A common misconception of leadership is that once
one attains the title of “Leader” (fill in your choice
here: Manager, Boss, Supervisor, Team Leader, Pastor,
Executive Director, President, CEO, etc.) that one has
arrived. Those who believe, and act, this way will soon
find themselves being passed by those who know the
truth—that leadership begins within oneself before it
manifests itself without. Before one is truly able to lead
others they must first lead themselves. Leadership is an
inside job.
There are four critical areas that you as a leader must
continue to develop within yourself to be as effective
and as successful as you are called to be.
First is knowledge of your industry, your profession. If
you are a general, you need to know military strategy,
history, and protocol. If a pastor, you should know
how to prepare and deliver sermons (hopefully in
an entertaining and inspirational manner), Biblical
content, and the practical matters of marrying, burying
and baptizing. If you supervise a work crew, you need
to be familiar with the “how-to’s” and the “what to do
when this happens” unique to your industry. One must
stay current in one’s chosen profession. Incompetence
has a way of killing your leadership effectiveness.
And once you are pronounced “dead” it is virtually
impossible to resurrect your leadership influence in
that organization.
A second area has to do with the Skill-sets of
Leadership. By this we mean the ability to effectively
communicate and connect with others; the ability to
communicate your vision in such a way that others are
able to understand, embrace, and adopt that vision and
to see it accomplished; the ability to delegate effectively
to others without dumping on them; to implement
accountability in such a way that is effective without
being oppressive; to overcome your weaknesses by
developing a team around you through whom you
Leadership Is An Inside
Job? - Steve Lewey
can accomplish far more than you can individually;
and the ability to develop leadership skills and abilities
in others. All of these are skills that will propel your
leadership forward; and each one may be learned.
Character Issues make up the third area. Are you the
same person on the inside as you are on the outside?
Is your private life and public life the same? Or is
yours a “Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde” personality? Are you the
same with your family as you are with those you lead?
Especially for those in ministry positions there can
be either a temptation (or the expectation of others)
that your life is perfect and struggle-free. I am not
saying to air your dirty laundry in public; however,
people do tend to relate more to our struggles than to
our successes. What we are really speaking of here is
integrity, of being the same regardless of the context;
and whether anyone is looking or not.
Finally, the area of Application: doing what you know.
Not just learning, but living out what you learn. I know
firsthand that learning is the easy part. Living out
in daily practice what we know we should be doing
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is where the challenge lies. As leaders; as people of
influence, by definition others are watching us very
closely. Who we are, what we say, and what we do need
to be in alignment.
Here’s the formula for your development and success as
a Leader:
(PE+PS+PC)A/T=(EL) S^2
Which interpreted is: (Professional Experience plus
People Skills plus Personal Character) Applied over Time
Equals Effectiveness, Longevity, Success and Significance.
Join us for a virtual mastermind group on April
21, 2014 at 8:00pm EDT. You’ll learn practical
steps you can take now to increase and ensure your
effectiveness as a leader. Details are here at https://
leadershipisaninsidejob.registertoattend.com/.
We look forward to having you join us!