Leadership Footprints: Celebrating the Leadership Impact Of Dr. David Oyedepo @ 64

In the world we live in today, there are many rulers and few leaders in various fields. There are few who have done outstanding well and we still have some who are still doing well till date. Today I will talking about one of them who is a living legend. He is a man who is not just a leader in the missionary industry, but also a standard setting leader in the education sector. He said a long time ago that "Leadership is not about occupying a seat; it’s about achieving a feat". There are some few factors of leadership that is found in the Oyedeporian style of leadership. It is said that when these factors are applied, it can make giants out of men. Below are the factors;

1) The Spirituality Factor:

Spirituality is the sole driver of every other factor in the Oyedeporian leadership school. This is to say that everything thing is done with God being fully involved. This is one factor that gives birth to other factors. Dr. David Oyedepo strongly believes that; the place given to God in the life of any leader should be much bigger than any other thing. This is why the bible says in Romans 8: 6. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. I can still remember what he passionately said to us 3 years ago saying "If you put God first, He will put you first". Spirituality comes first in everything he does and this is why he remains the first in his field.  

2) The Vision Factor:

Roy T. Bennett, the author of The Light of The Heard, said "Live the Life of Your Dreams: Be brave enough to live the life of your dreams according to your vision and purpose instead of the expectations and opinions of others.” One major quality of this Leadership giant is that he lives his live base on his Vision and not on what others say. The bible also confirms the importance of vision in Habakkuk 2: 2. And the LORD answered me, and said, write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. Many run with what people think is good for them but great leaders run with what God thinks is good for them and this is why Dr. David Oyedepo said "Not every good plan is God's plan but every God's plan is a good plan". Not many leaders have a vision for their life and that is why not many leaders can say these words confidently like Bishop "I am in the center of center of Gods plan for my life".

3) The Service Factor:

The Oyedeporian style of leadership is one that believes in serving. Dr. David Oyedepo believes that anyone who thinks he/she is too big to serve is too small to lead. He believes that you can't separate leadership from service; they both go hand in hand. In this time we live in, we see men and women who will rather die than serve. There is an old proverb that says, "The road to the king’s palace is through the servant room" so therefore we all must serve before getting to our palace in life.

4) The Consistency Factor:

Successful leaders in time past made a decision to be consistent. Leaders who are leading today in their various field are still leading because they consistently portray the right values and consistently contribute to the world. Like Denzel Washington will always say “Commitment will help you start, but Consistency will help you finish". We can say for sure that Dr. David Oyedepo is a consistent leader. So if you want to become a successful leader, the Oyedeporian style of leadership says be consistently consistent.

5) The Example Factor:

To be a leader, you have to say what you do and do what you say because leadership is measured by the distance between your lips and your life. If you are not going to do what you tell others to do, then don't become their leader. Dr. David Oyedepo believes that "A true leader doesn't say do as I say, A true leader says do as I do". As a leader you need to walk your talk that is to say, do everything the way you want it to be done. He says be the first to do the things you want your followers to do. John who is a leadership expert puts it this way "A leader is one who knows the way, shows the way, and goes the way".

6) The Learning Factor:

John Kennedy once quoted "Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other". I can articulate this to be true because for someone like Dr. David Oyedepo who has achieved so much and is still a lifelong learner, then there is really no end to learning. Every leader must strive to become better than who they were because the better you become the better your followers will be. Remember Apostle Paul admonishment that says 'study to show thyself approved'. Bishop David Oyedepo is known for his popular dictum that says Readers are Leaders. He also said "In the world of success, Information is the greatest Asset" Every leader must keep learning to stay relevant because the education of a man is never completed until he dies.

7) The Legacy Factor :

It is said that true leaders do things for the future not the present. Dr. David Oyedepo who is a living legend believe that, everyone who aspires to be a leader must have something of value to their followers. Your legacy is what remains when you are long gone. True leadership is not really about what you achieved, it’s about what you gave. I like the way Mark puts it "The marks we leave in life are most times not in stones and steels, history or politics, or poetry and literature, but in the lives of other people".

Conclusion

These 7 factors mentioned have played a major role in building the lives of many King and Queens, myself inclusive. I wrote a book last year titled 'The Force of Positive Thinking' and some lessons in the book were drawn from the lifestyle of the living legend Dr. David Oyedepo. In my current position as the President of CUBASA, in Covenant University, I have been able to achieve more just by applying all the factors I mentioned earlier. You will do well to apply all these factors if you want to scale greater heights as a leader because like the living legend Dr. David Oyedepo said "There is no mountain anywhere every man ignorance is his own mountain".