
Realize that their power is not their own.
“Anytime you use your influence to affect the thoughts and actions of others, you are engaging in leadership.”
Kenneth H. Blanchard, Author
Kenneth Blanchard has said it well. Using your influence to affect the thoughts and actions of others is the basic level of leadership. John Maxwell is famous for saying that leadership is influence. Yet every good leader recognizes that their power to lead does not come from themselves. It is given to them by the people and by God. Yes, that’s right, the people give you the power to lead. You may step out to lead and begin to influence others, but if the people do not appreciate you as a leader they will not give you the power you need to truly lead them. In that situation you may gain power by force, but that is not true leadership. That type of leadership will be more abuse than influence. Good leadership gains power to lead by inviting people to follow them and a vision greater than themselves.
Ultimately we must recognize that God is the designer of every person. It is he who puts leadership abilities in a person and gives them power to lead. The leadership that we enjoy is, in fact, a gift of God. The ability to influence others for a cause is empowered by God and so should be directed by God. When our heart is grateful for the gift of leadership in our lives then we are submissive to his leadership in our own life. I believe that the humble heart of a leader opens the heart of people to give us the power to lead them. So we may understand leadership in this sense; God gives us power to lead, but the people confirm this gift in us and then give us the power to lead them.
Have the foresight to see that leadership is not position.
“Leadership is not a position or a title, it is action and example.”
Donald McGannon, Broadcasting industry executive in its formative years
Position gives one a place, a platform, from which you may exercise your influence of others. When a public speaker stands on the platform it does not make him a public speaker. The platform assists the person speaking and the listening audience. There the speaker may be better seen and heard by the people. From the platform the speaker may better see the faces of those in the audience and his voice may better be carried outward even without the use of a microphone. The speaker who is a good communicator knows that the platform alone will not give him the authority needed to be admired and respected as a good public speaker.
So a leadership position is only an assistant to the leader to bring him recognition and understanding from the people that he is appointed by them to lead. However, one can lead without a position. In fact, action and example prepare us for positions of leadership. If someone is a leader, he or she will demonstrate this long before they are invited to take a position. Relationship is always the best platform to begin leadership. The platforms of position can never substitute honest and sincere relationships with people. People want to see how we live and perform off the platform before they will honor us with a physical platform.
Understand the purpose of leadership is to serve the good of those you lead.
“True leaders understand that leadership is not about them but about those they serve. It is not about exalting themselves but about lifting others up.”
Sheri L. Dew, President & CEO of Deseret Book Company
Sam J. Ervin, Jr., former U.S. senator
“A person who is worthy of being a leader wants power not for himself, but in order to be of service.”
It may seem like a paradox to use the phrase, “servant leader”. Many leadership books written guide the reader to self-awareness, self-promotion and self-projection. This however, is far too much focus on self and not enough on the people we lead. Leadership is granted to us by people as we serve them. The more we are willing to serve the needs of the people, the more leadership we will be granted by the people. Leaders are needed to point the way that is most beneficial for all the people. The heart of a leader is to lift up and empower people to do what is needed for the cause that the people agree on. People are looking for someone who will help them to move forward as one body and fulfill the vision that is in their own heart as well as the leader’s. The leader then always has his mind on the community, not only his own ambitions.
This brings us back to our understanding of the purpose of power. Power for a leader is granted for the purpose of serving the people and the greater good. The use of that power, when it comes from a servant heart, influences people to be better, to grow more, and to become leaders themselves. In the process the power of the leader helps us to fulfill the purpose of our group.
Appreciate that the development of other leaders is the greatest reward.
“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.”
Jack Welch, CEO of General Electric
Ralph Nader, American political activist, author, lecturer, lawyer,
“I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.”
One of the greatest rewards of leadership is to see a person become a strong, balanced and mature leader who has excelled beyond your own ability to lead. I cannot imagine not wanting to grow leaders. This should be in the heart of every good leader. If we are leaders, we will want to make more of our “kind”. As Jack Welch has said, that before you are a leader you want to grow yourself, but after you become a leader you want to grow others to become great leaders. Leadership development in any group or organization is best done by the direct initiative and involvement of the leadership in place. Just logically looking at the need for new leaders, we can see that new leaders will not be developed by the members of the group. Leaders multiply leaders.
Leader develop leaders by their personal investment in potential leaders’ lives. If you have not started your leadership from the premise of producing more leaders, then it’s time to make a leadership decision. Decide that you will begin to mentor and develop a leader. Begin with small steps. Invite one potential new leader to agree to be mentored and trained to be a strong leader. Make some commitments of time and accessibility to the person. Prepare a simple course of action for the training and begin doing it.
There is a side benefit of growing others and investing in their lives. The more you invest in growing leaders around you the greater your influence grows. When you give yourself to mentoring and training you are serving a person. That person’s heart is opened to you more than ever before. Your influence in their life is expanded. Not only in their life have you gained more influence, but in their sphere of influence and relationships. Grow one good leader and through him you will grow many more.
Believe that leadership is a life model of integrity.
“Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”
Apostle Paul, 1 Timothy 4:12
Leaders have many things to understand and consider as they want to grow and become even better leaders. There are skills to learn with people, management, program development, vision casting, etc. However, of all the elements of leadership to consider the character of a leader is most important. The inner person of the leader is the crucial element that determines the productivity and quality of the leader. When the Apostle Paul wrote to the young leader, Timothy, he pointed out that his example is what will give him credit among the people. He knew that Timothy would feel inadequate because of his age. He would not have the experience behind him to put people’s concerns about him at rest. He would have one strong factor in his life that would assure people they can trust him and follow him. They would give him credit and respect because of his integrity.
When you take away all the natural abilities in a leader; his oratory skills, charisma, intelligence, etc., what is left? The real person, the inner person, his way of speech, his love, his faith, his purity and sincerity is what remains. It is his character that will last. Character influences others. The heart of the leader is truly that. What is in his heart is what will determine how he leads and how much he leads. When leaders lack integrity it eventually is revealed. I am not speaking about weaknesses within a leader. No one is perfect not even leaders. Yet, when we have integrity we recognize our own weaknesses and are humble enough to invite others around us who are strong in those areas. These are not character flaws as much as weaknesses in our mental, emotional, or physical person. We should never excuse bad character as a leadership weakness. When a person is controlling, manipulative, self-focused or demonstrates other bad characteristics similar to these, it is reflection of a lack of integrity. When the leader uses his position for financial gain or to promote himself this is a lack of integrity.
Integrity for a leader is his greatest tool to gain and maintain his leadership of people. The people are always watching, but if we have integrity we live as though everyone is watching even if we are sure they are not. There are too many examples of leaders who lead out of the assumption that people should do what they say and not what they do. This is the antithesis of true leadership. Leadership demonstrates a way and then speaks about that way. People understand your vision and what you are aiming for more often by what you show them from your life.
What is in the heart will come out. The leader must take inventory of what is in his heart and set his mind to make the changes necessary to be a good leader. Or maybe it will be better to submit ourselves as leaders to God and let him do the work in us that is needed to bring about change that is effective and lasting. Besides, God looks on a man’s heart doesn’t he?