Ten Lessons in Leadership

Being on church staff for 20 years has rewarded me with beautiful friendships and divine moments of personal and spiritual growth.  I have worked with children, teachers, and pastors who taught me valuable lessons.  Each lesson has become a story that has shaped my view of leadership today.  Here are 10 principles I’ve learned:

1. Recognize that inflexible leadership fails when it is time to make needed changes.

2. If you are still doing the same thing, you are stunting your growth.  You need people to take your place in ministry tasks.  “I” am a limited resource.  Multiply yourself in others.

3. Move up to a new level of leadership. Seek to go ahead of your followers and begin laying bricks on the road that your ministry will go down.

4. Identify the men and women under you and the strengths they possess. Begin delegating roles of service and build an army of capable and reliable workers.

5. Don’t criticize people or ministries who follow a different course.  God may be using them in unique ways to reach and minister to others.

6. Be honest and recognize what you don’t know.  Identify resources and people to help you learn.

7. Allow room to be wrong and grow from your mistakes.  Image-management has no room for kingdom work.

8. Anticipate problems and help create solutions.

9. Don’t let murmurings control your leadership.  Don’t listen to picking and critical unconstructive comments. You cannot make everyone happy.

10. Be a risk taker!  Try new things.  They won’t all work but some of them will.  You will discover what is usable and effective in working with your people.

Begin praying for a vision for what God wants to do in and through you.  Gather people together and allow them to dream with you.  Show them your heart and passion for the work.  Prioritize and organize yourself to move forward and make a big impact on those you lead and teach.  Soon, your followers will have stories, too.

Which one of these is the hardest for you to put into action? Why is this area so difficult for you?

For more posts from Lifeway Field Specialist Mark Jones, check out Mr. Mark’s Classroom.