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5 Things Long-Term Leaders Master (and Quitters Never Do)

Very rarely does success come from jumping from one venture to another every few years.

And very rarely does long-term impact happen from short-term tenure.

And yet in ministry and in life, people often jump from venture to venture or church to church, hoping the next fit is better than the last fit, only to be perpetually disappointed.

One of the things that characterizes most leaders who make an impact in our generation is staying power. Andy Stanley has been at North Point since he started it 19 years ago.

Rick Warren has served at Saddleback for three decades. Craig GroeschelPerry NobleSteven Furtick and so many more have all had or are working on long-term ministries.

Many Leaders Leave Before Their Critical Breakthrough

In my view, too many leaders leave too often before critical breakthroughs happen.

Most people who become ‘overnight’ successes have put in a decade or more before anything really noteworthy has happened.

I’m not saying leaders should never leave. In fact, here’s a post outlining five signs it’s time to move on.

It’s just if you go too early, you can miss out on so much.

5 Things Long-Term Leaders Learn to Master

Here are five things every leader who stays long-term learns to master:

1. Being unpopular

Long-term leadership has seasons, and in some of those seasons you become unpopular.

Sometimes it’s a sign you need to work on something. So work on it.

But other times it’s because you’re committed to doing what people need, not simply what they want. That’s what great leaders do.

So sometimes you just have to be prepared to be misunderstood.

There are very few biblical characters who were ever perfectly understood.

Eventually, people will see what you were trying to do. Hang around long enough to let them see it.

Even if they never do, God does. Regardless, learning to withstand seasons of unpopularity builds your character and often is the key to getting important things done in leadership.

2. Personal growth

It’s easy to change an organization (at least at first), it’s much more difficult to change you.

To thrive long-term, you have to be relentlessly committed to personal growth.

Face your demons. Learn from your mistakes. And get the help you need to grow and get better.