3 indicators you need to recharge your leadership battery now

Scott Cochrane Feb. 23, 2025

my saved content

VIEW AS
A PDF

adobe

When your leadership battery is fully charged, everyone around you wins.

The leader sets the emotional and cultural tone for the team. And so when the leader's personal energy is running strong the entire culture benefits.

• Teams are more cohesive

• Tough decisions are made with confidence

• Tensions on the team are resolved in a healthy manner

• The atmosphere is fun and positive

But when your leadership battery is depleted, when your mind, soul, and body are drained, everything changes. The entire team suffers when your emotional and physical energy hits the "red bar."

How do you know if your own battery needs a recharge?

These are some of the most common red bar indicators I have found in my own leadership:

1. Irritability

When I am driving in traffic, the way I react to other drivers tells me a lot about the condition of my soul. Does heavy traffic immediately push me into the high-irritability zone? That's a warning sign I need to heed.

Pay attention to your own levels of irritability. They could be telling you that your personal battery is starting to run down.

2. Selfishness

The more replenished my soul, the more I tend to focus on the needs of others. When my personal agenda begins to trump all other considerations, that's a real danger sign.

If you don't seem to be concerned with the welfare of others as you once were, watch out. It could be that the red bar is appearing.

3. Rationalizing

When my soul is in a good place I can spot a moral problem a mile away. But when I am depleted I can begin to convince myself that a minor indiscretion can be justified in the big picture.

One time, during a depleted season, I was faced with a temptation to prop up a struggling not-for-profit organization I led by accessing funds we were holding in trust. I found myself rationalizing this clear violation by telling myself it was for the good of the constituents I was serving. Fortunately, I recognized the danger signs just in time.

Watch out when you find yourself justifying questionable decisions. Your red bar could be telling you something.

And if it begins to tell you that you are in the danger zone, resolve to recharge yourself physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Because your most effective leadership will only happen when your personal battery is fully charged.

my saved content

VIEW AS
A PDF

Scott Cochrane serves on the executive team for the Willow Creek Association, as Vice President, International Ministries. He was born and raised in Canada, where he became connected to the Willow Creek Association, first as a marketing director and later as the ministry’s Chief Operating Officer. Following a five-year stint as Executive Pastor of a large church, Scott returned to Willow Creek Canada in 2009 as Executive Director, and in 2012 relocated to Illinois to take up his current post with the Willow Creek Association. Learn More »

• Why people don't respond when you talk to them (by Carey Nieuwhof)
• When preaching solutions, do these two things first (by Mark MacDonald)
• How smartphones have been used toward a torrent of cyberbullying (by Thom Rainer)
• How to bless before you blame in a conflict at work (by Jordan Raynor)

Free eBook

Steps to Launching Your Personal Workplace Ministry

Have you ever felt the pull to full-time ministry work as a missionary or pastor? If not, you can still make a Kingdom impact without quitting your current job. In this eBook, you will learn the four essentials that can change your perspective of work, your workplace, and most importantly, your heart.

Download Now