7 PORTRAITS OF A LEADER

1. A Teacher; a leader is to be reproductive


2. A Soldier; a leader is to be loyal


3. An Athlete; a leader is to be disciplined


4. A Farmer; a leader is to be a hard worker


5. A Worker; a leader is to be diligent


6. A Vessel; a leader is to be pure


7. A Servant; a leader is to be submissive


Source: John Maxwell, Maxwell Leadership Bible

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PRESENCE: WHAT ACTORS HAVE THAT LEADERS NEED

All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players,

They have their exits and their entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts . . .

(William Shakespeare, As You Like It)

Great actors have it. Great political leaders have it too. As do great business executives. Laurence Olivier. Meryl Streep. Marlon Brando. Katharine Hepburn. Martin Luther King, Jr. Eleanor Roosevelt. John F. Kennedy. Gandhi. Winston Churchill. Alfred P. Sloan. Oprah Winfrey.

But it's not limited to people in mighty positions. Your local pizza guy may have it. Your doctor may have it. Your daughter's piano teacher may have it too.

All these people -- well known or not -- are compelling individuals who attract your attention almost effortlessly. They have something, a magnetism that pulls others to them.

When they enter the room, the energy level rises. You perk up, stop what you're doing, and focus on them. You expect something interesting to happen. It's as though a spotlight shines on them.

What is it they have? They have presence.

In the eyes of most people, it's the ability to command the attention of others. Peter Brook, the eminent English stage director, expressed it this way:

One actor can stand motionless on the stage and rivet our attention while another does not interest us at all. What's the difference?

What other words, besides presence, come to mind when you think of these people? Here are the words we hear most often when we ask that question in our workshops: Inspiring. Motivating. Commanding. Energized. Credible. Focused. Confident. Compelling.

Kathy tells this story about working with an aspiring actor:

In the mid-1980s I played Hypatia in a production of George Bernard Shaw's Misalliance at the New Repertory Theatre. A young actor, playing a relatively minor role, had caught my attention in rehearsals but I was completely unprepared for what happened on opening night.

He stepped out on stage and simply seized the room. He was playing the part of the gunner who popped up out of a Turkish bath where he had been hiding. Without saying a word, he was absolutely hilarious. It felt like a full minute before he even opened his mouth and the audience was absolutely riveted by him and when he finally delivered his line there was another twenty-second round of laughter.

I remember the director, Larry Lane, commenting, "This guy really has what it takes to be a big success." It turns out Larry was right. The actor's name was Oliver Platt and he went on to make a name in films like Working Girl, Bulworth, and Indecent Proposal, as well as on television, including an Emmy-nominated role on The West Wing.

Presence doesn't have to be a billion-watt nuclear reactor. While some people, like Oliver Platt, can "fill" an entire room or auditorium, the presence of others may not be so large. But it's no less genuine, for these people may be great conversationalists, or they may lead great meetings. Even some actors who have great presence in an intimate medium like movies or television don't have that ability to fill an auditorium. And some great stage actors have trouble "pulling it back" for television or a movie.

Still, whether their presence is large or more intimate, they have it, and when you look at them, it may be with a pang of envy.

Does everyone want to be a billion-watt reactor? Most of us don't seek to be center of attention all the time. But when we join a group or enter a room, we want our arrival acknowledged. When we speak, we want others to listen. When we offer an opinion, we want it treated with respect. We want to be taken seriously. We want our existence to have weight and substance for others.

It's the same thing, just not writ quite so large. We all want presence because no one wants to be ignored.

What is presence?

A moment ago we said most people think of presence as the ability to command the attention of others. But "commanding attention" is only one outcome of presence, not its essence or even its most valuable outcome.

We prefer to think of presence in a different --and deeper -- way. For us, presence is the ability to connect authentically with the thoughts and feelings of others. Most people think you are born with presence, or without it, or that circumstances lead you, if you're lucky, to develop it at an early age. And if the right circumstances never quite align? Well, too bad.

Fortunately, that's not the case. Presence is the result of certain ongoing choices you make, actions you take or fail to take. In fact, presence is a set of skills, both internal and external, that virtually anyone can develop and improve.

However, when we say anyone can improve his or her presence, we don't mean it's an easy task. It requires you to give up habitual patterns of behavior that you maintain because they make you feel safe. Developing presence will require you to go places and do things that feel uncomfortable, at least initially. Given that hurdle, we're absolutely convinced anyone can develop his or her presence.

The premise of this book is that presence can be developed and you will be a more effective leader when you invest some time and energy toward that goal. Our purpose in writing it is to describe how anyone, including you, can increase your presence.

We know people can develop presence because we have been helping leaders do it for over a decade. Thousands of managers and leaders have gone through our workshops, or worked with us in one-on-one coaching, and improved their ability to connect with others.

More than just skin deep

Let's confront an assumption you may be making. This is not a book about simply making a better impression. It's not the behavioral counterpart of Dress for Success.

Presence includes these things, and anyone working to develop more presence will pay attention to them, because others pay attention to them, but true presence goes far beyond such superficialities.

Just because you've won the lead in a play or a leadership title at work doesn't mean you automatically hold any more sway over your audience or your people. It is your "performance," in both the theatrical and the organizational sense, that will grant you the authority the title or role implies. The presence you bring to your role -- how you show up, how you connect, how you speak, listen, act -- every move you make on the corporate or real stage, combine to create the impact you have.

Presence comes from within. It begins with an inner state, which leads to a series of external behaviors. Sure, you can put on the behaviors, but by themselves they'll lack something essential. They'll be hollow noise and nothing else. We've all heard politicians say, "I feel your pain," when we know they're simply saying what they think we want to hear. Compare that to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech, which obviously sprang from his deeply held beliefs and motivated a generation to overturn four hundred years of assumptions and behaviors.

Presence varies with each individual. In our workshops we never use a cookie-cutter approach; rather, we help each person discover his or her own unique presence in all its richness and variety.

Learning from theater

The second reason we know presence can be developed is that there exists a whole group of people who work diligently and successfully to develop it. That group of people is actors, and their success, even their livelihood, depends on presence. They must excite us when they step onstage, or they will fail. For the actor and performer, presence is not a happy accident of genetics or upbringing, it's the result of training and practice. We will draw heavily on the acting profession for concrete principles, practices, and stories about the development of presence.

At this point you may be thinking what can "serious" business leaders or teachers or politicians or government managers hope to learn from actors? Sure, they can learn how to speak better, to project their voices, to stand up straight. But actors play for a living. They pretend to be other people. What could they know about the "real" world that a lawyer or a Fortune 500 CEO doesn't?

Think about the last time you were really moved by an actor in a live theatrical performance, a movie, or even a television program. We mean really moved to feel something deeply, to understand something more completely, to think about something from a new perspective or even, perhaps, to change your mind about something. Now think about the last time you were truly moved in the same way by a presentation made by a leader in your organization. We're not saying moved to tears but moved to understand a different point of view, be excited about a new possibility, or be motivated to adapt and grow with changing times.

Of course the goal of the actor or the leader in these instances is the same -- to connect with you in some fundamental way. Unfortunately most people will say that this experience is much more rare at the office than it is at the movies.

Source: Kathy Lubar and Belle Linda Halpern | Superperformance.com

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ARE LEADERS BORN OR MADE?

There is a mystery about how leaders become leaders. Some people are born with all the right qualifications but don't make it. Others are born into very lowly positions and rise to lead millions.

It is hard not to conclude that there is no simple, one-size-fits-all path to leadership, but that leadership depends on a complex and mysterious mix of variables.

Here are 7 of those variables.

1. Traits. Most people agree that their leaders should demonstrate certain traits. It's just that not everyone can agree what they should be.

For example, when a symposium of corporate heads were asked for their top 10 leadership qualities, they suggested tenacity, passion, persuasiveness and confidence, but didn't mention the one quality of leadership that Walt Disney prized above all others, courage.

In another survey for Ajilon, 600 employees voted their top leadership quality as "leading by example", followed by ethics.

It seems that there are even variables within this variable.

2. Leadership Drives. David McClelland says that, to be a successful leader, you need spadefuls of the drive to power.

Even with all the qualities mentioned in (1) above, if your main drive at work is for affinity or achievement, rather than power, you won't make it to the top.

To be an effective leader, you actually have to want to be in charge of others.

3. Made or Born? There is an unresolved debate about whether leaders are born or made.

Some people argue that birth into certain environments pre-destines some of us to be leaders. This is the principle behind hereditary monarchies and business dynasties.

Others argue that merely being first-born creates leadership qualities of its own. All the following were first-born: Winston Churchill, William the Conqueror, George Washington, Alexander the Great, Joan of Arc, F.D.Roosevelt.

Of course, that could be a quirk of nature and doesn't account for mesmeric leaders who were not first-born, such as John F. Kennedy.

4. Education and Formative Experiences. When leaders of business are asked what formative experiences influenced them most to become leaders, many recall traumatic events in their childhood or youth that inspired them. Others took a more normal path by attending the most prestigious business schools.

On the other hand, education may only have a limited role in creating leaders. Thomas Neff and James Citrin found that of the top 10 business leaders in the USA, only 2 - Jack Welch of GEC and Lou Gerstner of IBM - had business degrees. The rest were educated in non-business subjects or, like Bill Gates of Microsoft, didn't complete their studies.

5. Experience or Competence? Nobody wants a leader who doesn't know what they're doing. The stories of incompetent generals in wars from the Crimea to World War One are legendary.

However, as Professor Fred Fiedler has discovered, experience and competence serve leaders in different ways.

Fiedler found that, in high-stress situations, leaders call upon experience before competence. In low-stress situations, it's the other way round, with intelligence being more valuable than experience.

6. Circumstances. History shows us again and again that certain people come to the fore when the circumstances are right.

Often these are people who were failed leaders, voices in the wilderness, or discarded men and women, like the Churchill of 1940.

Somehow, a moment arrives when the circumstances and the individual seem made for each other.

7. Followership. The final variable in the leadership mix is the willingness of people to accept their leader and follow him or her.

Soren Oberg calls this a leader's charismatic power. It has little to do with traditional power, such as status, connections and rewards and more to do with their visibility, their sexual attractiveness, and their ability to empathize with the needs of their followers.

One other key to charismatic power is the leader's ability to communicate with their followers in symbolic and mythical terms.

Trying to analyse leadership is a bit like dismantling a Stradivarius violin to see where its essence comes from. You spoil its beauty and are none the wiser.

Perhaps it's best to leave the last word to John McGregor: "Leadership is not a property of the individual but a complex relationship among all the variables."

Source: Eric Garner | Superperformance.com

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7 COMMON MISTAKES IN LEADING TEAMS

High performing teams have the potential to deliver great benefits for members, the leader, the organisation and external stakeholders such as customers.

Sadly, mistakes in leading teams can result in those benefits not being realised. So what are the most common mistakes you must avoid in leading teams?

Mistake 1: Setting vague goals

Teams need to know with absolute clarity, what they are trying to achieve. Vague goals result in teams lacking that clarity. If you want to avoid this, check if the goals that you set are both specific and capable of being measured.

Mistake 2: Imposing own ideas

One of the great benefits of teams is that they create more ideas, options and potential solutions than any one individual could. Successful team leaders recognise this and seek to leverage this range of expertise to achieve even better results.

Mistake 3: Ineffective decision making

While teams generate many ideas and options, the leader of the team needs to ensure that there are effective arrangements in place for taking decisions. Lack of decisions usually translates into lack of action and lack of action leads to limited results.

Mistake 4: Failing to secure resources

Teams, no matter how committed, cannot be expected to deliver unless they have the resources they need. As team leader, it is important that there is clarity about the resources that are essential and that these resources are obtained to get the desired results.

Mistake 5: Failing to address skills gaps

Teams are unlikely to have all of the skills needed all of the time. While this is natural, it is important that the team leader does not leave this area unresolved and makes sure that skills gaps are addressed.

Mistake 6: Failing to build relationships

Teams cannot operate in a vacuum. The leader has an important role in building the relationships within the wider organisation and with those stakeholders outside of the organisation who are essential to team success.

Mistake 7: Failing to set agreements

The role of the team leader is not to impose rules but to facilitate the setting of agreements that the whole team signs up to. These agreements could include areas like behaviours and how conflicts will be resolved.

Good leaders recognise the opportunity that teams present. So what mistakes can you fix to make you an even better team leader?

Source: Duncan Brodie | Superperformance.com

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THE 8 QUALITIES OF SUCCESSFUL LEADERS

Effective leadership is what determines whether a business achieves, struggles or falls by the wayside. There are reams of articles, books, programmes and audios available. For me, there are at least 8 qualities that successful leaders have.

1. Responsibility

The best leaders take responsibility for making things happen. We all know just how easy it is to blame external factors and we probably all have done this at some time. You know the scenario. If only accounts, purchasing, sales and marketing, customer services, etc would do this everything would be okay. We might even blame the economy, the weather or even the competition. If you want to excel as a leader take responsibility for making things happen.

2. Integrity

Your success depends on others following. People will only follow if they believe they can rely on you to demonstrate high standards, be open, honest and truthful with them. They also expect consistency. When you are consistent (no matter what your leadership style is) people know what to expect.

3. Decision takers

We all have fears and doubts when it comes to taking decisions. Will it be the right one, what happens if it goes wrong, how will I look or be perceived by others? These are just a few of the questions and dilemmas faced or going through their head. What sets successful leaders apart is their willingness to face fears and take decisions rather than procrastinate. They know that they will get their fair share of decisions wrong and will learn from them.

4. Deal with facts

Realism is essential if you are to be a successful leader. Realism is about facing up to whatever is going on, rather than expending energy wishing it was different. When faced with decisions, the best leaders will focus on the facts to determine what is realistic. Imagine you are faced with a poorly performing organisation. You might wish it could be fixed next month or next week, but the reality might be that it will take months and maybe years.

5. Vision and inspiration

The most successful leaders have the ability not just to create a vision but to communicate it in an inspiring way. They see the big picture and inspire others to work together to make it happen.

6. Optimism

There are some who are naturally pessimistic, while others are naturally optimistic. Successful leaders are part of the second group. They know that they cannot control every eventuality but they can control how they respond. They focus on solutions, not problems.

7. Resilient

No matter what you set out to as a leader, there will be set backs, disappointments and failures along the way. The most successful leaders are extremely resilient and when things do not work out as they hoped, they bounce back.

8. Excellence

Excellence in what they do is one of the defining qualities of successful leaders. They have a mindset of continuous improvement. They look for better, smarter ways of doing things. They are continual learners.

While leaders have numerous qualities, making a start on these 8 can get you off to a flying start.

Source: Duncan Brodie | Superperformance.com

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10 TIPS ON LEARNING TO LEAD

Leadership is an apprentice trade. In most apprentice trades, you learn about 20 percent in the classroom and from books. The rest, 80 percent, you learn on the job. Here are ten tips on how to do master your own apprenticeship.

Pick good role models. Pick out some great leaders to emulate. Then, when you're faced with a leadership problem, ask yourself how your role models would handle the situation.

Find a mentor or two or three. Mentors are people who provide wisdom and guidance. Mentors are the masters in your personal leadership apprentice program. A good mentor will enjoy helping you sort out your career and leadership challenges. You may have many mentors during your career.

Ask how you're doing. Good feedback is essential to efficient and effective growth. Ask your boss, your peers and the people who work for you how you're doing. Ask how you might do better.

Critique your own performance. Every time you take a significant leadership action, make sure you also do an after-action critique. Ask yourself what you wanted to accomplish, what you did, and how things came out. Decide what you'll do the same and differently next time.

Talk to other leaders. People who have been bosses for a while have had to deal with many leadership situations. Talk over your problems with them. Adapt their advice to your situation and your personal style.

Seek development opportunities. Development opportunities are assignments where you get to stretch yourself, learn new skills, gain new perspective and increase your visibility.

Take classes. Classes can give you new ideas or help you develop specific skills. Pick classes that give you solid take-away value. Sometimes you'll find that the take-away value lies in the relationships you establish or build with other class participants.

Read books. There are a lot of good ones out there, but there are a lot more that don't have much to say. Consider reading history and the biographies of leaders to see how they did things. Read business books for content or because "everybody" is reading it. If you're not getting value from a book, stop reading.

Have a plan. You don't need a super-detailed, step-by-step, three-binder-filling plan. But you do need an idea of the direction you want to go and what your development priorities are.

Review regularly. That means review your plan and review your development. I suggest taking a little time every week to review how you're doing and growing. Take a little time at least every month to check your plan make sure it's still want you need.

You are the person who will determine what kind of leader you become. You are the person who will set direction, gather feedback and make course corrections. You are the person who will choose books and courses that will help you grow, and try to line up assignments that will help improve your skills, perspective, relationships, and visibility. And, you are the person who will reap the rewards.

Source: Wally Bock | Three Star Leadership

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PRINCIPLES FOR GOOD LEADERSHIP

Be A Good Example

You must be a good example yourself first. You must be willing to do what you ask your people to do. Walk your talk. The greatest leader is also the greatest servant. A leader also needs to be passionate about something.

Create A Joint Vision

You give the vision birth and then let your team grow it. You must know your followers. The better you know your followers the more successful you will be as a leader. You need to know what drives them, what their dreams, hopes, aspirations, etc are.

Push Beyond Your Boundaries

If you are a leader you accept challenge. You break new ground. You are willing to take risks and fail, but you are smart about it. You need to know the strengths of your followers so you know how much risk they can handle. As a leader you know that obstacles will help you grow not hurt you. You learn from mistakes and successes and try to turn weaknesses into strengths.

You are not prideful because you will certainly fail if you are. A prideful leader is weak because he thinks he knows it all. You will never or rarely have breakthroughs if you think you know it all.

Enable And Build Other Leaders

One of the worst things you can do as a leader is to keep all the power to yourself. People want to feel they are making a difference in the organization and the world. You need to empower them by giving them responsibilities. You need to give your followers the tools to help them do the impossible.

Also don't let anarchy take over. You must have control; ideally you set up a system so your operation will go on without your constant direct involvement.

Inspire And Uplift

This is done through giving out praises. A common piece of advice is to praise in public and criticize in private. Your praise must be sincere.

Source: Know, Do, Be

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GREAT LEADERSHIP IS ABOUT BEING THE GREATEST SERVANT

You are a leader if you have followers. The difference between a leader and a manager is based on the reason people follow you. You are not a true leader if people follow you mainly because of your title or position. Managers get things done by telling people what to do and by giving orders. People follow good leaders because they want to not because they have to.

To Be A Leader You Must Influence Others

Selfless and charitable service is the best way to influence someone else. Honesty and integrity are two character traits that will increase your influence over others. You will have an almost impossible time gaining the loyalty of anyone if they think you will deceive them.

The author of the millionaire mind and millionaire next door reported that the millionaires he interviewed said honesty and integrity was central to business success. They said you can't be successful and don't deserve success if you are not honest.

Source: Know, Do, Be

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COLIN POWELL LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES

Summary: Colin Powell leadership is a very no nonsense approach to leadership, but at the same time very personable. He was a four star general and he did everything possible to break down his rank barriers to deal with the individual.

You Can't Make Everyone Happy

Colin Powell was not afraid to make people mad. Strong leaders intentionally do what they can to cause change. If you are worried about making everyone happy then action becomes difficult. Change is required to stay competitive.

Fearful people don't take initiative or responsibility. You have to shock them out of their complacency. Colin Powell believes in rewarding the best people and not coddling to the mediocre. People make the difference, not systems or plans or any other tool or strategy. Good people have the best ideas and are able to execute their plans.

Ideas Make A Big Difference

Ideas or lack of ideas can be the difference between success and failure. Any good military leader understands the importance taking serious the commander on the ground. The commander on the ground knows most about the current situation.

Communication is required for the effective sharing of ideas. Powell focused on equal communication with his subordinates. The goal is to build an open culture where people feel equal, where they are not intimidated by rank or title.

Manage Your Ego Properly

Leaders need a healthy ego or confidence. This idea is about change and innovation. It is always about learning new and better ways of doing things. If leaders are so cemented in their ways of doing things, they will not endure long-term.

Intentionally Push The Limit

High performers and great leaders have the attitude that if you have not been unequivocally told you can't do something and you think it will works then do it. Great leaders are not passive. Good leaders create an environment where people feel a duty and obligation to push the envelope.

Complacency Kills

Great leaders are militant about killing complacency. It is true that past successes build confidence. Past successes can also be your weakness. Success can cause delusion and arrogance. You can begin to think that your current success will never end or that it is impossible to fall. Always ask why you do the things you do, what you are doing right, wrong and what can be improved.

Challenge The Authorities

The authorities can be wrong and make ill-advised decisions and give bad advice. Every follower has a duty to challenge the leader when he believes the leader is wrong.

People Are The Key

Colin Powell places a high priority on people and gives them a lot of responsibility to solve their own problems. He believes everyone has an important job, and he also has high expectations of his people. He realizes that jobs sometimes become obsolete and will try and cross train people when that happens. He doesn't tolerate loafing. Some feel they can get into a position and coast until retirement. Colin expects everyone especially in high positions to be active. He will push the high position loafers out of their position to give way for younger and more eager individuals.

Colin understands there is a difference when picking people based on their resume and their character. Resume's are only a small part of it. He knows you can train most people to do any job skill. Training someone to have high levels of character is not so easy. Skill sets become obsolete.

Pay Attention To Details

Details help you determine the best course of action and implement it in the best possible way. Paying attention to details does not give you the permission to fall into the analysis paralysis syndrome.

Conclusion: The principles of Colin Powell leadership are people directed and results driven. He cares about people and he also expects performance.

Reference: The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell, by Oren Harari.

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ALL ABOUT INFLUENCING

Posted By: Mayor Timo

We all want the ability to impact people – make them like us, do things for us or even accept our beliefs and way of thinking. All this and so much can be achieve if we possess the right skill and understand what influencing is all about.

Yes, influencing is a skill! And people are more willing to agree with you, if they feel acknowledged, understood and appreciated. And may even end up doing something that, they wouldn’t previously have done because they feel good about making the choice.

Influencing is about understanding yourself and the effect or impact you have on others. On certain occasion, it can be one way, yet the primary relationship is two way, and it’s about changing how others perceive (i.e. see) you.

When influencing, perception is reality! Whatever goes well for you matters less – if it isn’t perceived so by others, then it doesn’t exist, other than in your mind.

You could be doing the most brilliant presentation you’ve ever created, but if you haven’t brought your ‘audience’ with you, the brilliance is wasted. You have to be able to see what’s going on for them!

Influencing can sometimes be looked at as the ability to maneuver. The other person isn’t pushed into seeing your view of the world, but is persuaded, often unconsciously, into understanding it.

Sometimes you can get so used to your own personal style or way of being or pattern of communicating, that you don’t think of how it’s being received, and you don’t think of behaving in any other way.

Influencing is about being able to move things forward, without pushing, forcing or telling others what to do. Thus, whatever your type of work, influencing others is about having the confidence and willingness to use yourself to make things happen.

Influencing people is also the ability to ‘work’ a dynamic, whether it’s a large group, one to one or over the phone. ‘Working’ they dynamic has to do with, using everything at your disposal, both verbal and non-verbal communication, to create the impact you want, rather than letting things just happen.

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SIX PROVEN LEADERSHIP LESSONS

By: Mayor Timo

Leadership is challenging. Part of the challenge is that leading well is not just something we do, but it is something we cultivate in others. To do so well means growing personally in how we lead and developing leadership in others.

Endure

Leadership is a great privilege and calling. God has called you to your position. With it comes great joy and responsibility. The challenges of any position are real and about much more than just the job. It comes with headaches, personal cost and sacrifices. Yet those difficulties are worth suffering to serve the Kingdom.

Invest

Leadership means investing in others for the work that is to be done. Look at your ministry and ask yourself in whom you are investing. Investment means much more than just developing a leadership team. You know Jesus had the many, the 12 and the inner circle of three.

Empower

Leaders don't own, they empower. Good leaders know the work of ministry is not their own but that of Jesus Christ. Leaders are called to steward the ministry and the people within it. Leadership is not about keeping power but about giving it away to others. More than delegating the work load, leaders who empower others willingly share the authority and responsibility, trusting others to do great things for the Kingdom and doing all they can to equip them to do so.

Applaud

When you hear of the success of others, do you feel jealous, or can you take joy in the success of others for the sake of the Kingdom? Secure leaders rejoice in the success of other leaders. In your own ministry, recruit and empower those more talented than you—and then celebrate the work they do. Honor other leaders.

Assess

Leaders should evaluate their own work and the work of others in ministry. This is very important and requires the honest assessment of yourself and others. Many leadership books can provide guidelines for ministry assessment, questions to ask and systems to use.

Fellowship

Leadership requires community. Find a group with whom you can meet, share, pray and rejoice. Finding a group of leaders—often separate from your own ministry—with whom you can honestly share and pray is a great gift and one worth pursuing.

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WITHOUT A TITLE

The following are four elements, considered to be crucial in the new model of leadership.

Great Leaders Need No Titles

There are two types of leadership. The most familiar kind comes with a title such as CEO or President. The second type is the power of each individual to drive positive change wherever they are. Everyone is influencing the people around them one way or another. Those who grasp this reality understand that their core beliefs will affect others. Thus, such beliefs must be intentionally considered and applied.

Turbulent Times Breed Great Leaders

We tend to run away from discomfort. But fighting against turbulence is like fighting against the seasons. Tough times are inevitable. Hence, those who embrace change brought on by difficult times grow stronger while operating with the understanding that adversity breeds opportunity.

Effective Leaders Build Relationships

It is of importance to connect with others, as deeper relationships lead to stronger leadership. For instance, if a company leader focuses only on having a great product but ignores the people delivering that product, the quality of the experience to the customer is usually less than excellent. It is imperative that we recognize our need for others in order to be successful.

The Lost Piece of the Leadership Puzzle

To become a great leader, one must first become a great person. You cannot lead others until you have first learned to lead yourself. Many individuals have become victims of their circumstances rather than overcoming them, which leads to an addiction to excuses.

All the same, it is crucial in life to learn from those who had demonstrated meaningful leadership skills and achievements, as well as emulate them!

Posted By: Mayor Timo

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POSITION OR POWER?

Posted By: Mayor Timo

“You think the people of this country exist to provide you with position. I think your position exists to provide those people with freedom” – William Wallace, Braveheart.

Is it Position or Power? Who is a leader? What is the focus of a healthy leadership? And what lessons can we learn from Jesus Christ, the greatest leader of leaders?

When the disciples asked Jesus for positions and titles, glory and recognition, authority and power, they showed that they completely misunderstood leadership. This prompted Jesus to explain to them, the heart of leadership: For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).

REAL LEADERSHIP IS INFLUENCE, NOT POSITION.

Some of history’s greatest leaders led without official positions or titles. Consider the following people:

- David had no crown or throne, only a harp and sling, yet the people followed him, not King Saul (2 Samuel 5:1-3).

- Nelson Mandela freed South Africa from Apartheid with no title and no position. While his body was wasting away in a prison cell for twenty-seven years, his ideas were taking down a seemingly invincible government.

- Ghandi had no title and no authority, yet despite being incarcerated four times, his influence crushed the British Empire and freed India.

- Ninoy Aquino was in a Philippine prison for seven years, then in exile; all the while, his influence brought an end to the Marcos regime, though he held no official position, authority, or title.

- William Wallace, not a royalty, led the Scotts in their fight for freedom from the English. His leadership lesson to the Scottish noble says it all: “Your title gives you claim to the throne of our country, but men don't follow titles, they follow courage.”

This confirms that, real leadership is influence with or without a title!

REAL LEADERSHIP IS SERVICE, NOT GLORY.

Jesus’ disciples didn’t want to serve people; they wanted to sit in glory. But real leadership is not about the leader getting a plaque, a statue, a standing ovation, or some kind of temporal glory. It’s all about service.

Servant leadership is what Jesus was trying to get his disciples to grasp (Mark 10:43-45).

“The measure of a man is not how many servants he has, but how many men he serves” - D.L. Moody.

REAL LEADERSHIP IS GUIDANCE, NOT AUTHORITY.

Authority over people — that is exactly how many people view leadership! Jesus went on to address this concept of authority disguised as leadership by saying: Not so with you. Whoever wants to become great must be your servant (Mark 10:43).

Leadership is more about guiding than demanding. Guides go first and set an example for others to follow. They do not push, pull, or drag. They simply lead. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45)

Only Jesus had a better description of leadership when he said: Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all (Mark 10:43, 44).

Should the people serve the leaders? Or, should the leaders serve the people? These are they questions we all must ask ourselves about our desires and motives for leadership.

By Landscape Media Ventures (LMV) with No comments

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