How admitting weakness, asking for help, and being real actually builds trust and resilience at work.
The Daily CHEW™
CHEW on God’s Love. Live Transformed. Multiply Hope.
When Leading Means Letting Down Your Guard
Last quarter, after a rough client debrief, I found myself hesitating—should I admit to my team where I’d miscalculated? As a high-achieving consultant who prizes competence, my first reaction was to handle things solo. But beneath the veneer of confidence, I felt the weight and loneliness that comes from hiding my limits. The question surfaced: What if true strength at work starts with honest admission, not more effort?
Maybe It’s Not Just Me…
Maybe you see it too: that urge to keep up appearances, solve every problem alone, or “just power through” even when you’re stretched thin. Maybe you sense trust shrinking in your team, or wish colleagues were more honest about their own struggles. Maybe what you long for is a culture where showing need isn’t weakness, but the doorway to real resilience.
How the Gospel Reframes Vulnerability
Under the surface, our longing for confident, competent leadership is actually a deeper hunger for safety and belonging—a place where being known and loved go together. The gospel flips the script: Jesus modeled strength through humility, and invited his followers into a community shaped by grace, mutual burden-sharing, and truth-telling. When leaders go first in vulnerability, teams discover that connection—not perfection—is the real fuel for growth and stability.
An Invitation to Try the Vulnerability CHEW
Let’s pause and replace self-sufficiency with spiritual honesty, right now. No bravado, no grand speeches. Just a window for God’s love to move us from isolated leadership into courageous connection.
CHEW in 3–5 Minutes:
Take three slow breaths—imagine God’s love meeting you at the point of your need, not your achievement.
Adore: “Father, you love me without pretense or performance. You see me as I am—weakness and all.”
Confess: “What am I actually feeling about my limits or recent mistakes? Is it shame, fear of losing credibility, or just weariness from keeping up appearances?”
Hear: “What promise or invitation from God reframes this moment?”
- “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
- “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2)
- “If we walk in the light… we have fellowship with one another.” (1 John 1:7)
Exchange: If I really believed God’s love is safe and inviting—welcoming all my weakness—how would that change my struggle with vulnerability and asking for help as a leader?
Maybe I would set aside pride and honestly name the areas where I need support.
Maybe I’d step out of isolation and into deeper belonging with my team.
Maybe I would trust that real strength is found not in self-reliance, but in letting others share the journey and the work with me.
Walk: What’s one honest step I can take?
(Maybe: admit a challenge to your team, invite honest feedback, or simply ask for prayer with a trusted colleague.)
Thanksgiving & Worship
God, thank you for loving me openly and calling me into brave, humble connection. Refocus my heart from self-protection to purposeful presence with the people I serve.
Remember This
Building trust with honest leadership is never about always getting it right—it’s about a pattern of returning to God and others with openness. Every act of vulnerability plants seeds of trust that deepen over time.
CHEW On This™
If I really believed spiritual vulnerability breeds resilience and strength, how would that transform my leadership—and the culture of belonging within my team?
Make Vulnerability a Team Habit
Try this CHEW before your next team meeting, or share it with a colleague who feels alone in leadership. True transformation multiplies wherever honesty is practiced together—not just in private (Why You Can’t CHEW Alone).
Select Resources:
Courage to Be Known: Why Vulnerability Fuels True Impact
30-Day CHEW Challenge: Starting a New Habit Together
Using CHEW with SALVES- A Practical Tool for Real Heart Change
What’s Driving Me? The Heart Longings (SALVES) Behind Everything
Want More?
Get The Daily CHEW™ for practical encouragement every week.
Ready for deeper change? Learn how to make CHEWing a daily rhythm.
Questions or want to connect? Write [email protected].
With you in the journey,
Ryan
CHEW on God’s Love. Live Transformed. Multiply Hope.
Was this helpful?
