How to Build Leadership Essentials
If you were asked what skills or traits made up a leader what would you say?
Maybe you’d add something like Charisma, Public Speaking, being Visionary, Thinking Quickly or an Entrepreneurial Spirit? Or maybe you’re from the Old School Biblical mentality of Servant Leadership and Lead from Example.
And all of these traits would be correct.
But I want to take you into who a leader is… and what creates a leader.
What Defines a Leader?
Naturally, a leader by definition is someone who has attracted followers. Most typical leaders today have to pay their followers to follow them, and that does not make them a real leader.
And a leader, again by definition, has to be going somewhere worthwhile for people to follow them. A leader is a journeyer not a static nametag.
I guess some people could write a book on what I just wrote (and feel free to) but it is just the ground work for what I want to talk about.
Dig Out the Buried Treasure
Now there is a concept I want to flesh out that goes by many different names: transcendentalism, self-actualization or simply becoming the man you were created to be.
I believe every person has genius and is destined to greatness in some way. I believe you have something inside you so powerful that the world would be blessed beyond belief to receive it.
We are all diamonds in the ruff.
And yet we live lives of quiet desperation.
We are never living but hoping to live.
We become lost in mediocrity. And the challenges and trials of this world crush us. And thus it’s easier to give in or give up than it is to bear down.
A leader is someone who goes through the crucible of the world and still has much to offer. And the thing they offer is extremely rich and tested.
Because the true joys of life come from one thing: following your heart’s desire/passion through the fire of life in the process of succeeding.
A couple may be initially attracted to each other and find giddy romance for a time, but a couple who maintains that fire thirty years has true enduring joys in deep meaning.
A dreamer may give up his dream when his get rich quick scheme ends up being work, but a businessman who has proudly worked and trained with a number of employees to find successful rewards has much to be grateful for.
Now let me unpack this.
The Treasure in the Heart – Deep Desire
In each one of us, deep in our hearts there is a desire for something. It may be encouraging women, it may be entrepreneurial talents, and it may be cooking or artistry. Whatever the desire is, we feel the longing in our hearts… calling us.
And when we engage with our heart’s desire or a dream… that is what will bring us through the hardships of the world.
Many people say it is goal setting and business planning that will make an endeavor successful. No, it is the dream.
If you want to get out of debt, lose thirty pounds or build a business you need a very strong dream of the end result. The harder the enterprise, the greater you need the dream.
Goal setting is only the step by step process – the vehicle to get you there. But never mistake that the process will get you there alone. Most budgets are foiled. Most diets are broken. And 80% of businesses soon fail.
The failure was not in the process but the desire.
If you truly have a big dream of being out of debt, you will turn from small and large temptations to spend your money frivolously. If you have to lose thirty pounds you must demand it of yourself not because of desperation, but for the reward of something greater.
And if you dream of successful business – you will spend every waking moment thinking and reading about how to build, improve and create an efficient widget machine or service. And you will be under compulsion to maintain as well as innovate until you can automate enough responsibility in another’s competent hands.
Testing By Fire – to Create a Better You
And going through the wilds of life – in the pursuit of our dreams – is the fabric that creates leaders. Because of this… every leader has an equal desire to give… to pass on the lessons they have learned through the fire to others.
You want some examples: Robert Kiyosaki, Donald Trump and John Maxwell. They each have to teach about developing oneself through the hardships of life.
If you look at home businesses industry you will have to ask why so many people stick in some businesses and other businesses go down in flames just as soon as they start.
To illustrate this… compare Amway or Mary Kay with some Internet MLMs that want your couple hundred dollars and they automate your business. The difference is the personal development. Some business’s are warehouses of personal development training the next generation of leaders.
Leaders do what they do (cook, market, sow, lose weight) and then they teach. Leaders are advocates for personal development in the whole body or at least the skill they learn. The reason those long running MLMs are still in business is they tap into the need to train people to become leaders. They are building tomorrows leaders through the system of building a part-time business.
A fly by night business never starts there. They are only looking for money. And a fool with his folly shall soon be parted with his money.
In today’s economy, money will never bring you more money. That is why a company needs to invest into their customers’ lives… to build a relationship that overcomes their competitions’ effect and rewards their loyalty.
We go back to leadership. A leader is one who has found their dreams, followed it through the hardships of life and desires to teach their experiences to other people to add value into their lives.
Attracting People to You
Now to explore the other aspect: the attractor factor. I know that the Law of Attraction is the new buzz word and I don’t buy into some universal subconscious concepts.
But the ideas have merit. I just would redefine them and name them. I believe in God and I believe He is the Creator of our desires and molder of our destiny. So, the concept I espouse will be similar but distinct.
The attraction a leader has over other people… that pulls other people in… is from their love. Love enables a leader to teach and develop other people around them. And that love is what people will see when they encounter a leader.
And when a leader shines with love – they will find that love shines right back at them. It’s like a mirror. A leader gives and loves and develops people and the people appreciate and fill with gratitude and serve with a whole-heart.
And that is what makes a real leader. It’s when their followers feel so invested in them that they trust and follow the leader wherever he takes them. They would never have to pay a follower.
Of ‘course some leaders have businesses that require employees to pay, but the reason they work isn’t for the pay – but service and meet income needs as well.
Which of the 4 Types of People Are YOU?
There are many different types of people. It is easy to put people into categories, but sometimes examining the boxes helps illumines the areas we may not notice. Here are four to ruminate over.
1. There are people who must be winners. They may be in business, sports, sales, military or computers. They are people of action and drive.
2. There are people who must be smart: doctors, lawyers – expert niche players who excel in their technical area to support the whole of a business or unit. The techies.
3. There are people who must be comfortable. “Why work so hard?” they may ask. Their appetite is satisfied with a big TV and a fridge.
4. And there are people who must be liked. Their need for affirmation overrides everything. These are the people who form baseball leagues where no one ever loses or have to buy everyone’s lunch when out to eat.
We all have some of these to some degree. But winners always want to win. Losers often seem to want a hand-out. And leaders always seem to know how to encourage or inspire each character type to add value where they are at.
Why Me?
Now when something goes wrong in life – and it always does, we will often ask the question “why me?”
And you look for a divine reason for your inabilities, inadequacies or failures because you can always find someone who is better than you in most things. We don’t even realize there are usually only a few areas where we always see ourselves depraved when measuring up against others.
And what we see is the measurable outcome – the fruit – of whatever labor the other has gone through. We see someone receiving girl’s phone #s at a party, or someone making large sales, etc.
These are the wrong parameters to criticize yourself and judge others with.
But alternatively, when someone is gifted in many areas of life and perhaps are given $ or lifestyle, they never have to wrestle with “why me?” and thus never come to foundational questions about who you are and what makes you unique. And thus it would be much harder to give to others and harder to stand for and identify the things that have great meaning.
They don’t make good leaders. They have to wrestle with being grateful, generous and valuing others before themselves. I think we all know of a boss or friend who usually only thing of themselves.
The self interested can never lead, because they have no where to take people. All that they do is to enrich themselves. And thus they have no desire to fulfill the dreams, desires or emotional needs of others.
All the self-interested can do is institute order. And that will never be enough.
Divine Directive
And if you look to the Scriptures you will find that the first mandate God gave in Genesis was that man rule and multiply. If you look to the end of the Scriptures Revelation 22 we shall rule with Christ for all time.
You see, the end of our life is not to fade into nothingness. It is not to have an eternal concert in the clouds. The end is that we will be leaders and rule.
Now, is the time to begin taking steps, walking out of our comfort zone, turning off the TV, and begin the journey of leadership over the world we have been given.
So the message today is to find your desires. What longings have been prompted inside you for the last few years, or months? Have you completely neglected them? This is possibly God speaking your purpose to you.
Persist through in the hardships of life, seeking and driving though the storms. There are greater things on the horizon. Let the stress of life motivate you not to give up, but to research and find better options to build your own value.
Find mentors and join a mastermind. These people can give advice and share the wisdom of experience. You will also find likeminded people who will encourage you and cheer you on.
Then learn to pass on with gratitude and graciousness the knowledge and skills you have picked up. Learn to love others as they journey down the road to self-improvement and enrichment of their lives. You will find great reward in this.
You can do it and I am pleased with the journey you will be taking. May our Lord find favor upon you and bring many blessings.
Scott Coombe
P.S. Send me some feedback on how you are doing. I love to hear your testimonials.