JESUS

Dec

2019

The Greatest Leader?

He had a unique birth and was raised in a service-oriented career. There was nothing special about his life and how he was raised.

As a young man he humbly obeyed his parents. One day they could not find him because he was learning from the older people around him. Instead of being a typical modern twelve-year-old, he explained what he was doing and obeyed his parents.

You may think how a person with this upbringing could do anything significant. He spent the last three years of his life serving people. While he traveled the country, he shared principles that were universally true and showed love and compassion to all those he encountered. He even had an “executive team” of twelve.

These twelve ordinary individuals were constantly mentored so they also could become great leaders. Some of them were hated because of their professional careers and others were in common careers like fishing or carpentry: respectable, but nothing glamorous.

His influence grew and he became a problem.

Was he trying to start a rebellion or political revolution?

No.

He questioned the established leaders of the day especially those in faith circles and exposed their hypocrisy. He modeled a different way of leading to those who followed him.

One day before eating he knelt down and took off his outer garment. He proceeded to go around the room and wash the dirty covered feet of each member of his inner circle. This was a visual example of his leadership and the kind of leadership he expected of others. He served before seeking to be served.

This man’s life touched at least 10,000 others, but that number shrunk significantly as no one was around when it looked like the end for him. He was killed, and then he was buried, but something happened.

Those who were with him. Those closest to him. They followed his example. Eleven of these twelve men modeled the following traits.

Boldness

These men who walked with this man continued sharing his message even though for many of them it cost their lives. They shared in front of those who could and would ultimately take their lives.

Service

These men modeled the same type of service they experienced. They did not shy from helping those in need regardless of who it was.

Sacrifice

To share this message of hope and a greater purpose was not free of difficulty. Surely, they had to leave those they cared the most about. Some of them gave up lucrative careers in order to spread the message.

In case you didn’t figure it out, this leader was none other than the meaning behind the Christmas season. Jesus.

Wherever you land on who Jesus is/was is not the point of this blog. But, as his life demonstrated, when a leader models the way and lives the way it becomes contagious. Our example as leaders at work and home will do more to develop leaders around and among us than any words we say. What needs to improve and grow in your example as a leader? Need help thinking into it? Contact me for a complimentary thinking partner session. Lead well.

Apr

2019

An Easter Leader

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.