Leaders live in a tension between being transparent about their strengths and weaknesses and leading confidently. Should a senior pastor openly acknowledge panic attacks from the pulpit? Should a nonprofit CEO share about ongoing marital struggles with staff? Should a business executive admit feeling underqualified to lead a major initiative? These real-life dilemmas raise a critical question: how much is too much, and how little is not enough?
At Best Christian Workplaces, our research demonstrates the importance of leadership character and competence in workplace health and employee engagement. Inspirational Leadership is one of the eight Flourish Factors™ that correlate with a healthy workplace. An Inspirational Leader models humility and is open about their abilities and limitations. At the same time, capable leaders inspire confidence in their leadership by demonstrating competence through wise decision-making.
The balance of humility and confidence is built on the foundation of faith in Jesus, who has equipped and called us for our leadership roles. Yet navigating this tension is not always automatic. It requires wisdom, discernment, and intentional growth. The good news is that leaders don’t have to guess how to walk this line. Some guidelines can help leaders be both transparent and trustworthy, honest about their humanity, while inspiring others with Spirit-empowered confidence.
In the Proverbs, Solomon advises discernment in how much to share. Proverbs 29:11 says, “A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.” (ESV)
As you discern how to live out transparency in daily interactions in your workplace, consider spheres of relationships. Appropriate sharing with a close and trusted circle of people is different from personal sharing in a public setting. These four circles of connection are a helpful way to consider transparency:
God: Our first and most important place of transparency is with the Lord Himself. In our relationship with God, we are fully known and fully accepted. He already knows every thought and intention of our hearts, yet He still invites us to pour out our cares before Him. The Psalms are full of raw and unfiltered prayers—praise, anger, grief, and doubt all brought honestly before God. Leaders, too, are invited to this kind of full disclosure. When we bring our weaknesses, fears, and failures to Him, we find not condemnation but grace and strength. The more we practice complete honesty with God, the more we open ourselves to His healing and redeeming work, allowing Him to use even our brokenness for His glory.
Trusted Mentors and Advisors: While God is our ultimate source for transparency, He also provides trusted people to walk closely with us. Every leader must have a small circle of spiritually mature mentors, advisors, or friends who both know them well and recognize God’s hand on their life—just as Paul saw the call of God in Timothy and nurtured him into maturity. These are relationships that are marked by deep trust and intentional investment.
In this circle, vulnerability is both safe and necessary. Trusted mentors can ask the questions others cannot, speak truth when you are tempted to believe lies, and remind you of God’s calling when doubts arise. They see not only who you are today but also who God is shaping you to become. Leaders who cultivate these kinds of transparent relationships are far more likely to endure and flourish in the long haul of leadership.
To make these connections effective, you must go beyond surface-level updates and allow yourself to be fully known—the fears, the failures, and the blind spots. Vulnerability here is not a form of weakness, but rather, an intentional act of faith that builds resilience, accountability, and strength for the journey.
Workplace Team Members: Leadership is never a solo endeavor. For senior leaders, your “first team” is your peers on the executive team. Patrick Lencioni reminds us that these relationships require clarity, candor, and trust. When you bring your strengths and weaknesses to this circle, you create an environment where collaboration can flourish, and silos break down. In this context, transparency strengthens unity and alignment around shared goals.
At the same time, you may lead a team of your own, and your level of transparency sets the culture for that group. When you are appropriately open, sharing not only successes but also challenges, you model authenticity and foster an atmosphere of trust. Yet, at the same time, discernment is vital. Leaders should never make their team carry the weight of personal struggles that distract from the mission. Instead, the goal is to humanize leadership in a way that builds trust, while keeping the focus on the shared vision.
Public: The broadest circle of transparency requires the greatest discernment. Not every detail of our personal lives belongs in a sermon, a company-wide email, or a social media post. Leaders must ask: Why am I sharing this? Does it build others up, point them toward hope, or advance the mission—or is it more about relieving my own burden?
Wise public transparency can be a gift to those you lead. Recently, my family moved from Washington State to Texas, where we planted ourselves in a new church. The church had just installed a new senior pastor, and during one of his first sermons, he chose to share a piece of his story about having panic attacks for a season. He didn’t overexpose or dwell on the details, but he shared just enough for his new congregation to know that he was human. That he, too, had struggles, and was still standing before us with strength and courage.
That kind of sharing builds trust. It communicates that the leader is not above the people but among them—walking by faith, depending on God’s strength, and modeling resilience. Public transparency, when practiced with integrity and discernment, allows leaders to normalize struggle while pointing people to hope.
In Scripture, we see more examples of leaders who led confidently and also displayed transparency. King David led boldly and also wrote psalms that express deep lament. The Apostle Paul recited his qualifications for leadership and also talked about his weaknesses and the need to rely on Christ for strength.
On the night he was betrayed, Jesus showed great vulnerability with his closest circle of disciples as he prayed in the garden of Gethsemane and asked the others to stay awake with him in prayer. Then, when the soldiers came to arrest him, he presented himself boldly.
Discerning the practice of transparency is an ongoing process as a leader.
When you are confident enough to admit what you know and what you don’t know, then you invite others on your team to work together to provide additional information and solve problems. This kind of transparency is healthy and bonds your team over shared goals.
In all situations, leaders who are rooted in Christ continually rely on the Holy Spirit as they discern how to lead, how to be vulnerable, and how much to share.
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