By Brandy Miller
Leadership is a process where an individual maps out a vision, sets the direction for an assembled team and effectively manages the execution and accomplishment of the common goal. John C. Maxwell sums it up as: “A leader is one who knows the way, sees the way and goes the way.” A good leader should from time to time take inventory of his or her role and work on any aspect that is not in line with the office of a leader. Below are the requirements that make you stand out as a leader.
1) Don’t wait to be asked to serve
Every organization has plenty of people who wait for someone else to come along and fix their problems, fill their needs, and improve conditions. Leaders don’t wait for someone else. Leaders are that someone. They see the need and they look to see what they can do to fill it. They see the problem and look for how they can help to solve it. They see the conditions and they take steps to improve it.
2) Don’t be afraid to stand out
Leaders are not born to fit in, they are made to stand out. If you’re going to be a leader, you’re going to find yourself on the wrong side of public opinion many, many times. It’s human nature to want to fit in, but a real leader has to put aside that desire to be just like everyone else in order to be free to lead.
3) Take responsibility for your choices and the consequences that follow
Leaders know that choices have consequences. They know that they alone are in control of the choices they make. When you’re a leader, you have a lot of responsibility and a lot of people looking to you to show them the way. If you jump off the cliff, the people who follow you are going with you as well. Taking responsibility for the choices you make and for the consequences that follow may require you to pay a high price for those mistakes, but it will also help you not to make the same mistake more than once.
4) Never expect more from others than you demand of yourself
If you wouldn’t do the work yourself, don’t expect someone else to do it either. You can’t lead people somewhere you’ve never been, and you won’t understand the problems they face or be able to offer solutions unless you travel that path first.
5) Be an encourager
Encourage the people around you. Recognize their talents. Lift them up. Be the one that cheers them on when they are discouraged. Most of all, believe in them more than they believe in themselves. Help them to see the greatness that is possible within them so that they can live up to what you have set before them.
Conclusion: Leaders are Lovers
Leaders aren’t leaders because they are bossy and demanding or because they make up rules that require people to follow them. People gladly follow true leaders without a second thought because they know that leader will put their needs ahead of his own just as Christ did for us. The true leader inspires generosity by giving deeply of himself. The true leader inspires trust by being trustworthy. The true leader loves his neighbor as himself, and that’s what makes the difference.
