Leadership Is ... Meeting Your Followers Needs

As a faith based writer, whether in the awesome church we worship in or our social media presentations, our Vision is; ‘Healthy Leaders: leading, serving and caring with integrity’. Every written word is faith based, scripturally focused, bathed in prayer and illustrated with current or historical data familiar to our readers. 

An almost unbelievable series of drastic leadership decisions, compounded and overseen by Captain Edward John Smith led to 1517 individuals drowning in the cold waters of the North Atlantic 400 miles from Newfoundland. These men, women and children were tragic victims of leadership failure.

In the early days of ocean travel, ship Captains had to rely on the technology of the day. They had ocean maps and wireless communications but to be sure of their circumstances they used unique methods.

 Each evening as darkness surrounded ocean going ships, a seaman was assigned to test ocean water temperature. By lowering a bucket into the water below, then recording the temperature on a graph, the captain could watch and predict changes in the water temperature ahead and foresee an iceberg. The challenge came when the seaman assigned had a rope too short to reach the water. Instead of getting another rope, a passenger found him filling and recording the temperature of the water from the bathroom tap. Hence, a useless endeavor providing no useful information.

 As a leader in your church or mission do you have little jobs with extreme importance? Do you have visitors with questions? Are any of your people frustrated and stressed? Just like the individual seaman who devalued his small roll partially leading to the upcoming catastrophe, do you have unmotivated staff or volunteers?

 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Matthew 25:23 NIV)

 Leadership is encouraging and putting the needs of your followers ahead of your personal needs.

Yours in Service,

Laurie D. Kennedy

Jethrogroup.ca