Over the holiest of Christian weekends, I spent time thinking about faith and – because I write this every week – how faith relates to leadership. Discussing faith and religion in a professional setting is challenging. Faith is deeply personal and, while some are called by their faith to spread the Word, others are upset by the topic, particularly if they feel preached to or don’t share the same faith.
Yet faith plays a vital role for many leaders. Religious leaders of all faiths not only provide great examples of care, humility, and courage, the faiths they lead provide guidance in how to serve, comfort when things get lonely, and inspiration when things get tough.
Faith can also help leaders with both their confidence and humility. Leading is fundamentally about painting a picture of a better future and then helping inspire, organize, and coordinate people to strive towards it. Yet it is impossible to know what tomorrow will bring or whether the plan will work. Having faith in something beyond yourself can help quiet the doubts and calm the fears, and thus, allow you to more easily lead from a place of strength and optimism. An active faith can also cultivate humility, as most religious traditions remind us that we are but one tiny speck in the nearly infinite universe of time and space. Instead of taking that information as an excuse to do nothing, however, many faiths tell us to do the best we can with the time we have in the service of others. As Jesus reminded his followers, “Whoever would be first among you must be servant of all.”
Thinking about GreenPoint and our journey as a relatively new organization, I find inspiration in the parable of Jesus in the wilderness. Shortly after being baptized, Jesus headed to the desert where he fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. I was not able to learn much about why he went other than he was “called by the Spirit” and similar quests are not uncommon in many religions. Over the 40 days, the devil appeared before him multiple times to tempt him. Jesus ultimately prevailed, having conquered both his inner demons and his external temptations. He emerged ready to begin his public ministry.
The interesting part of the story is not just that he made it. Indeed, it was written almost as if it were a foregone conclusion that Jesus would pass the test. However, I often wonder what Jesus was thinking on day 20. He must have been hungry, tired and lonely. What was going through his mind? There must have been doubts. We know he was severely tempted, yet he persevered.
So many of us on various journeys through life are closer to the middle of the wilderness than the end. Like Jesus, we face self-doubts and temptations. This was, of course, Jesus’ test. Midway through, his success was not guaranteed. He not only had to have faith in God but the personal grit to stick to it and the determination to see himself through it.
The spiritual journey is not unique to Jesus or the Christian faith. Buddha meditated for 49 days under a bodhi tree and had to face Mara, the figure representing temptation and illusion before he could attain enlightenment. Author, Brene’ Brown wrote a book called, Braving The Wilderness, discussing in part why so many religious traditions talk about challenges in the wilderness. Her point is that it takes courage to stand alone in your personal beliefs and values and to help connect others in theirs — to stand alone and together as part of a community.
We at GreenPoint are on a journey. It is in no way shape or form anything nearly so consequential as a religious journey but is important nonetheless. We’re trying to transform ourselves as a company so that we can better help our growers transform their operations as the larger world in which they operate changes. And while the future is unknown and much is well beyond our control, we move forward with a belief that if we do what we do well, our farmers, their families, and their communities will ultimately be successful.
I’m guessing that many of you are on similar journeys, regardless of position or industry. We’re all trying to lead ourselves, our teammates, and our customers to a better future. The path is unknown, fraught with risk, and often filled with people who disagree. Many of us fear failure and rejection. Faith can be a powerful antidote and provide guidance about how to lead from our best selves.
So as you go about your week, whatever your faith, I hope you take some time to ponder the world beyond what you know. I hope in doing that, you find a connection to something larger than yourself, and with it, a renewed joy and sense of peace. And for those of you who follow the Christian faith, I hope you had a great Easter.
Onward!
Jeff
