Context is an underestimated aspect of gaining insight. A simple example of this would be fashion trends. I loved my Z Cavaricci pants, baggy basketball shorts, and IOU sweatshirts growing up in the late 80s and 90s. If I wore any of those items today, I'd catch some weird looks. In light of this, salt has gotten a bad rap recently. The advent of the word 'salty' to describe someone that is bitter, disappointed, and jealous is pretty comical to me. It's done an injustice to the actual value of salt.
In past historical contexts, salt was considered critical to everyday life. Salt was used for essential processes. Having and using salt was non-negotiable. Salt was the primary way that many food items were preserved. It was used to heal wounds. Salt was also the only way to enhance the taste of most meals. The advances in the medical and food industries have made the first two uses almost obsolete.
BUT...
All three uses of salt (preserve, heal, enhance) are effects a leader should aspire to have on others. Regardless of your opinion of the Bible, it's hard to ignore its historical significance. Much of that significance is tied up in the fact there is so much great wisdom in it. The Gospel of Matthew tells us that Jesus challenged his followers to be a salty influence.
'You are the salt of the earth...' Matthew 5:16
Any leader should take to heart the benefits of being a salty influence. Here are a couple of ways that a leader can have a preserving, healing, and enhancing effect on their people:
Submit - A great way to preserve people is to submit to serving them. A quick Google search will uncover that the word preserve is associated with concepts like maintain, uphold, prolong, and continue in a particular state. Continuity needs to be a more valued leadership trait. Jim Collins, in his best-seller, 'Good to Great' , describes the importance of leaders doing the same thing, day in and day out. Leadership research continues to pour in, describing the leader as the key factor to whether or not people stay put. If a leader wants to have natural 'preserving' influence, then submitting to serving the people that you are leading is vital to salty influence. People will keep on keeping on if they are working for a leader that is working for them.
Sense - A leader who wishes to have a healing effect on their people must sense when their people are vulnerable. Modern leadership is complicated. So much so that Dr. Sam Chand, in his book Leadership Pain, describes leadership as brutiful. A big part of the complications of leadership is how easily a leader can be distracted from the humanity of what is happening around them. Suppose a leader is too busy to celebrate the birthdays of their people, attend their weddings, and give a hug during funerals. In that case, a leader is missing opportunities to have a healing effect on their people. Leaders must keep their radar on so they can sense when life is happening to their people and take the time to have a healing effect on them.
Sacrifice - The enhancing effect of salt on food is incredible. A bland dish becomes an irresistible dish by just sprinkling some salt on it. Leaders who wish to bring the greatness of their people out into the open need to inspire people. How does a leader inspire people? There are a lot of ways, but one of the least used ways is sacrificing for them. I wrote about the leader's sacrifice here. A leader's sacrifice has a way of inspiring people to go far beyond what they felt was their initial capacity. Consider Nelson Mandela. He extended his stay in prison multiple times despite offers for release because governmental powers had not yet made all of the concessions that he believed would bring healing to the people of South Africa. What an incredible sacrifice. As a result, an entire nation was inspired to make massive shifts in policies and perspectives on their people. It is unlikely that the leaders reading this will have to make a sacrifice like Nelson Mandela. But most leaders will have to sacrifice an extra 15 minutes after a meeting to have a heartfelt conversation, give up the emotional energy to resolve conflicts, or another night out to assist in finishing up a project. It will likely be the small sacrifices that, just like salt, bring out the best in the people around the leader.
I encourage leaders to be salty about their role and influence. Not the bitter, disappointed, jealous type of salty that is often described in today's context but rather the healing, preserving, enhancing type of influence that can benefit many.
‘Bite Down and Don’t Let Go’ is a collection of writings on being intentional about life in a way that produces great persistence. Read about it more here.
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