When I was a child we played a game called "Follow The Leader". To play this game you had to have one person to be the leader and one or more people to follow them around. You could take turns being the leader and follower but you couldn't do both at the same time. Have you ever heard the expression "You need to lead or follow, or get out of the way!" I am a person who has always liked to be the leader, whether playing this simple children's game or in life.
I like to read and I have read many books of leadership. John Maxwell made a statement in one of his many books on leadership and it went something like this: "If your the leader and you turn around and no one is following you, then your just out for a walk." Wow! What an insightful statement. I had never looked at it this way until I read it but I believe this to be true.
Many people want to lead. If given the choice between leading and following I believe more people would want to lead. So my question is, "Why don't they?". What is it that causes people to fall into the pattern of following rather than leading? Is it due to laziness? Not necessarily. Is it because of low self-esteem? Possibly. Could it be a lack of desire to be in charge? Or maybe it is because they do not want to be the "responsible party" if the thing or people they are leading is a failure.
Fear of failure is probably the number one reason why more people do not step out of their comfort zone and lead and on my journey to a new me I feel like I have been given an awesome opportunity to lead by example. Now that is an old adage that you don't hear to often any more. Leading by example has been around for centuries and some of the most successful leaders led this way.
My husband and I lead small groups at our church and one of the classes that we teach is a class on leadership. The class is to help develop leaders in the church but the principles could be applied in any situation. The class meets 7 times and you learn everything from your personality type, your leadership style, your spiritual gifts ( the special gifts that God himself gave you to be effective in life) and TEAM ministry and how to lead others. You are probably wondering what is the name of this class, what is the title of the workbook used to learn all these leadership skills. Well the answer is: Jesus on Leadership. Jesus was the ultimate leader and example of what a leader should be and do. His entire ministry and leadership was based on the understanding that to be a good leader you must first be a servant. He was the ultimate example of Servant Leadership and he is the example that I follow daily.
I live my life to serve the Lord, my family, my friends, and even my customers. I do all that I do for his glory. His leadership style is my goal. On my journey to a new me I am excited to learn and discover how to lead more as a servant leader. I have so many people now taking this journey with me. Some of you offer words of encouragement to help cheer me on and others of you have begun your own journey to a new you! That is exciting news to hear about and I am happy to encourage and support you right back! Let me know about your accomplishments, your struggles and when you fail. We can do this together! So, are you are leader or a follower? Look behind you. Do you see anyone following behind you, or are you just out for a long walk?
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