Leadership

Went back over some of the notes I took at Emmaus walk last year. I'm finding that in the past year, I have experienced a dramatic shift in the way I view the world, and in many of the values I held just 18 months ago. I'm noticing that these tenets I wrote down take on a new meaning now, and a broader one as well. The speaker who gave this list said it is important to understand that some of these are biblical qualities, and as such may not apply to all good leaders. A man does not have to be a Christian to be a good leader, but if he claims to be a Christian, those biblical tenets should be present and evident in their leadership. Below is a verbatim transcript of my notes from that session on day 2 of my walk.

Ten qualities/characteristics of a leader, biblical qualities notated:

1. A good leader holds themselves accountable for their actions first, and their followers for theirs second. Accountability means acknowledging one's previous failures, admitting they were wrong, and moving forward in humility.

2. A good leader does not look down on those who do not walk, talk, worship, or look like they do. A good leader respects individual beliefs, genders, races, and lives.

3. (bib.) A good leader seeks to honor Christ with their leadership, gives all glory to God, and accepts none for themselves. They realize they could not have attained their position without God, and in so doing puts themselves in the low-light, and God in the forefront.

4. (bib.) A good leader does not use the Word of God to advance themselves, or to "climb the corporate ladder". They do not claim to know The Word when they do not honor it with their lives.

5. A good leader sees the road before them, acknowledges the task they are led to achieve, and does not cast blame on those around them, or those who came before them. They do not deflect their own culpability by way of saying "The person in charge before me is at fault for where we are." or "Everybody (cheats/lies/steals/etc.) to an extent." A good leader remembers they are the one answerable now, not anyone before them.

6. A good leader builds those around them up, and prepares them to take leadership in their own areas. They see the individual gifts each person has, and celebrates them by way of using those talents for the betterment of not just the individual, but the whole.

7. A good leader puts people ahead of policies, and will carry a broken team member on their shoulders until they can walk again. A good leader knows that a horse with a broken leg might need a bullet, but a person with a broken spirit needs a hand of friendship.

8. A good leader does not squander the resources of the group they lead on things that do not benefit the group as a whole. He does not take his salary and have a dinner party where his followers serve the leaders, but hosts a dinner party for his followers where the leaders serve instead.

9. A good leader does not use disparaging terms to describe those they oppose in an attempt to antagonize or provoke. They see everyone as a person who is entitled to respect, and carries the flag of peace when others wave flags of war.

10. A good leader forgives those who have wronged them, and asks forgiveness from those they have wronged before accepting the position of leadership. They realize that their leadership is to be a servant to those who follow them, never the other way around.