In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:6

Acknowledge Him.

Acknowledge His presence.

Do you know a powerful way to acknowledge God’s presence in your leadership? The most effective way, with “effective” meaning productive in building impactful relationships?

It’s simple and obvious and mundane. It’s easy. It takes only one second. Maybe even less than one second. Yet, few leaders do it consistently.

Are you ready?

Here it is…

Make eye contact and acknowledge people with a nod when you walk by them.

That’s all. You don’t have to speak. You don’t even have to break your stride. You can, but you don’t have to. You can also smile. But you don’t have to. All you have to do is shift your gaze over to the human being you’re walking past, look them in the eyes, and give the briefest of nods.

Acknowledging your people’s physical presence lets them know how much you value them — that they are a child of God who matters.

But if you ignore them, rush by them, don’t see them? Then you’re sending them a message that they aren’t important enough for your attention. That you’re better than them. You unintentionally are saying, “I don’t have time for you.”

We are all people with souls and feelings. This is why we yearn both to teach one another and be taught, to both love one another and be loved, to protect and be protected, to challenge and be challenged, to inspire and be inspired.

This is the deepest secret to why servant leadership is so effective.

When we care for and serve our people, we are mirroring the dynamic of God living in us yet also above us. We are, as Jesus did, embracing our roles as leaders and servants, as guides and companions on the journey.

Look your people in the eyes when you walk past them. Acknowledge them. You receive several benefits from this connection. Energy. Spiritual connection. The dissolution of tension, stress, and any lingering conflicts between you.

Simple eye contact can create tiny transformations inside your relationships, because seeing is the very first step to serving. It’s not a step you can skip. People know when their existence is acknowledged.

And, they are acutely aware of when they are made to feel as if they don’t exist.

If Jesus was standing at the water cooler as any of us walked by, each of us would fall all over ourselves to affirm his presence.

Yet, Jesus’ greatest wish was for us to extend that love not just to him, but also to one another.

Blessings,

The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are generous, your whole body will be full of light.

Matthew 6:22