Faith and Leadership: The Winning Combination That Changed Everything For Me
- Feb 13
- 3 min read
By Erin Harrigan
Founder and Head Coach, Erin Harrigan LLC, https://erinharrigan.com
In my first business with a multi-level marketing company at the age of 42, I set out to build an empire that would free me from employee life and give my family more time. Four years into that business, with all the signs of outward success, I was reeling from emptiness, anxiety, and questioning why “success” didn’t look or feel like I’d been promised or taught.
One Moment of Grace That Changed My Path
Feeling lost and out of answers, I contacted a business mentor and shared with her that doing all the “right” work and achieving the “best” outcomes didn’t feel successful. She surprised me by saying, “You don’t know who you are or WHOSE you are. Do you have a relationship with Jesus?”
Exhausted from my self-reliance and working from my own strength, I listened to her share about this Savior who didn’t make me for hustle and grind. I decided that beautiful fall day, October 4, 2014, to surrender my life to Jesus, and that changed everything for me, my family, and my business. He eventually led me to teach other high-achieving women how to operate in business His way: fully open to His mission in the marketplace.
Merging Faith and Modern Leadership
John Maxwell says, “Everyone deserves to be led well,” and as a follower of Jesus, I know the only way to effectively lead is to follow His example and emulate how He worked. It’s the lesson He’s taught me time and time again, and it’s how I help my fellow high-achieving sisters in Christ to redefine hustle and navigate success with Jesus.
Still, I am a work in progress who sometimes relies on my own strength, wisdom, and knowledge to lead. Merging faith and modern leadership is making the daily decision to practice leading from a place of humility, service, and seeking the greatest good for all those I encounter through my business. I do this by seeking His leadership first before starting every day, every task, and every conversation.
I then take action in obedience and deference to Him.
In operating this way as a leader, those I lead know they are heard, understood, and valued, which inspires them to work with excellence in partnership with me.
How can we practice compassion in business?
One definition of compassion is “the showing of mercy or leniency towards others, especially by a leader or person of authority.”
Compassionate leaders stand on the truth and deliver it with grace, focused on the best outcome for all involved. It is compassionate to hold people to the stated expectations of a role or job, and to redirect them to work that’s best suited to their gifts and talents.
Compassion is standing beside people with encouragement in good and bad times, seeing them as image bearers of God, and helping them see and realize their greatest potential.
Today, compassion is often seen as a polarizing quality and even considered a weakness for a leader. I see it as an opportunity to show someone they are cared for, valued, and a necessary part of the greater plan God has for an organization and its impact on the world.
Where faith and leadership intersect is where we truly emulate the greatest leader ever known: Jesus. When we do, our work has the opportunity to change lives and legacies. In many ways, that means we have a part in healing the world through the business we do. That’s fulfilling, meaningful, and that’s the kind of work I am honored to do.
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