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Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Top Three Ways to Grow and Develop as a Leader

Leaders are people of strength, people that we look to for guidance and direction. They make sure the ship is ready for the voyage. They assign assorted jobs on the ship to ensure the safety and productivity of it. They also steady the ship in midst of rough storms. A leader is a person of courage, honor, loyalty, honesty, and determination. They don't give up when a storm comes their way, and they aren't scared of having the hard conversations when the ship isn't operating at an excellent pace. Even if you aren't a leader, you have probably been under leadership at some point. We should all be developing our leadership qualities, because eventually we will be the person someone looks to for guidance. Here are three ways to grow and develop as a leader.

1) Find a Mentor

No matter what you are doing in your life that requires leadership, find someone who is doing the same thing but has been doing it longer and is better at it than you. If you're a pastor find another pastor, if you're a store manager find another store manager, if you're a father get advice from another father. People tend to think that if you get advice and do what other people have done that it's somehow cheating. It's absolutely not cheating. If another dad has a better way of changing a stinky diaper than you, I think it would be foolish to not at least try it! The advice you can get from a mentor can be what you carry with you for the rest of your life.Take it, and use it to develop as a leader.

2) Have the Hard Conversations

I believe it is human nature to want to pass off the difficult conversations and decisions to someone else. But these conversations are essential to growing you as a leader because they give you experience, and they also help your volunteers or your employees to see you as the leader that they will be willing to follow. Having the hard conversations are also necessary in keeping the "ship" sailing at maximum quality. For example if you have a sailor that isn't doing his job, the ship will suffer because of it. Having the tough conversation to motivate that sailor helps right the ship, and keep it on track.

3) Develop your own Leaders

Especially in a church, leaders have to develop their own leaders. You need people you can count on to get the job done if you aren't there or are needed elsewhere. Being a leader bogs you down eventually with stress and problems, so having leaders around you can help handle some of those duties or situations. Investing in leadership is investing in a vibrant future, and it's something we should all be doing.

This week's post may seem pretty business minded, but I think sometimes Christians forget that church operates very much like a business and can use some of the same practices. The church needs leaders, people who God has put in place to cast vision and give guidance and direction to the church members. Even in our own personal life, having leadership qualities can do nothing but help and support you as you start a family or enter a career. However, above all else, strive to be like Christ and show others the same love that He has shown you. God bless, see you next week on The Pulse!!

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