There is one reason I trust God's leadership in my life: "I will never leave you nor forsake you" Joshua 1:5. That one verse says it all to me. I trust God because I know that he will be there. I think this is an extremely important point for leaders to understand. The people you lead need to know you're going to be there.
A good friend recently told me that he expected this to his last year at his current organization. I was immediately worried for him and his leadership. When you've got one foot out the door, your team members, co-workers, employees and colleagues can sense it. Most importantly, those that you lead won't trust you. They feel like you've already left. It's very difficult to lead if you're thinking about being somewhere else in 6 months, a year or even five years. I'm thinking five to ten years down the road all the time as I lead my church. I have to. I have to make decisions believing that I'll have to live with them for the next decade, not that they'll be somebody else's mess to clean up.
Now, this isn't to say you never move or that God doesn't call us elsewhere. It's more that if you're feeling led away as a leader, go ahead and scratch that itch. Leaders can do irreparable damage to an organization when they lead as lame ducks for a year or two. I fully believe that God calls us to different places for different seasons of our lives. However, I also fully believe it's best to operate assuming you're going to retire at that location or in that organization. If God calls, you go. But don't lead with a foot out the door. You'll only damage the organization and your legacy.
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