What is a leader?

What is a leader?

I will be explaining Leader using two Perspective View as shown below.

A leader is "a person who influences a group of people towards the achievement of a goal". A mnemonic for this definition would be 3P's - Person, People, and Purpose as explain below.

Person

Is leadership a position of office or authority? Or, is leadership an ability in the sense that he is a leader because he leads? We all may know or hear of people who are in positions of leadership but who are not providing leadership. A position of office is no guarantee of leadership but it helps in the sense that a leadership position usually commands a listening ear from its people and that is a good starting point for anyone who desires to be a leader.

A leader by its meaning is one who goes first and leads by example so that others are motivated to follow him. This is a basic requirement. To be a leader, a person must have a deep-rooted commitment to the goal that he will strive to achieve it even if nobody follows him!

Joshua was such a man. He was publicly appointed to succeed Moses (Num 27:12-23). The goal was to lead the Hebrews to cross over the Jordan and take the land (Josh 1:1-2) ... and that was he what he did. In his old age, there remained much land to be possessed. In Josh 24:15, Joshua summoned all Israel to gather at Shechem and challenged them to serve the Lord, putting before them his commitment ...

15 "... choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: ... but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

This reminds me of the song, "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus"

I have decided, to follow Jesus,

I have decided, to follow Jesus,

I have decided, to follow Jesus, No turning back, no turning back.

Though none go with me, still I will follow,

Though none go with me, still I will follow,

Though none go with me, still I will follow, No turning back, no turning back!

Will you decide now, to follow Jesus?

Will you decide now, to follow Jesus?

Will you decide now, to follow Jesus? No turning back, no turning back!

Purpose

A requirement for leadership is personal vision - the ability to visualize your goal as an accomplished fact; a thing already achieved.

"The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can't blow an uncertain trumpet."

Theodore M. Hesburgh

How do you become a leader with a purpose? You need guidance (Prov 3:5-6) and you will get it through meditation on the Word of God.

 Thinking Skills

The next requirement is the realization that the goal cannot be achieved alone, without the help of others. Is there a natural grouping of people from whom you can elicit help? Or do you have to recruit your followers? In the latter, you face a greater challenge. But whatever the situation, the leader must integrate his (or the organization's) goal with his followers’ personal goals and then communicates this goal in such a way that they embrace it too and the goal becomes a common goal.

 The leader has to be practical and a realist yet must talk the language of the visionary and the idealist.

Eric Hoffer

In communicating your goal, bear in mind that it should meet the following criteria:

Achievable ... realistic yet faith stretching

Inspiring ... challenging your people to give of their best

Measurable ... quantifiable

Shared ... declaring your conviction in and commitment to the goal

People

 He who thinketh he leadeth and hath no one following him is only taking a walk.

Anonymous

To be a leader, one must have followers. To have followers, one must have their trust. How do you win their trust? Why would others trust you? Most important, are you worthy of their trust?

Why are some individuals more effective than others at influencing people?

Effectiveness in leadership has been attributed to (1) persuasion skills, (2) leadership styles and (3) personal attributes of the leader. We will explore these further in another article or two. Now, we will consider one critical element of leadership (influence) - love for people.

When Moses encountered two Hebrews fighting with each other, he tried to act as a peacemaker but they turned on him and questioned his authority over them, "Who made you ruler and judge over us?" (Exo 2:13-14). Yet some 40 years later, the Hebrews came to Moses with all their disputes and problems that he was kept busy from morning till evening (Exo 18:13-16). What had changed? Among many things, Moses led the Hebrews across the Red Sea and when the people could not drink the bitter water, Moses cried out to the Lord for a solution (Exo 15:22-25). What had not changed was Moses' identification with the Hebrews and his love for them.

In God's call to Moses ...

7 The LORD said, "I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings ...

10 "Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt." 

Exo 3:7,10

The Lord voiced His concerns ... the hard labors of the Hebrews and their mistreatment by the Egyptians ... the very same reasons that prompted Moses 40 years earlier to come to the rescue of a Hebrew and kill an Egyptian (Exo 2:11-12).

Moses came up with several excuses why he should not be the one to go and God graciously refuted all of them. We are not told why Moses finally agreed but I believe that Moses' identification with and love for the Hebrews played a critical factor in his decision.

Moses' identification with and love for the people was again seen when God declared that He was going to destroy the Israelites but would make a great nation of Moses and his descendants - the Israelites were worshipping a golden calf which they had fashioned out of their gold earrings. Moses immediately interceded for the people (Exo 32:7-14).

Moses then descended the mountain with the two tablets. His love was not "soft" ... 

1.   He broke the two tablets in anger when he saw the golden calf and the dancing of the people.

2.   He burned the calf, ground it into powder, scattered the powder over water and made the people drink it.

3.   He called Aaron to give an account of what happened.

4.   He passed judgment upon the unrepentant and the Levites killed 3000 with their swords.

30 ... Moses said to the people, "You yourselves have committed a great sin, and now I am going up to the LORD, perhaps I can make atonement for your sin." He again interceded for the people requesting that his name is blotted out from God's Book (i.e., he be destroyed) if God could not forgive them (Exo 32:31-32).

After he died, the Israelites mourned Moses' death for 30 days. It is recorded in Deut 34 that

10 Since that time no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,

11 for all the signs and wonders which the LORD sent him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh, all his servants, and all his land,

12 and for all the mighty power and for all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.

When people are convinced of your love for them and that you always have their interests at your heart, they trust you and they will follow you up the highest mountain and into the deepest sea.

MY SECOND DEFINITION OF A LEADER

 Are you his leader?

Leaders are everywhere. At all corners of the globe, in all types of organizations, doing all types of work. Anyone who seeks to make the world a better place is a leader.

Leaders are those who seek to make the change. In politics, in business or society, leaders always find themselves at the heart of change. Leaders help people, organizations, and societies navigate this change and help people find a better way to do things.

One popular myth about leadership is that leaders are only the ones sitting at the top of an organization. A CEO of a major company, the president of a nation or a champion leading social change. These are all leaders, but you don’t have to have a formal title or role to be a leader. Leaders are those people who are able to influence others towards reaching a goal, completing a mission or creating new ideas. Leaders are people who institute change, influence a situation or can bring creative problem solving to existing problems.

In short, leaders are those who advocate for positive change.

Because leaders are always on the forefront of change, leaders find themselves in situations that are complex and dynamic. Complex situations require leaders to consider multiple factors when solving a problem.

Leaders need to work with different groups of individuals, even when those groups of individuals may have competing interests. The leader finds ways to get these diverse groups to work together, and a leader takes action so that these different groups can continue to operate independently while minimizing conflict.

Leaders not only face complex situations and need to navigate many different interests, but leaders must learn to work in the face of constantly changing situations. As one leadership expert described it: “Today’s solution is tomorrow’s problem.” Solutions to problems are often short-lived because situations change. Leaders prepare themselves for constant change and need to be adaptable.

Most leaders are in a mode of constant learning searching for new and better ways to solve a problem. Because leaders are always on the forefront of change, they’re always faced with problems that have never been solved before. Leaders always understand that they are facing problems with few simple solutions.The successful leader is always looking for new ways to solve problems.

Some ideas for leadership development include: one, seek out ways to learn new skills. Learning skills such as communication, networking, writing a vision statement are all useful skills for leaders.

Two, find others to mentor you and others that you can mentor. Other people may have a skill that you admire. Learn from them. Be generous with your knowledge and teach other people what you know.

Three, understand your own faults and your own strengths. Seek out ways to improve your faults. For example, if you do not like public speaking, actively seek out opportunities to practice public speaking.

Four, talk to leaders in your profession, community, and organization. Learn their stories and some of the hardships that they overcame and the opportunities that they took advantage of in their quest to become better leaders.

What are your thoughts? What are you going to do differently as a leader?

EDITED AND WELL RESEARCHED BY DANIEL LAGAT ON 6TH MARCH 2016 AT 1120 HOURS. EMAIL ME AT [email protected] or twitter danielkipsang6.