Centeredness is difficult to describe and impossible to miss. So, what makes a centered leader? First, they are guided by values, driven by purpose, and obsessed with mission. You’ll find that centered leaders are grounded, aware, secure, and consistent. The problem is many leaders are a little, if not a lot, uncentered. Uncentered leaders come in all shapes and sizes. No two look alike, but the feeling you have with them never changes. When you’re an uncentered leader, it’s obvious to your team. You can’t hide it, you’re not fooling anyone.

You’re off-centered when you live out these three behaviors:

1. You’re annoyingly insecure.

An insecure leader is needy, looking for constant affirmation from team members. They avoid conflict and lack direction. Sometimes insecurity manifests itself as arrogance. So, instead of being passive, these insecure leaders are bullies, micro-managers, and know-it-alls. These leaders take all the credit for successes on their team, and they are just as quick to pass off all the blame. Insecure leaders produce insecure followers.

“When the leader lacks confidence, the team lacks commitment.” –@craiggroeschel

2. You’reconsistently unpredictable.

With this type of leader, the team has no idea what to expect. The direction will change on a whim. There’s always a new project, new emphasis, or new focus. Team members wind up playing it safe. Instead of bringing new ideas to the table, they keep them to themselves. Unpredictable leaders produce hesitant followers.

3. You’redistastefully self-absorbed.

The more success a leader gains, the more vulnerable they are to this behavior. The self-absorbed leader believes that their team works to serve the leader—their vision, their dreams, their goals with little to no input from their team. Self-absorbed leaders produce resentful followers.

When you add it all up, uncentered leaders produce unsettled followers! But centered leaders are different.

“Centered leaders don’t produce followers. Centered leaders create leaders.” –@craiggroeschel

How do you move from being an uncentered to a centered leader? There are three main traits that can help you make the shift. Choose the one that most applies to your inspirational style and start making progress to becoming a more centered leader.

1. You’re inwardly confident.

Neediness repels others, but confidence attracts. You don’t have to be perfect or have everything together to be confident. But if you identify areas of growth and make steps to get better, your confidence will grow. Maybe you have room to grow in one of the following areas:

• A skill to develop.
• A weakness to accept.
• A belief to change.

2. You’re strategically consistent.

When a leader is consistent, you know what to expect. You know the plan and you do it. I recommend that you find what works for you and your organization and do it over and over again. Consistent actions create consistent results.

“It’s not what you do occasionally that makes your organization successful. It’s what you do consistently.” –@craiggroeschel

3. You’re mission-driven.

Why you do what you do matters more than you can imagine. Know your mission intimately. If you don’t know it, find it. What is it about your organization or industry that drives you and moves you to be better? When you discover your mission, fight to keep it ahead of yourself and your organization. We don’t want our people to simply do a job. We want them fulfilling a mission. People will work for a what, but they will give their lives for a why.

Whether you realize it or not, as a leader, you reproduce what you are. If your organization isimbalanced, it’s a reflection of your leadership. If you want a strong and healthy team, become acentered leader who is inwardly confident, strategically centered, and mission focused.

Remember, you don’t have to know it all to be a great leader! Be yourself. People would rather follow a leader who is always real than one who is always right.

A centered leader is confident, stable, fully-engaged. A centered leader is driven by purpose, obsessed by mission, and fully-aligned with their values. Craig Groeschel