Hallmarks of Effective Leadership II
We are all leaders in one way or another. We are either leading ourselves in the pursuit of our goals and dreams or leaders in our homes, workplaces, churches or communities.
Leadership requires courage.
Every leader must be courageous. Someone has said that courage is not the absence of fear but the mastery of fear; the ability to act in spite of the fear. In 1519, Hernan Conte arrived in the New World with 600 men and upon arrival made history by burning his ships. This sent a clear message to his men: there’s no turning back. A leader must be courageous, the two cannot be separated.
The thread of courage in leadership stats from the Old Testament right through to the New Testament. Gideon who was hiding from the Midianites was surprisingly addressed by the angel as a mighty man of valour. Joshua was commanded to be strong and courageous. In the life of David, we see his courage, in the face of the threats from Goliath. Jeremiah was entreated not to be afraid. Timothy was reminded that God had not given him a spirit of timidity but of love, courage and a sound mind (1 Timothy 1:7).
A Leader must be sensitive.
This was shown in the ministry of Jesus when he fed the 5,000 who came to listen to him one day (Matthew 14:13 – 21). This was because they had been with him the whole day and they were hungry.
As a leader, you must be sensitive to the needs and peculiarities of the people in your organization or group. This requires being sensitive to their God-given uniqueness and how this affects the way they behave.
Good leaders must understand that besides your followers helping you achieve your vision, they also have aspirations of their own. As such, you must be genuinely interested in their welfare and dreams. You must feed their personal development.
A leader must set a good example.
The life of the leader must be worthy of emulation. Example is always better than precept and there is no better way to teach those you are leading than to exemplify it in your own lifestyle. Paul told those he was leading to imitate him as he imitated Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1).
A leader must love.
Love is at the heart of service, sensitivity, commitment and sacrifice. When leadership of service, sacrifice, commitment and sensitivity is undergirded by love, it becomes a sweet- smelling fragrance to the Lord.
Comments (5)
A leader must love !!!!!
Great piece.
Thank you.
You are welcome
Yes Susie,
Good you are including me in this assignment.
Leadership principle (first in order of importance) includes;
Integrity. It is said to be the integration of outward actions and inner values. A person of intergrity is the same on the outside and on the inside. Such leaders can be trusted because he or she never veers from inner values. (even it might be an expedition to do so)
A leader must have the trust of followers and therefore must display integrity. Integrity means honesty and more. With integrity, we treat others as we would wish to be treated. That is having strong internal guiding principles that one does not compromise.
Integrity actually promotes trust as we should understand that much cannot be accomplished without trust. It goes with:
Honest dealings
Predictable reactions
Well controlled emotions
An absence of trantrums and harsh outbursts.
Every leader who is centered in integrity will be more approachable.
Humility:
In good leadership, every individual leader recognizes that they are not better or worse than other members of the team. A humble leader is not self-effacing (trying to make yourself noticeable or to get attention of others) but rather tries to elevate everyone. Leaders with humility also understand that their status doesn’t make them better or smarter.
Persuasion
The ability to influence others and cause them to move in a particular direction is a highly important skill in leadership. Good leaders often are able to persuade or influence others to do something they might not have done without the leader’s persuasion.