The Foundation of Leadership

If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. – Romans 12:8

There are many definitions of leadership and as I read on the subject I often find lists of “What to Look for in a Leader” – all of them are different. Often these lists are simply a rundown of favorite qualities. In “The Leadership Challenge” by James Kouzes and Barry Posner they pinpoint the top four. Based on surveys of thousands of leaders and followers people say a leader must be:

• honest
• forward-looking
• competent
• inspiring

In other words, leaders must have credibility. If you don’t believe the messenger you will not believe the message.

Here are some of the common phrases people used to describe credible leaders:

• “They practice what they preach.”
• “They walk the talk.”
• “Their actions are consistent with their words.”
• “They put their money where their mouth is.”
• “They follow through on their promises.”
• “They do what they say they will do.” (the most frequent response.)

In addition to the above I’d like to add that our credibility affects the credibility of the church. How many times have we been to a business, treated a way we did not like and then vow never to return? It wasn’t the business owner, CEO or chairman of directors that waited on us. Usually it’s some teenager making $7.50 an hour who didn’t get his Red Bull that morning. Regardless, we see them as a representative of that organization because they are.

Credibility is the foundation of leadership.