Leadership & Personal Growth

What comes to your mind when you think of leadership?  There are many definitions of leadership out there.  My favorite definition of leadership is from a man who has been a big influence in my life through his conferences, books, videos, blogs, etc.  That man is John Maxwell, and his definition of leadership is very simple.

Leadership is influence.

The reason that I like that definition is that it makes everyone a leader because everyone has influence.  The only difference is that great leaders have a lot of influence and lesser leaders have less influence.  Leaders are both born as well as made.  Since we are all leaders and we obviously were born, that just leaves the made part.  All leaders can become better leaders because we can improve our level of influence.

As we look down through history to the present day, there have been a lot of great leaders, but one stands out.  Jesus was the ultimate leader.  He was God in human flesh, one hundred percent God (Deity) and one hundred percent man (Humanity).  That is hard to comprehend but it is biblically true.  Jesus really is a model for us to follow as leaders.  One of the amazing things about Jesus’ leadership was that he was a great follower.   We read over and over in scripture that Jesus went out sometimes in the morning and sometimes in the evening to communicate with the Father.  Matthew 14:23 is an example of Jesus going away by himself to pray.  He did what his Father asked him to do.

He followed and was obedient. 

This is one of the greatest keys for all leaders.  You have to be able to discipline and lead yourself.  Without this, you can never really advance as a leader.  Jesus was a great model for us.  Self discipline is essential to our growth as a leader. 

A final thought to this blog.  Successful leaders simply do the things that unsuccessful leaders refuse to do.  The secret to your success or failure as a leader can be found in what you do daily. 

A question for you to think about.  What does my daily routine look like as I try to develop as a Christ-like leader?

Let me know what you think.