Leadership roles in the 21st century: helping others see and take action part 2 

by Edison Macusi

1. Vision-the eyes of the leader beholds the panorama of how far, how wide and how long he can go in the revealed purposes of God. Vision takes precedence in the life of leader because he must see so that he can lead others. The lack of vision sounds the death knell to any existing enterprise or organization. It is by having a vision that we can understand and see how many more steps we need to get nearer to what God called us to do. Just as Jesus said that the eye is the lamp of the body, without vision we will only see darkness or we will remain confused, bewildered, and end up walking in the assembly of the dead. Life without vision is also a life that lacks purpose and is as good as dead. It is calling forth one that does not exist yet to become one.
2. Courage-courage is the indomitable will of the leader to persist even when things have gone awry. It is completing the task that one has started regardless of circumstances. The recent story of the five fishermen that drifted ashore to Micronesia from their starting point in the Davao Gulf tells us how much endurance and steadfastness these men have. They endured even when the only thing they could see was a vast blue sea and their skins blistered under the heat of the sun. Their courage to live even when things seem hopeless bear fruit when a Japanese boat spotted them drifting near the islands of Micronesia. It was terrible, but in the same way, true leaders never give up. When Winston Churchill blurted out to his people that they must stop Hitler now, he only received castigation by the press and the government. However upon Hitler’s attack of Poland, the sinister heart of the dictator only came into full view before the Britons and the French, too late for them to put a stand against the war machine that Der Fuhrer has accumulated and produced in the past four years. Such discernment and insight of Churchill made him both loved and unpopular at the same time. Nevertheless, true leaders are not easily swayed by the opinion of others, they stand for their own even if this means foolhardy.
3. Patience-patience is discipline under pressure. Almost everyone nowadays have their own profiles and visions. Yet few seem to achieve what they have elegantly written in prose at their doors. Though many profess to have faith, or to have visions, few possess the discipline to grow and cultivate their vision little by little until like the seawater that covered a pool, it has spread all over. Certainly, it takes no discipline to simply scatter around the seed of a squash and then watch it grow. In contrast, a Mahogany or Narra tree takes time to grow and deepen its roots, the crown is just a reflection of the branching roots deep underground. Big trees are well rooted, anchored deep and stable, they show us the leader who possess the discipline in this life. Disciples are supposed to be the most disciplined people in the world because one cannot really follow Christ who does not learn to discipline himself.  Those who lack patience cannot inherit the promises of God (see Hebrews 6:12).
4. Integrity-integrity means living right. It is honoring God not just during Sundays but even when no one is looking around. Those with integrity walk with blameless hearts. Like Daniel, the only thing that critics should find accusation in us is our relationship with God, that we are praying too much time with Him. Even the apostles were accused because they were with Jesus. To walk therefore in integrity is to walk in true authority. No one can ask anybody with true authority without having first learned to be  obedient to his own words. Others obey us, only when we have been faithful in obeying others too. Without complete obedience, one cannot command others to obey. The life that we live is the greatest message that we can have in this world. When a man of God sins, part of his integrity is marred, it is hard to recover a good name that is destroyed by one careless act.
5. Initiative-living with initiative does not mean coercing others. No, it means planning what needs to be done and doing it creatively so that you have done it the smart way. Leaders do not wait for others to do what they can do as long as they understand what needs to be done and they knew how to employ the necessary tool to do it. One should never refuse to do what they can actually do. Our refusal and underestimation of talents could cause us to bury and forget the deposit of good seed which the Lord has given us. Everything starts with a seed, so none should despise the day of small beginnings. A prosperous business has only prospered because someone took the initiative to establish it. If we do not take risk and make mistakes on the way, we have not really entered the real world of discipleship. Everyone stumbles in some ways but the wise always learns to get up because they knew this is never final and there is hope to begin anew. Click here to continue reading