True Leadership

What Every Young Leader Should Know

By: Jessica Eiswerth

L

eadership is a word that brings many different thoughts and questions to people’s minds. Some may question whether or not they are a leader and others may have never considered the possibility. The reality is that leadership is something that many people are often confused about. The dictionary defines leader as a “guiding or directing head.” But what most people want to know is what makes someone truly a great leader?                            

                       

          Common characteristics associated with effective leaders in general include: humble, integral, communicative, straight-forward, imaginative, inspiring, and competent. There are many other qualities that people would include in their definition of a good leader and though many of the characteristics mentioned above would be expected, it is a totally people-opinionated list. This is a big problem.  

          The only way to truly understand leadership and what makes a truly great leader is to ask the One who created it all. Leadership was God’s idea and how He defines it is perfect truth. If we really want to be effective leaders, we must look into God’s Word and seek to understand Biblical leadership.   

          Let me share with you some wisdom that I have gathered from various highly respected godly men in leadership who have impacted many lives, including mine. One of the first questions that I asked each of these men was: what is one characteristic that you believe every leader should possess? Each of them gave a different answer, but I agree that all leaders should have the following characteristics:

1. “A love for God. Really!! A real (Biblical) love for God. When a leader really knows and loves his God he will lead in God’s way. He will rule with righteousness and in the fear of God. And his people will be blessed!! (See 2 Samuel 23:3,4!)”

2. “It sounds cliché but humility/servant leadership. The best leaders are those who understand that their leadership is best expressed as they serve those they lead.”

3. “Empathy, always trying to be in the other person’s shoes.”  

          Although we can look at what kinds of qualities leaders should possess and better understand what leadership is, how do we know if we are leaders or if we are being called to leadership?

          Some people are what we call “born leaders,” they have strong personalities and a wide sphere of influence as a result. Often people watch and follow them blindly. Others are specifically called to leadership by the people around them and still others just think that they should be leaders and pursue leadership positions.                                     

          One of the leaders I interviewed stated this: “If you asked me what advice I would give to someone who thinks they should be a leader, I would tell them to make sure that “call” is confirmed by the people of God and then I would tell them to open themselves up to have that “call” really tested as they try out some leadership wings.”                                    

          As a young leader clearly called to leadership, I asked the men I interviewed what they thought the biggest challenge facing leaders today was and I got a few different responses. One man responded, “building the next generation of leaders.” This concept is mentioned throughout God’s Word, but it is best described as discipleship. Jesus commands us to make disciples in Matthew 28:19-20. This applies specifically to leadership in that in order to facilitate discipleship, we need a leader.          

          Another man responded to the question about the biggest challenge by saying, “for older leaders I think one of them is figuring out how to get connected to, empower and direct our current “cause” driven, short-term focused culture. For the younger leaders, I think one of the biggest challenges is picking a direction. They have passion and they have skills but the options are so many that they tend to get stuck in indecision mode or they are continually starting a new journey.” This serves as a good warning to young leaders to be aware of direction and to decide to make a commitment.                       

          A third response to my challenging question was, “The biggest? There are many big challenges leaders face today. I would not want to say there is a “biggest” – each leader will face a merry-go-round of challenges . . . For example: Personal integrity; Theological stability; Relational wisdom.” This statement addresses an important point in that if there was a classified “biggest” challenge for all leaders, then leadership would tend to focus on overcoming the “big” challenge and likely leaders would not be prepared to face the other challenges of leadership.                    

          Understanding that all leaders will have challenges helps us to understand that all leaders will make mistakes. What is one mistake that people witness leaders making more frequently than others? “Putting themselves first in decision making.” Pride is definitely a prominent issue that often comes out in leadership and all leaders have to make an effort to fight against it. “God calls and appoints leaders for the sake of his people and for his glory. Leaders should lead with strength and godly determination, but not for themselves.”

                                          

          Another common mistake is when leaders start “chasing trends and strategies rather than focusing on the people that they are leading or serving.” I can see this mistake being made everywhere and it is becoming more common as new trends and strategies are constantly developed. Most often caused by fear of failure, leaders are automatically drawn to new things, especially if their current strategy seems to be out-dated or ineffective. Leaders fear that they will lose their followers, so they follow the trends.   

          Both of the common mistakes mentioned above can fit as sub-points under one main mistake, and that is the failure to understand Biblical leadership. (See 2 Samuel 23:3,4 again). If you fail to understand Biblical leadership as described in 2 Samuel 23:3-4, you will continue to struggle and make the same mistakes over and over again and eventually become very worn out and discouraged as a leader, making you very ineffective. So basically, if you do not understand Biblical leadership, you are not a true leader.           

                                                   

          What do true leaders do to ensure they continue to grow and develop as leaders? All three of the godly men that I interviewed answered this question the same way, they all said the same three things:

1. Read God’s Word.

2. Read leadership books by quality authors.                            

3. Spend time with other growing leaders.

As a follow-up question I then asked which books these men recommended as quality resources to gain insight into becoming a better leader and I came up with the following list of books:

- The Bible: Studying the lives of King David, Jesus and Paul specifically.

- “Being Leaders” by Aubrey Malphurs

- “Spiritual Leadership” by J. Oswald Sanders

- “Good to Great” by Jim Collins

- “Feeding and Leading” by Kenneth O. Gangel

- “Help! I’m a Student Leader” by Doug Fields

- “How People Grow” by Henry Cloud and John Townsend

-  “Lead Like Jesus” by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges

- “Transforming Discipleship” by Greg Ogden

Now some people probably wonder why is leadership so important? I am going to quote one of the men I interviewed to answer this question, he said, “God calls and appoints leaders for the sake of his people and for his glory.” Leaders are part of God’s plan and they are put into their positions to ultimately bring Him glory and honour.

          So when I asked the leaders I interviewed about their most important decisions, they all said similar things. Pertaining to his leadership role as a senior pastor, one man said, “Of course there are many important decisions we make – but among the most important is leadership selection. This is critically true with staffing and the board, but it is also true in every area of ministry (small group leaders, SS teachers, youth leaders, etc.). The ones leading and mentoring future leaders need to  be people of spiritual reputation and be heading in the same direction with the same heart and passion.” This connects with what another pastor said in his answer, “I would say one of the most important decisions I make is who am I going to bring alongside me in leadership. All the best curriculum in the world doesn’t matter if you don’t have faithful growing people teaching it and discipling those they are leading.” That last statement definitely emphasizes the importance of true leaders.           

As a final question, I asked the leaders what advice they would give young leaders. One leader said, “Gather some key people around you who will mentor you through this time. Not only someone who will pat you on the back but someone who will push you.” Being a young leader, I know and recognize the importance of encouragement and constructive criticism. To be a leader, you must be willing to be a learner and learn not only from other leaders but you must also be open to learning from those you are leading. 

A final piece of advice was, “serve those that are entrusted to your care and be above reproach.” Part of being a true leader that follows the pattern of Biblical leadership is servanthood. When we focus on serving the people we are leading, we glorify God and put away our selfish pride.                    

      

In conclusion, true leadership is Biblical leadership where a servant leader fears God and rules justly as described in 2 Samuel 23:3-4 but also follows the example of Biblical leaders such as King David, Jesus and Paul and seeks to serve and lead his/her followers with integrity.  ■