Everyone needs private space, but leaders realize their private lives shrink as their responsibility increases. This is a burden of leadership—but it is also a privilege. Leaders live in fishbowls. Good leaders understand this and use this transparency to their benefit and others’ good.

A friend of mine who runs a large company tells me he takes note of when he coughs during a meeting. Some would say he is obsessed. I would say he is a leader who comprehends the weight of leadership.

People are watching. They are looking for clues and indicators, anything that will help them feel secure, aware, confident, and informed.

Leadership is a privilege. It is a humbling honor to know people manage their lives by gauging theirs by yours.

Leaders cannot lead private lives in the same way the rest of us do. They are on display, whether they like it or not. Their lives are a barometer and field guide.

This means leaders must be deeply rooted in something greater than themselves.

Leaders who are selfish and self-centered, miscue. Leaders who are not anchored, drift. Leaders who believe their lives are private, behave irresponsibly. And the people who follow suffer.

But the leader who is anchored, the leader who is self-assured, and the leader who is self-aware has the opportunity to lead people well. Of course, this begs the question: Anchored to what? Self-assured about what? Self-aware in what way?

Scripture says about Believers that our souls are anchored in Christ. It says we are confident in Him. It declares that our identity is secure in His identity. These are fundamental truths for every follower of Christ.

Relating this to leadership, if a leader is organized and focused spiritually, then the foundation is laid to be transparent—deliberately; to put his life and leadership on the table for examination. Like Paul (and Jesus) say, “Imitate me.” Every one of us—including leaders—needs to be led in some way.

Leadership that begins with that transparency embraces the burden and beauty of leadership knowing that those who follow will do so with a sense of security.

We all imitate. Leaders have the opportunity to demonstrate what others will emulate.

Here is a transparent look into a leader’s life. He has gone to the trouble to write his experience down for our observation and imitation.