You will find some keys in here that will be extremely useful and if put into practice give you great success – of course these principals are based from the Word of God and are His keys to success (mainly taken from Proverbs – King Solomon).
Ok before I get sidetracked and off what I wanted to speak about – which is “leadership skills!” Where do I start??
You have and manage a team of staff and keeping everyone happy and working effectively is a skill and task in itself, but I have noticed you get angry very quickly and that’s when you react in the wrong way!!
1/ First key to success – be slow to anger Prov 14:29, 15:1, 18, 16:32, James 1:19, Eph 4:26-27. This of course is an extremely hard thing to do and takes practice! Anger is one of those emotions that just explode forth uncontrollably sometimes but it’s those moments of anger that words are spoken that can never be taken back and can cause irreversible damage! Anger in itself is not a negative emotion – used correctly can be a very effective tool to move us in the right direction but used wrongly is extremely destructive!
Ok I love the “how to” – how do I be slow to anger? Take a step back, hold your tongue, take a breather, go for a walk or drive, count to 100 if you have to, think first about what you want to say – but most importantly ask the Holy Spirit to help you!!!
2/ Correct in love (1 Cor 13 – the love chapter). Second key – nothing absolutely nothing will work outside of love. Let me repeat NOTHING will bear fruit or be effective outside the parameters of LOVE!!! Faith cannot work where there is no love and when these 2 go – fear moves in… ok let me explain… yes of course there will be times when you need to correct someone or even discipline them (as a parent you already know this principal!) but if you do not do it in love you will only stir up strife, anger and contention! Give careful thought and consideration and ask God for wisdom in how to correct that particular person (as we are all different). Never correct harshly in a demeaning, belittling, condescending, demoralizing, disrespectful way! God never treats us this way – He hates the sin but loves the sinner – in other words He hates what we do wrong and has to correct, discipline and even allow consequences (Heb 12:6) because of those things but He never diminishes or devalues the worth and value of that person! I love this verse Ps 49:8-9 LB “For a soul is far too precious to be ransomed by mere earthly wealth. There is not enough of it in all the earth to buy eternal life for just one soul…” wow how valuable is that?? When you attack a person’s character and worth you are devaluing that person, instead of correcting the thing they have done wrong! When we can see the way God values and esteems even the lowest of us, we will never treat a person with disrespect (also a hard one… when it’s someone we don’t like!!!).
A key verse for me has always been (and one I have tried hard to live by as it’s foundational… but hey I’m no where near perfect and get it wrong many times!) “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” Matt 7:12 – my paraphrase “treat others the way you would like to be treated!” Hey I could write a book just on that ha ha…. to put it very simply… what Jesus was actually saying “treat others well – not only for their benefit but for your own benefit too”… i.e. “what you sow, that and that only is what you will reap” Gal 6:7 – this is called the law of reciprocity… “what you give out is what you get back”. Einstein but it this way “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” So in other words be very careful how you correct a person as it will be the same way in which you will be corrected – whew quite a sobering thought???
3/ Concentrate on a person’s strengths – not on their weaknesses! Phil 4:8. Hey this works in all relationships! If you are constantly dwelling on a person’s weaknesses and faults you will become critical and judgmental all the time (and again remember what I have just said…) “Do not judge and criticize and condemn others, so that you may not be judged and criticized and condemned yourself… and in accordance with the measure you [use to] deal out to others, it will be dealt out again to you.” Matt 7:1
4/ Concentrating on a person’s strengths flows directly into this next point: - Encouragement. When you see and discern an area where that person does well in and then encourage them further by telling them that, it will be like pouring liquid fertilizer onto a pot plant, they will flourish, blossom and excel – the opposite is also true, to keep constantly criticizing and condemning a person is like pouring acid onto a plant! Prov 18:21. They will become bitter, scornful and unproductive. “Encouragement is the difference between giving up or going on!”
5/ Delegation: - all great leaders have learnt the art and skill of delegation. Moses being a great example, leading over 2 million people… he became exhausted and fraught with frustration and near collapse until his father-in-law showed him how to delegate. Dr. Paul Yonggi Cho is another good example – he runs the largest church in the world, in Seoul, Korea with over 1 million members! He too became so exhausted and would collapse while preaching until God showed him how to delegate! Hey I would love to add my very own Apostle Colin Nyathi, who runs over 120 churches (and is aiming for 150 this year) world wide – could not possibly manage or cope without the skillful art of delegation. The saying “if you want anything done properly… then do it yourself” I believe is erroneous… no it should be “if you want anything done properly… then teach and train someone how to do it properly.” Pride is the issue here, saying that no-one can do it better than you and not allowing the other person the freedom to try and learn to do it as good as you! No the bible teaches that we are to prefer the other person over ourselves and to celebrate them when they have success too! In actual fact, the truth is when they excel and do well it’s a reflection of your good leadership. Michael Armstrong put it this way “Autonomy – this is giving people the freedom they need to do their job most effectively. The right blend has to be achieved between autonomy and control.”
6/ Consistency: - remaining the same, consistent and constant, even in the midst of trails, persecution, troubles and afflictions! 1 Pet 5:8-9; 2 Tim 4:5. Hey this is also an extremely hard one!!! Keeping a balance and being stable and not being a yoyo – up and down according to your circumstances (e.g. house built on a rock not sand). Now I remember a quote from Kenneth Copeland “Consistency is the place where the power is manifested.” Patient endurance (James 1:1-2, 4:10; 1 Pet 5:6) under the hand of God during difficult times produces the fruit of consistency! Can I use a story here which I think fits into this? Two men working together had one of those terrible days, where everything was going wrong, and problems piling high. They went home and the one invited the other home for dinner and just before entering his house he went to a tree and rubbed it up and down with his hands – the friend was perplexed and asked what on earth are you doing? I am symbolically hanging my problems and burdens on this tree before I go in… and sure enough to the friend’s amazement – his family had no idea of all the problems he had faced that day!
7/ Humility: - the greatest leaders are humble leaders and are servants at heart. Remember leaders lead by example and no-one wants to be ruled by a tyrant with an iron rod, ask any Zimbabwean! It is easy to follow and respect a humble but firm leader, Mandela in contrast! Of course Jesus the King of kings – having the highest, exalted position of all is our perfect example and I think His example of washing the disciple’s feet is an awesome one of humility and servant hood. Humility as I see it is the outward expression that really in ourselves we can do absolutely nothing – it’s only our total dependence and reliance on our Father to help us and work through us, that we can accomplish greatness!!! As Paul put it… “as I become less He becomes greater”.
Ok that’s all I can think of for now – whew been going on long enough….but I’m sure you will agree there are some very useful tips here that we can use not only in the work place but in every area of our lives?
