Welcome to #InspireAfricaProject! The number one challenge in our world today is finding outstanding leaders who can take organizations from where they are to where they should be. Families are disintegrating because outstanding leaders are scarce. Organizations that should be competing globally are crawling because of leadership problem. Nations that supposed to become very prosperous are crawling because a bunch mediocre hijacked leadership positions.
Leadership is taking a group of people from where they are to where they should be. Leadership is being dissatisfied with the challenges on ground. Leadership is having the capacity to gather talented individuals and harnessing their talents for the good of the organization. One of my favorite definitions of leadership is; leadership is the passion to make a difference with others. Lone rangers like Samson make terrible mistakes. Jesus modeled this brand of leadership. Let’s learn some lessons from His leadership style.
1. Selection.
Jesus went about looking for ordinary men whom He would turn into extraordinary men. Jesus did not choose already made men. He could have chosen some of the top leaders in the land, but He chose those twelve ordinary men because He wanted to reproduce Himself in them. I believe He saw that they were teachable young men who were ready to learn from Him.
Great leaders do not look for finished products. What they look for is that single spark in an individual that needs polishing. They hire people who have the capacity or potential for greatness and develop them. Dear friend, can you boldly point to one person you have succeeded in raising? As a leader, what impact have you made in the lives of those who are under you? Your ability to select ordinary men and women and turn them into superstars is the hallmark of leadership.
2. Impartation.
After going about to call twelve ordinary men, Jesus spent the next three and half years training them. Peter who was a fisherman was transformed into a powerful leader. John who was a teenager when Jesus called him became an extraordinary spiritual man who wrote one of the best accounts of Jesus’ exploits and death. Jesus turned those twelve ordinary, fearful and timid men into world changers within a space of three and half years!
The greatness of a leader is seen in the lives of his subordinates or followers. Great leaders raise other great leaders. Self-centered leaders go to the grave with all they know, and end up killing the organization they led. To me, you are not yet a leader until you can confidently point to one individual you raised or transformed.
Some of the frontline priests in the Catholic Church today wouldn’t have gotten to where they are if Rev. Father Stephen Uche Njoku had refused to mentor them. He was a selfless priest. He was ready to give out everything he knows to help others. Almost every faith preacher around the world today came out of the tutelage of Kenneth Hagin. He taught faith, and raised others to teach faith too. That is the hallmark of leadership!
So dear leader, who are your protégés? Have you ever wondered why the children of President George Bush Sr. are thriving in political leadership in the United States of America? It is a product of quality leadership from their father. Prescott Bush was a senator, Jeb Bush was a governor, George H. W. Bush himself who also served as Vice President and George W. Bush who served as a governor were presidents of the United States of America. It takes quality leadership to raise children like that. It was not a product of chance, it was a product of impartation from their father.
3. Delegation.
Jesus trained His disciples through delegation. After teaching them, He would release them to go and practice what He taught them. For example, Luke recorded that; “Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” Luke 9:1-2.
He mentored them, and sent them to practice what He taught them. When a leader does almost everything in an organization, he is simply telling you that he failed to raise the people who can help him. On several occasions Jesus sent out His protégés to go and demonstrate what they learned.
I discovered many years ago that delegation helps the leader to major on the major or to focus on his core assignment. When a leader fails to delegate, he wears himself out like Moses, and abandon his core assignment. When a leader fails to delegate, he kills the potential of his subordinates. I think it’s pure weakness for leaders to do virtually everything in their organization.
If Jesus did not delegate some assignments to His disciples, nobody would have perpetuated His legacy. But because He taught His disciples His principles and motivated them to practice it, they died representing Him. That is true leadership.
4. Evaluation.
Jesus did not just delegate some duties to His disciples, He held them accountable. They usually prepare reports whenever they come back. That is how to mentor people. You give them an assignment, and tell them to report back to you in few days time. That way, you will know whether they are following instructions or not.
Luke reported that; “And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.” Luke 9:10. Each one of them gave a report concerning the task that was assigned to them. That is the hallmark of leadership.
Many leaders are afraid of this kind of leadership because they want to be seen as super humans. Some leaders are afraid to raise others because they are afraid of loosing relevance. Jesus did not loose relevance. In fact, He became more relevant in death than when He was alive. So go ahead and transfer that knowledge.
Some leaders don’t want to raise other leaders because they think it’s not necessary. This study proves them wrong. Robert Zemsky and Susan Shaman of the University of Pennsylvania did a study of 3,000 U. S companies. What they found was that a 10 percent increase in spending on capital expenditures led to only 3.8 percent increase in productivity. However, a 10 percent increase in spending for training led to an 8.5 percent in productivity. So go ahead and mentor your staff. Invite our organizations to train your staff. All you have to do is to send an email to us through info@kingsuncommonwisdom.com or call +234 (0) 7032681154. To be continued.
For inquiry about our Products, Inspire Africa Project Conference, Business and Financial Services Consultancy or invitations for training, kindly make your request through info@kingsuncommonwisdom.com or call, +234 (0)7032681154. Facebook: Ifeanyi A.C Eze. Twitter @KingIfeanyiEze. @InspireAfricaP. @KingsWisdomLtd. Facebook: Inspire Africa Project.
………………………….
Copyright 2018 Inspire Africa Project. Reprint, curation, adaptation, or re-posting this article without the consent or approval of www.inspireafricaproject.com is a copyright theft.