5 Aspects to Grow in Leadership
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High risk leadership beckons many, but few accept the call.-Gene Kranz
In his book “Failure is Not an Option,” Gene Kranz details his involvement and instrumentation of NASA. He was the flight director who led the teams to get the stranded astronauts of Apollo 13 safely back home. Leadership opportunity is all around us. Will you be ready to answer when the call comes? In the following few articles, I will review the book “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” by John Maxwell to help us all know and grow in our leadership. The world needs Christians to rise in leadership; if not, the world will be happy to fill our shoes.
The Law of the Lid
Put quite simply, your organization, business, team, ministry, and family will never grow past the lid of your leadership ability. Everyone can be a leader, but you will only grow to the lid you have placed on your leadership.
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.-James 4:10
The Law of Influence
If you aren’t influencing anyone, then you are not a leader. Leadership is defined by people following you and their lives impacted by your leadership. I think of the millions of people who were influenced by the leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His words and actions inspired people to make a significant change. Thomas Jefferson and the Founding Fathers inspired and led the nation through the Revolutionary War and forged a new nation.
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” —John Quincy Adams
Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.-1 Timothy 4:12
The Law of Process
Leaders learn, develop, and grow over time. No one is born a leader. Many people have leadership skills but may never develop or destructively develop them. Leadership is a process that encourages development, matures people, is a cultural issue, changes people, and is challenging but worth it. The success of any great athletes, Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, and Albert Pujols, didn’t come because they were great in a moment or a big game, but because they put in thousands of hours of practice before their time to shine came.
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.-Galatians 6:9
The Law of Navigation
A good navigator sees the road ahead and prepares for it. Navigators don’t let emotion cloud their judgment; they draw on experience, know the difference between fact and faith, and are ready to apply it.
Commercial climber Rob Hall died because of a violation of the law of navigation. Rob would successfully lead most of his team to the summit of Mt. Everest within the safe time zone. Upon returning descent, he encounters one of his members, who had been resting due to sickness and blurred vision. This climber persuades Rob against Rob’s better judgment and leads him to the summit. Rob surrenders to this man’s dominating will and leads him up the mountain just before a deadly storm blows in. Due to Rob breaking the law of navigation, he loses his life on the mountain, and the other climber nearly loses his.
Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.-Psalm 119:105 NLT
The Law of Addition
To put it simply, this is the process of serving others. A good leader learns to serve his team. A good leader adds value to his team and builds others up. If you want to be a boss, learn to bark orders well and carry yourself with importance. If you want to be a leader, remember to add value and serve your team, ministry, organization, or family.
But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”-Matthew 20:25-28 ESV
““The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.”
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