We need leaders with “Hustle.”

Recently I’ve been praying over H’s for leaders:

1. Humble

2. Holy

3. Honest

4. Hunger

5. Hustle

Let’s focus on “Hustle” today

When I think of “Hustle,” here are some other words/phrases that come to mind:

Pro-active, go-getter, passionate, enthusiastic, fizz in their Coke, gas in their tank, energy, excitement, wants to make things happen, not sitting around waiting for something to happen, fire in the belly, takes initiative, whole-hearted and leaving it all on the field.

I recently had a conversation with a person stepping into a “Sales” role with a relatively new company. We discussed what makes a good sales person? One of the characteristics which came up during our conversation was aggressiveness—hustle! 

We agreed that there is a difference between a sales person who is obnoxiously aggressive and one who is sensitively aggressive.

We have all had encounters with an obnoxiously aggressive sales representative—more than likely a car salesman. They have a reputation for being so. They seem to not really be interested in the person they are trying to sell something to, but only interested in closing the deal and making the sale.

On the other hand the sensitively aggressive sales person asks questions, tries  to honestly determine what you really need  and is even willing to not sell his service or product if he/she determines it’s not in your best interest to buy said product or service.

I believe that a Christian leader needs to be sensitively aggressive (good amount of hustle) but, obviously, not obnoxiously so. When we look for potential leaders, we want  a person with “Hustle” as I described above, not one who is passive with low energy, somewhat lethargic with no passion.

We’re not talking about personality, but about heart and motivation.

“But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.”~ Numbers 14:24 ESV.

“And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness.”“And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old. I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming . So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day.” ~  Joshua 14:10-12 ESV

I just turned 84 last week. Reading again that Caleb still had “Hustle” at 85 truly inspires and motivates me. He was sensitively aggressive for The Lord and His kingdom purposes. I believe we need more Caleb-leadership today!