Following the Follower: Built for Meaningful Leadership

Everyone wants to be followed because leading brings forth a greater sense of power.

Having authority over others feels great because you often get what you want. However, such power also demands great sacrifice; something many leaders are hesitant to make. You may or may not be in a position of authority, but if you are given the chance to lead, do you think you're ready?

Leadership isn't a matter of having the ability to boss people around. It shouldn't even become a constant clinging to your title, whatever that title may be. Leaders aren't just appointed; they're made. They're developed daily by the trials they face and by a genuine desire to not just be heard, but to hear and listen to what others have to say. Those who lead are great listeners and those who want to lead should be humble followers.

Those willing to follow are the same people who are eventually transformed into someone worth following. 

No matter how many years you've been leading a group of people, an organization, your church, or your family, the right leadership skills may still be evasive until you learn that you should become a humble servant. Our pride limits our ability to sense the soundness of what those above, below, and around us are saying. If we choose to not pay heed to what others want to share, we reject the opportunity to gather insights, which may be relevant to the growth of our leadership.

Many people demand respect and maybe you have also asked someone to respect you and your choices. This is the question, though: "Do you respect others and the things they believe in?" It's easy to demand what makes us feel good and important, but many of us think more than twice before we give to others what we're demanding from them. It's easy to say that someone's not a good leader, but it's very difficult to claim that you yourself are also lacking.

Here's a verse from Matthew 7:4 (NIV):

"How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?"

Leadership is humble service, not a constant waving of your power to tell others what to do. There's a very thin line between leadership and bossiness. There can also be a thin line between what you think is right and what's actually best for those you're leading. It's always best to "be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry." (James 1:19, NIV)

As a leader, you're tasked to take care of everyone, who trusts in the position God gave you.
Before you're a leader, you're a servant. Before you can tell someone what to do, you should first listen to what he or she has to say. After all, it's better to have every thought or idea laid out before things are settled.

Great leadership isn't characterized by the number of people following you, but by a heart that constantly seeks the Greatest Leader (JESUS). So have compassion for those, who need God's guidance through you.
God bless and rock on!