When Conviction Costs You Influence

I was with a CEO recently who was wrestling over a public statement. A controversial social issue had erupted in the news and his team was divided. His PR was coaching a safe, watered-down and neutral response to avoid offending customers. But his conviction was nudging him toward a hard, clarifying truth.

He looked at me and said, “If I say what I believe, I lose half my audience. If I say nothing, I lose my soul.”

At some point in leadership, you will have to choose between being liked and being faithful. And if no one has ever left your company, church or your group chat over something true you said, you are probably playing it too safe.

Conviction will cost you influence.

We live in an age where silence is safer than integrity. Speak up and you risk being labeled divisive. Stay quiet, and you slowly become complicit. Leaders today are caught between two gods: the God of truth and the god of approval. Only one of them was crucified.

The human brain is hardwired to seek acceptance which is why the fear of ostracism is such a powerful, primal motivator.  Modern systems of influence (social media algorithms, engagement metrics, personal brands) pour gasoline on this fear and create an economy of pure approval. In this economy, truth is a liability. That’s why most leaders never spend it. Conviction is leased for a weekend conference, then traded for relevance on Monday morning.

Jesus knew the cost.

In John 6, He preached a hard, non negotiable truth about the cost of following Him. “After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.” They left. The message was too costly.

A modern brand consultant would call this a failure of audience retention. But Jesus didn’t chase them down to appease them. He didn’t rebrand the message to make it easier. He turned to the few who remained and asked the most terrifying question in leadership: “Do you want to go away as well?” That’s what conviction sounds like: calm, costly and completely unshaken by the metrics of approval.

You don’t have to be rude to be right. But you do have to be willing to be misunderstood. We confuse influence with impact because influence feels good. It grows fast. It fills rooms. It wins awards. But impact costs something. It’s slower, heavier and rooted in obedience.

You can influence the world with your charm. You can only change it with your conviction.

The world measures success by visibility. Heaven measures it by obedience. One day, every leader will stand before God, not for the size of their platform, but for the stewardship of their truth. The applause of men fades fast. The approval of God echoes forever.

So go ahead. Say the hard thing. Hold the line. Lose the followers. Keep your soul. The only influence worth having is the kind that can survive eternity.