Finding clarity below the surface: leadership lessons from rough waters

Eric Daniel Oct. 25, 2024

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Sometimes, the most challenging days in leadership can offer the greatest growth opportunities. Two years after the COVID-19 pandemic, this truth was realized as our church struggled to adapt to a shifting cultural landscape. In California, people were leaving faster than they were arriving, and those who did come were not always making God or the church a focus of their weekly rhythm. Attendance, giving, baptisms—all down.

Additionally, I was hitting a milestone birthday and felt new career ideas stirring. My life and ministry felt like a convergence of different streams of waters—unsettled, churning, and rough.

One day, as I drove over the Napa River Bridge, something caught my attention that I had seen a hundred times before. The bridge overlooks a spot where, twice a day, the tidal waters from the Pacific Ocean meet the fresh water from the Napa River. This area is known as "brackish," or rough water, where saltwater and freshwater mix. Their intersection is unpredictable due to the flow of the river and the ocean's tides. The water's surface is usually turbulent in this location, but below, it is calm and rich in nutrients. Fishing boats often linger there, despite how rough it appears.

Brackish waters are part of estuaries, common in California, and I have kayaked most of them. Estuaries are home to unique plant and animal communities, specifically adapted to the fluctuating salinity levels. These waters are incredibly rich in aquatic life—mullets, flounder, striper-bass, catfish, even larger marine mammals.

As I reflected upon the brackish waters, I sensed a powerful leadership metaphor. Just as these waters are a meeting point of river and ocean, leadership seasons can feel like the collision of success and failure, clarity and confusion. The surface may look rough, but underneath, there is often unseen richness and learning. Could it be that "brackish" leadership seasons—which seem turbulent and uncertain—are filled with invaluable potential?

If fishermen find these rough waters teeming with life, perhaps we too, as leaders, need to learn to benefit from similar spaces in time. Instead of being distracted by superficial troubles, we can anchor ourselves and plumb the riches hidden below.

Here are four principles to remember when encountering rough leadership moments:

#1Embrace the rough waters: Just like brackish waters, leadership can be bumpy. Remember, the water is always more turbulent on the surface. Don't fear the challenge; boats are made to float, and people are made to navigate storms with God's help. (Build your life on the rock—Matthew 7.) Often, the turbulence signals an abundance of growth and opportunity underneath. Enduring could lead to rich discoveries.

#2 Adapt to the changing currents: Just as fish in the estuary must adapt to varying salinity, leaders must be adaptable in times of change. Ocean tides rise and fall. Your boat can get grounded in the mud if you are not aware of your surroundings and when high tide ends. Embrace environmental shifts and adjust your approach as needed.

#3 Seek the abundance: Rough seasons can feel barren, but they are often rich with learning and growth opportunities. Focus on what you can gain from the experience, not just the challenges. We serve a God of abundance. If you ask for eyes to see, He will show you where to fish.

#4 Trust the process: Just as fishermen navigate difficult waters because of the abundance they know is there, trust that your efforts in these difficult seasons will yield fruit in time. Stick with it, and the rewards will come.

Navigating the brackish waters of leadership may not always be easy, but with the right mindset, they can lead to some of the richest seasons of success.

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Eric Daniel is passionate about empowering others to grow in their Spiritual Leadership. He founded Global Ministry Advance in 2023, a coaching organization, for the purpose of assisting ministers, missionaries and Christian organizations in the development of goals and strategies for greater health. Eric became Senior Pastor of Hillside Church in Napa, CA in 2002, and also serves as an Executive Presbyter for the Northern California and Nevada District Council of the Assemblies of God. Learn More »

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