From the book, “God Is In The Small Stuff and it all matters” by Bruce and Stan
If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously.~Romans 12:8 NLT
There are as many sayings about leadership as there are leadership styles. The forceful leader says, “Lead, follow, or get out of the way.” The reluctant leader says, Lead by example.” The business leader says, “A great leader puts his vision into action. “There is some truth in all of these leadership models, but none of these concepts hits the bull’s-eye of leadership. To do that we have to go to the greatest leader ever, the person who has impacted more people and changed more lives for the better than anyone else—Jesus Christ.
Jesus never wrote a book on leadership. He was never elected to public office and never ran a company. Although Jesus once spoke to more than five thousand people (before giving them a free lunch), He focused His attention on twelve ordinary men. He really preferred to relate to people one at a time.
Just because Jesus never hit the motivational speaking circuit or traveled more than a hundred miles from his home town doesn’t mean he didn’t address the core values of leadership. In fact, Jesus was very concerned about leaders and leadership because He knew His followers would have to carry on His teachings long after He was gone.
One of the last things Jesus said to His followers concerned leadership. He told them, “Those who are the greatest should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant” (Luke 22:26 NLT).
There you have it. The greatest leadership principle ever from the greatest leader ever. If you want to lead, you have to serve. If you want to be a leader of many people you have to serve many people. There are many examples of leaders who are ruthless, self-serving and greedy. You can find them in business, in government, and in families. But such leaders ultimately fail to let God into their lives. They shut Him out completely while trying to manage their little kingdoms.
If you want to be a great leader in God’s Kingdom—the only one that counts for eternity—then you need to let God into the small stuff of your life as you faithfully serve others.
. . . In the Small Stuff
- Empowering is more effective than delegating.
- Have the courage to hold people accountable.
- Associate with leaders as often as you can. When you’re around them carry a note pad and write things down.
- A signpost, like a peer, only warns you about the road ahead. But a map, like a mentor, can show you how to get where you want to go.
- Find a mentor.
- Being a good example is better than giving good advice.
- An exceptional leader is one who gets average people to do superior work.
- There are born leaders and there are leaders who are made. And then there are those who become leaders out of necessity.
- If you want to lead, read.
- When you find a leader, follow.
- When you identify a follower, lead.
- Use your influence sparingly. It will last longer.
- Be available to take someone’s place in an emergency.
- Power begins to corrupt the moment you seek it.
- Managing people begins with caring for them.
- One of the sobering characteristics of leadership is that leaders are judged to a greater degree than followers.
~ Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz, God is in the Small Stuff (Uhrichsville, Ohio: Barbour Publishing. Inc., 1998), 160-65
(Posts with a preamble asterisk * are for a more general audience, and not specific to teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.)
