Staff Writer - Audrey Linton
St Paul said follow me as I follow Jesus Christ. He was so confident about the one he was following that he was able to make such a bold statement.
I would like to ask some of you leaders a question – Are your people following you?
In many of my leadership seminars I often ask people to write down one or two words which describes what leadership means to them. Some of the feedback is as follows:
Visionary; Strategic thinker; good communicator; knowledgeable; inspirational; empathetic; leads by example.
All these are good examples and describes some of the qualities that good leaders need.
Much has been written about leaders and leadership and as I start exploring leadership capability over the next few weeks I want to give an overview of some biblical leadership principles.
In my opinion there is a difference between being a leader and being the boss.
The first thing any leader should know is that to be a leader you must have someone following you. I know we can lead ourselves and personal leadership is a topic that I will touch on in the future, but leaders lets get this straight if you have no one following you, then think again about whether you are leading. That doesn’t necessarily mean you need to manage people, but you are in a position to influence people.
Now you may class yourself as the ‘Boss’ which is fine – but being the ‘Boss’ conjures up many thoughts of ‘command and control’, ‘I say, you do’, or ‘I am in front, you are behind’. The type of comments I hear from employees who work for a ‘Boss’ is ‘I just come to work to do my job and then go home.’ Hmm, have you heard that lately?
One of the world's great leaders, Nelson Mandela
So lets take a look at one of my favourite Bible heroes , King David. He understood leadership and had the ability to get people to follow him. Let us look at six leadership attributes that made him stand out from the crowd:
Leaders spend time on the shop floor learning the ropes
Before David became King he was a shepherd boy. I am fascinated by the role of shepherds. The process of feeding, watering, grooming, shearing and bringing wandering sheep back to the fold was no easy task. Yet this young lad learnt key skills which would play a significant role in leading one of the super power nations of that time, Israel.
Leaders know where there source of influence comes from
At all times David knew his source of strength was in God. We hear it in his songs and poetry; we hear it in his challenge towards Goliath – ‘who is this unclean Philistine that should defy the armies of the living God’. David even used his former occupation to illustrate his dependence on God by writing – ‘The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not lack anything.’
A leader’s identity is not wrapped up in their occupation
David was multi-talented. Some of his skills were not revealed straightaway as he spent many years perfecting his craft in music, songwriting, leadership and strategist. However his identity was not wrapped up in his occupation or what he did. God anointed him as King when he was just a boy – it would take many years before he took his rightful place on the throne of Israel.
Leaders know their authority, but never usurp authority
Now I know this may be a tricky one for some of you up and coming leaders who feel your managers are getting in your way of progress. Or perhaps you are in a church that doesn’t recognise your skill set. David knew that he had to serve his apprenticeship, although he experienced toxic leadership from King Saul, he weathered the storm of abuse and humiliation in order to fulfil his birthright.
Leaders make mistakes
King David made lots of them! Yet God called him ‘a man after my own heart ‘– why? David knew how to say sorry when he got it wrong. He always sought after God’s heart and God never let him down.
Leaders develop champions
So you think you have problems in motivating your employees? Well David was able to take a motley band of discontented, down trodden and demotivated group of men and turn them into warriors. People who were willing to even die for their leader.
So leaders – are your followers following you?
