My first baseball tryout was in second grade when we moved to a new city. I knew nobody, and nobody knew me, including the coaches. So, there I was as a 7-year-old kid surrounded by strangers doing the best I can in a baseball tryout. I can still hear the coaches yelling at me, “Hustle, Railey!”

The thing was, I didn’t know what the word hustle meant! Hustle was in my heart. I loved to play baseball, and I wanted to do my best. But no one ever taught me how to get into a higher gear of movement and motivation. We want the people we lead to take it to another level or go to a higher gear, but we haven’t taught them how and what it should look like.

One of the things I’ve observed in church leadership is the approach to work that some have. Too often, I’ve seen leaders with a passive nature struggle to make improvements, motivate people, and grow personally and professionally. Corporations don’t tolerate a lack of hustle, and neither should the church.

I think when it comes to ministry, we need a hustle mindset that keeps us in the game. Some call it being driven, ambitious or having a Type A personality, but I think despite the unique gifting they may have, every leader needs a spirit of hustle to them. Maybe it’s a better work ethic, or discipline, or an ability to follow through and get things done.

From the Heart to the How 

I think a lot of leaders — especially younger leaders, whom we want and need on our team — have hustle in their hearts but not in their work because no one has shown them how. They lack that experience where they learn personally what it means to push through on a project to the end. They haven’t been challenged to stick with something until they get the satisfaction of a job well done. Instead of berating them for it, we need to take the lead and show them how.

The bottom line is, we can’t ask people to do what we don’t or won’t do ourselves. That doesn’t always mean we hustle in the same areas, but we should hustle in the same ways.

I can tell each of my three sons to clean their rooms, and they will have three different definitions of what “clean” looks like — none of which are my definition of clean. They may have a hustle in their hearts, but it’s up to me to get them to the how. If I show them what clean should look like, then I can trust them to get the job done.

I hustle with all that God has given me so that one day I might hear those words: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

As leaders, we need to take the same approach with those we lead. I like to think in terms of three main areas for fostering leadership hustle on your team: model, mentor and measure.

First, we have to model the hustle we want to see in others. We need to show them how to take the hustle from their hearts and put it into action each day. That means showing up on time, ready to go, and prepared for each meeting or service.

Next, we need to mentor our staff. Give them opportunities to show hustle, give them space to make mistakes, and give them direction when they fail. And then measure their hustle. If we only give direction without feedback, we aren’t really leading. Don’t discount the power of circling back when the job is done.

Good and Faithful

Jesus was consistent about modeling, mentoring and measuring hustle. And in Matthew 25, He gave us a parable that illustrates it perfectly. He told a story about a ruler who went on a long trip and left three of his servants in charge of his estate:

“To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money” (verses 15-18).

The three servants weren’t all expected to produce the same results, but they were all expected to hustle. They had been given something, and so have we. We all have time, talent and treasure as a grace of God. The amount we have is up to God. But what we do with it is up to us.

The first two servants took the hustle in their hearts and got to work. They were able to make something of their master’s portion entrusted to them. And their master was very happy. “Well done, good and faithful servant!” he told them. “You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”

Unfortunately, the last servant, who had been given the least, did nothing with it. He buried it. He might have had hustle in his heart, but his work never showed it. And his master was not pleased.

I don’t have to tell you which example I want to follow. Each day I hustle with all that God has given me so that one day I might hear those words: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

I want to spend time with others who hustle to get a better picture of what it looks like. I want to gain the balance of hustling without killing myself. And I want to learn the importance of hustling for what matters, like my family and my legacy.