutes.

African American man standing with his arms folded, looking confident

Photo by Etty Fidele

Then I did the youth leader thing. I asked her if she was coming to youth group tonight.

Her answer saddened me. She told me she didn’t like coming to youth group. There were no people her age that attended.

I protested. I told her there was. Her reply was heartbreaking.

I heard her say “Yes, Kelly and Bonnie (not their real names) go there. But they don’t show up regularly. If they’re not there, I am alone.”

This is sad on two fronts. One, our student felt left out because of her age. She didn’t fit in with the older students.

Sadder… She didn’t want to show up because the two students who are her age don’t show up on a consistent basis.

These two young girls are something they don’t realize just yet. They are leaders. Their presence matters to other young girls in the youth group.

Why Leaders Need To Show Up Consistently

If Kelly and Bonnie chose to show up on a more consistent basis, this young girl would feel more comfortable in showing up for youth group. Just by being there, Kelly and Bonnie influence the life of another person in the youth group.

Think about how this looks in your organization. Are you Kelly and Bonnie?

You may think you don’t need to show up as often now that you’ve become a leader. You’re able to bark commands to your team and sit back while they do the work.

This isn’t what your team wantsOr needs.

Your team needs you to be a consistent presence in your organization. They’re looking for you to show up and be there. They want to see you’re still a part of the team.

By showing up consistently, you tell your team they matter. You tell them their work matters. And you tell them you’re there with them.

Your consistent presence will send a clear message. Your consistent absence will send another.

You will need to choose to either show up or not. Your choice will matter.

Which one will you choose?

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