I Will Lead On Softly

Genesis 33:14

Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir.

Jacob made a great statement about his style of leadership that ought to be followed by every leader who wants to help people reach their potential. My job as a leader is not to get people to do everything as I would do it, but to lead them in a way that allows God to use them to their greatest potential.

Jacob said, I will lead on softly. This did not make Jacob a weak leader, but it made him a strong one. Jacob knew his family could not move as quickly as others, so he led on softly. Jacob understood the children were unable to move as quickly as his army, so he chose to lead on softly. Jacob understood that his workers who cared for the cattle could not move as quickly as the men who had no cattle to move, so he chose to lead on softly. Jacob's ability to lead softly allowed him to bring everyone back to the Promised Land, where God wanted them to live. Let me share several thoughts about the importance of leading on softly.

First, you must know your people if you are to lead on softly. Leading softly does not mean I am compromising; it simply means I know the abilities of those that I lead, and how I need to lead them. You cannot be a good leader if you do not know your people. Great leadership knows the abilities of its followers and leads them accordingly. If you want to lead people to reach their potential, you must learn their abilities by spending time with them and learn what they can and cannot do.

Second, to lead on softly is a choice. I want you to notice two essential words that Jacob said: I will lead on softly. Leading is often frustrating, but for the cause for which you are leading, you must not react by frustration, but lead softly so that you don't destroy those whom you are leading. There are times when you will get frustrated as you lead people because of the dumb decisions they make, decisions that they know they should not make; however, you must lead softly and not destroy them by losing your temper and getting rid of a person who could be a great asset to your team. Instead of reacting to a follower’s mistake that should have been avoided, lead them softly and let them recover so they never do that act again. By doing so, you keep a great team member who can help you to do more for Christ.

Third, to lead softly means to build people from their mistakes. As a leader, you have people who will try to push you to destroy someone or to send them away, but you must see the potential in that person and lead them softly so they can move on from their mistakes. There have been times when I could have removed a person from what they were doing, but for the sake of the ministry and the Gospel, I built them from their mistake, and they have become a great asset to the ministry.

Fourth, to lead softly means to push them without breaking them; it is putting enough pressure on them that they feel they will break, but it actually grows them because you didn't push them beyond their breaking point. Leading softly puts pressure on people to grow them, but it won't push people and break them.