Category: Daily Leadership

Think First

Think first. Two words. Simple enough to say and so difficult to do. Think before we speak, before we write, and before we act.

We live in a reactionary world. We tend to react to situations. Life deals an unfair hand and we react. Someone speaks inappropriately and we react. Others take advantage of us and we react.

Leaders must learn how to act. If we can stop the reaction through our words and actions, then maybe the fallout can be prevented.

The only way to learn this lesson is to “think first.”

Discouragement and Distraction

Satan carries many tools in his arsenal, all designed to distract leaders from the great task before them.

Nothing seems more distracting than discouragement. Nehemiah would not allow any amount of discouragement, abuse, or intimidation to distract him from completing the work.

The devil seeks to discourage and distract us, attempting to cause us to give up.

Nehemiah noted, “We doing a great work and [we] cannot come down. Why should the work stop while [we] leave it and come down to you?” (Neh. 6:3)

Fight the urge! Stay the course! Do not be distracted! Do not give the devil opportunity!

The Difference

Think about restaurants from fast-food to high-end specialty. Consider educational institutions from community colleges to Ivy-league universities. There is a difference.

The same is true in leadership. We have seen it politically, corporately, educationally, and spiritually. There is a difference.

When it comes to spiritual leadership, are we making the difference? Have we allowed the mindset of complacency to hinder our leadership? Are we victims of apathy and indifference regarding our leadership?

Just as there is a difference in every other area of life, we can make a difference if we choose to do so. Let us provide the leadership needed today for a better tomorrow and eternity.

Strength and Courage

We all enjoy timeless nuggets of advice, snippets of information unaltered by time, generation, or culture. They are not always easy to find and can be often overlooked.

We find timeless advice given to Joshua, “Be strong and very courageous.” God emphasized strength and courage three times, but only once did He use the phrase “be strong and very courageous.”

The context has powerful implications in the realm of spiritual leadership, because God’s advice surrounded the strength and courage needed to follow His law.

How different would our world be if spiritual leaders today had the strength and courage to do the same?

Power of Leadership

Consider the power of leadership to alter eternity. The influence of godly leaders makes a difference in the eternal destination of everyone around them.

The driving motivation behind leadership directly relates to the lives changed. When we think about it more closely, the moment someone’s life is changed by our influence, we cannot help but experience change in our own life.

If we truly believe that eternity matters that much, then let us exercise the type of diligence necessary to influence every soul we meet. We might just alter eternity, theirs and ours.

Purpose

God needs spiritual leaders, and the need is critical. Several years ago, I heard this thought, “God is not about time. He is about purpose.”

Think about it. God is not bound by time as you and I. He created time within the span or space of eternity. However, God is bound by purpose, His purpose, and the purpose He set forth from eternity involves leadership.

Why do we need leaders? Because God demands and commands it. To fall short of the leadership development continuum within His church is to fall short of God’s purpose.

How will we prepare the next generation to lead and fulfill His purpose?

A Leader

Defining a leader varies depending on the person. However, among many that exist, one describes a leader as “a short length of wire by which a hook is attached to a fishing line.”

The design of this wire is tough to prevent fish from cutting it. In numerous places, this material is often made of steel, which adds to the thought.

Regardless of how one might define a leader today, we know a leader must be strong, able to withstand any challenge. It is not a matter of if, but when these challenges come.

Spiritual leaders need to remember that the strength for each challenge comes from God.

Self-Awareness

The ability to be self-aware and self-evaluate is easier said than done. The difficulty exists in recognizing the inward truths that often escape reality.

Marianne Williamson said, “Take stock of your thoughts and behavior. Each night ask yourself, when were you negative when you could have been positive? When did you withhold love when you might have given it? When did you play a neurotic game instead of behaving in a powerful way? Use this process to self-correct.”

When we ask the kind of questions that challenge painful answers, we find ways to improve the influence of our leadership and help others follow with confidence.

Changing Behavior

The challenge of changing one’s behavior involves areas that motivate each individual. As I learned in a conversation with a friend, “In order to change what people do, you have to change what people want.

Perhaps we need to consider what it is that people want: to feel loved, needed, wanted, and a sense of belong.

When leaders touch on these areas, people will follow with their actions.

If it looks like no one is motivated to follow your lead, then maybe you should evaluate what and how you appeal to their wants.

Excellence

One of the most compelling words associated with leadership is excellence. By definition, excellence refers to “the fact or state of excelling, superiority, eminence.” The concept is often identified as the pursuit of a place or position that is superior in nature to a previous one.

However, leaders are challenged to develop and identify excellence a bit differently in their leadership. Marcus Buckingham says, “Excellence has its own pattern, you have to learn and study it.”

To think of excellence as a position or destination falls short of recognizing the lifelong pursuit characterized by the passion to continually grow in excellence.