The year of the quiet leader.
Being a leader is hard. Being a tired leader is harder. Most leaders I talk to feel like their brains have too many tabs open, and they can't find where the music is coming from. They love God. They love their families. They love their work. But they feel like they are running in mud. The "noise" in their head is too loud. When your mind is loud, you can't hear God. When you are stressed, you can't be a good dad. When you are tired, you make bad choices at work. It doesn’t have to stay this way. I spent a long time living in stress and anxiety. I always thought that peace was found in the absence of stress. I found that peace is not a feeling of no stress. Peace is a system for managing the stress. Think of your life like a garden. If you don't pull the weeds, the flowers won't grow. If you don't fertilize and water the soil, everything dies. This last year, I started helping Christian leaders "clean the garden" in 4 simple steps: Look: We find what is making you stressed. Breathe: We teach your body how to stay calm. Think: We change the way you talk to yourself. Plan: We build a simple list for your day so you don't have to wonder, which can lead to worry. The goal isn't just to do more work. The goal is to be Calm and Clear. When a leader is calm, everyone around him feels safe. When a leader is clear, the whole team wins. In a world of leaders who loudly talk about motivation and emotion, let's be quietly disciplined and thoughtful. Happy New Year. Let’s make 2026 the year of the Quiet Leader.