How to Unite a Divided People: 5 Keys to Leading in an Angry Era

So you’re leading a more divided group of people than you ever imagined. And you’re leading them in a very angry era.

Talk about complicated.

People have always been somewhat divided. But it’s never been this divided. And people have rarely been this angry.

The divisions have rarely been greater: Political, economic, racial, geographic, ideological, theological, and more.

The future doesn’t show any signs of uniting people automatically. In fact, left unattended, the divisions will likely only grow deeper and wider.

One of the key tasks of leadership is to unite people around a common cause. That’s what leaders do.

A divided culture needs a united church.

A divided nation needs a united people.

That’s the role leaders play. And my guess is, deep down, you wish your church, organization, or company was more united. And while leadership has always been hard, this particular moment makes it harder than ever.

So how do you do it?

Here are five keys to leading through division.

A divided culture needs a united church. Click To Tweet

1. Just Know You Won’t Win Them All

I wouldn’t have said this a few years ago, but I’m now at the point that—given the deep entrenchment some people have in their ideologies, views, and commitment to spewing hatred—that you won’t be able to reconcile everyone.

That doesn’t mean God can’t. It just means it’s more than likely that you won’t.

We’re in an angry, divided, spiteful moment as a people. And tragically, the people of God (or those who claim to be the people of God) are no exception.

That said, it isn’t the majority of the population or the people you lead who title militantly left or right. It’s a fraction of them. A loud fraction. An angry fraction. But a fraction.

The principles below will help most people but not all people.

In the end, as a leader, you have to be prepared to let toxic people go. A small but militant group is not open to anything, anyone, and will resist any view but their own.

They’ll leave, and you should let them go.

Once cancer leaves the body, the body gets healthier.

In the end, as a leader, you have to be prepared to let toxic people go. Once the cancer leaves the body, the body gets healthier.  Click To Tweet

If you think this is unChristian, I encourage you to re-read the Scriptures. It’s not.

The fact that you can’t win every battle doesn’t mean you’re not a leader. In fact, it’s proof that you’re leading. You’re offering to take them in a direction they don’t want to go. That’s leadership.

Don’t close your heart entirely to them, but be prepared that they’re probably going to leave. Reconcile yourself to that.

And keep your heart open to people. When you close your heart to all people, you close yourself to God.

The challenge in leadership is to see life as it really is and keep your heart fully engaged.

There are a lot of good people left. And a very good God. Keep your heart open for them.

And for them, the remaining four principles can help.

The challenge in leadership is to see life as it really is and keep your heart fully engaged.  Click To Tweet

2. Start with the core, not the crowd

One of the challenges of leading in the 21st century is everyone makes their opinion known—usually publicly and loudly.

As you scroll through your social media feed, you see person after person you lead posting memes, links, and opinions about what they think on any given issue. Your stomach sinks as you realize you’re trying to lead all of them in a common direction.

To make it more complicated, you have a bajillion inboxes and everyone can message you any time on social or via email to let you know exactly what they think. And they do.

Most of us feel a pull to try to unite everybody. Maybe a great social post, talk, or sermon will do it. Or writing a manifesto of some kind.

And of course, as soon as you say it out loud you realize that’s not going to work.

It’s really difficult to bring about unity from the fringes or in the crowd.

Instead, rather than trying to unite the crowd, start by uniting your core. You hear from the fringe, but you lead from the core.

Instead, rather than trying to unite the crowd, start by uniting your core. You hear from the fringe, but you lead from the core. Click To Tweet

The core of any organization is usually quite small. For me as a leader, that’s usually been my senior staff and my board.

No matter how large (or small) your organization is, unity at the top has a way of filtering through the entire organization.

The good news is uniting your core—which is usually no more than 10-12 people, is remarkably easier than trying to unite the crowd.

Using the principles below on your key team will not only help unite them, but the people you lead will sense the unity of mission and purpose.

Think about it in family terms. You can break up a fight between the kids for a few minutes, but if you and your spouse are constantly arguing, it makes it hard to bring peace to the home.

When you’re in a good place as a couple—on the same page, united, and you have each other’s backs—bringing peace in the family is so much easier.

United at the top, united at the bottom. Divided at the top, divided at the bottom.

Unity spreads. So does division.

United at the top, united at the bottom. Divided at the top, divided at the bottom. Unity spreads. So does division. Click To Tweet

3. Do the Math

So what about that crowd? You might have a united core, but what about everyone else?

Opponents fill your inbox and social media with angry messages, often writing in ALL CAPS because they’ve got it figured out (while you and the rest of the world don’t).

Those messages rattle me the same way they rattle you. I can get 100 kind messages and words of encouragement and one nasty message. For days, all I think about is the angry comment.

That’s why math is your best friend when it comes to navigating the future.

The opponents claim to speak for ‘everyone’ and they’re louder than anyone.

Which naturally leads you and me into the trap too many leaders fall into: You mistake loud for large.

Don’t mistake loud for large. Almost always, the angry voices represent a small part of the overall group you’re leading.

The opponents claim to speak for everyone and they're louder than anyone. Don't mistake loud for large. Click To Tweet

I’m not saying you don’t need to listen and learn, or that you’re always right and they’re always wrong. I am saying don’t let a minority of angry voices sabotage your future.

When it comes to change or charting the path forward, I am saying that generally speaking, human dynamics look something like this.

• 10% are opposed and loud (Opponents)
• 10% are audibly supportive and eager (Early Adopters)
• 30% are quietly supportive (Early Majority)
• 50% are quiet and neutral (Quiet Majority)

In other words, only 10% are typically opposed to the change you’re proposing.

Which means 90% aren’t.

While that percentage might be momentarily higher, it’s likely not nearly as high as you feel it is.

Take the math a step further. Let’s say you have 100 people in your church or organization and you live in a small town of 10,000.

The angry opponents represent 10% of the people you lead, but they’re only .001% of the community you’re trying to reach.

Are you seriously going to let .001% of your community hold the future hostage?  Are you going to sacrifice the 99.99% of people who will eventually embrace good change for the sake of the .001% who won’t?  Didn’t think so.

If you’re thinking that your community is completely different and way more divided, I’ve written a lot more about leading change in the face of opposition here. Hope it helps!

And there’s your courage.  Now go change.

Typically, 10% of people are opposed to the change you're proposing. Which means 90% aren't. Click To Tweet

4. Focus on what you agree on

A few further tips to deescalate the tension and build unity.

After all, there is so much that divides us right now. That stuff’s real. But...and don’t miss this.…there are far more things that unite us.

To lead effectively in a time of division, focus on what unites the people you lead, not on what divides them

To lead effectively in a time of division, focus on what unites the people you lead, not on what divides them. Click To Tweet

How do you do that? Well, start with some very basic things. At the core, we all have our common humanity.

We’re all people trying to do our best with fears, hopes, dreams, insecurities, needs, and people we love. That’s a LOT of common ground.

You also have your mission. I find the more I rally my current team around our mission to help people thrive in life and leadership, the closer our team gets and the more effective we become.

For decades as a pastor in the church, I rallied people around what we agreed on about Jesus, and our common mission to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus. That unites people who might typically not gather together under a very powerful core cause.

Want to break it down really simply? Instead of asking someone what they think about politics, ask them how their kids are—how they are, what they dream about, what they’re struggling with, what they need.

You’ll find far more common ground than you imagine.

Focusing on what unites you, not on what divides you, is not just a great way to build unity. It’s a great way to move into the future together.

Focusing on what unites you, not on what divides you, is not just a great way to build unity. It's a great way to move into the future together.  Click To Tweet

5. Explain the why twice as much (or 10x as much) as the what and the how

In good times and bad times, your job as a leader is to remind everyone why you’re doing this in the first place. Every day. Multiple times a day. Almost as often as you open your mouth or type into your phone.

I also realize that leadership can get so discouraging and functional that you need to remind yourself why.

Primarily, leadership consists of answering three questions: Why, what, and how.

What and how dominate unless you ensure they don’t.

• What are we going to do?
• How are we going to do it?
• How much is going to cost? 
• What about these other ideas?

It’s so easy to get trapped in tactical questions like this, and while they matter and ultimately have to be answered, questions like this surface multiple opinions and can easily lead to division unless handled skillfully.

That’s why why is your best friend.

Of the three main questions leaders deal with—why, what, and how—only why unites.

How and what divide, while why unites (we’re all here to reach people).

The challenge is that when things are fractious, people always want to talk about what and how.

That’s when the best thing you can do as a leader is to pull the conversation back and elevate it to the level of the mission.

That sounds something like:

• Let’s think for a few minutes about why we started the church. 
• Everyone take a minute and pray for someone you know and care about that we’re trying to reach. 
• One of the best things about this place is your deep commitment to Christ and reaching people.
• What’s one of the greatest things you hope God will do over these next few months?

In a business setting it sounds something like this:

• Let’s think for a few minutes about why we started this company. 
• Everyone take a minute and think about something you believe our company could help. 
• One of the best things about this place is your deep commitment to our values and mission.
• What’s one of the greatest things you hope we can do together over these next few months?

See the power of why?

A good rule is to talk about why twice as much as you do what and how.  In a crisis, you may want to double or triple that ratio. Or 10x it.

A good rule is to talk about why twice as much as you do what and how. In a crisis, you may want to double or triple that ratio. Or 10x it. Click To Tweet