Easter.
This day may just mean bunnies and chocolate or be a deeply personal day tied to your faith. I am a person of faith and the latter is what it is to me, but that is not what I am going to talk about nor am I trying to push my beliefs on you. Let’s look at the leadership of the man behind that day.
There was a man who walked this earth and was an outstanding leader. What one believes about who he is/was is irrelevant to what I am talking about, but let’s look at some key leadership traits in this man leading up to the end of his life.
Jesus on multiple occasions took on the religious leaders of the day and challenged their beliefs. One day he knocked over the tables in the temple because they were turning a holy place into a business. Another time he entered into a long discourse on how the religious leaders were hypocrites. Was he trying to create a rebellion, no, but he was not afraid to speak truth about the situation and how it did not align with the vision of how it should be.
Humility
If your boss gave you a very difficult assignment that you really didn’t want to do, what would you do? Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane sweating blood as he thought of the next step toward fulfilling his purpose. If you read the story you will see he really didn’t want to go through what was next. With humility and focus on his purpose, he was willing to put aside his agenda and take the next step.
Courage
Leaders constantly enter uncharted territory and must endure the positive and negative feedback that accompanies leading change. Change of any kind will draw criticism and leaders cast vision for and implement change. This requires courage to persevere amidst adversity. Jesus’ mission was clear and even as he endured physical and emotional abuse, he demonstrated a leader’s courage.
Sacrifice
Multiple times during the last years of his life Jesus put aside what agenda he may have had to serve others. Frequently a large crowd or individual would come with a need and instead of putting them off he met their physical, emotional, and even spiritual needs. This was an example of sacrifice. Leaders are busy, but sometimes we must sacrifice our agenda to help someone else develop as a leader and ultimately help the move the overall cause forward.
Love
Many of us have heard the idea: “people don’t care how much we know until they know how much we care.” This idea is a statement of love. This may feel a little too “soft” for a leader. Think of the best leaders you knew. They probably had incredible drive coupled with a humble caring spirit. Behind everything Jesus did in the last years of his life was genuine love for others.
What about you as a leader? If these were embodied in your leadership how would it transform your team? May I encourage you to pick one of these areas and take one step to grow and improve in that area. As you seek to grow in that area see how it impacts those around you. Lead well.
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