Is all leadership innate and natural? Is leadership limited to a spiritual gift? Or is it possible that leadership can be learned? This is a controversial subject, but I am of the strong opinion that you can learn leadership. I have watched far too many people who don’t fit the typical leadership image emerge from the fray and assume substantial responsibility and carry it well. Not as a manager, but as a leader – someone who has true influence and leverages it toward a clear and compelling preferred future.
So what about this person who emerges? Was there latent ability and capacity not yet tapped? Or were skills learned that enabled this person to literally function at a different level – a leadership level? Can someone actually begin to see life from a different perspective, the perspective of a leader? Or is this reserved for the few, the chosen and the elite – those born with something special? Again, I believe you can learn leadership.
I acknowledge that different levels of natural ability in things such as I.Q., discipline, charisma, drive and personal energy play a major role. Some leaders are greater than others. This is clear. But that’s not the question. The topic of this two part series is whether or not you are a learned or natural leader, and how to make the most of the profile that seems to fit you best. In part one, we’ll deal with the learned leader.
The Learned Leader
Characteristics
• Learned leaders have followers.
This is the most basic characteristic that separates leaders (learned or natural) from non-leaders. The requirement here is that people follow you because they want to, not because of your title. You probably have a title, that’s fine, but (hopefully) that’s not why people follow you.
At this most basic level the issue is not how many followers you have. It doesn’t matter if you have five or fifteen or fifty or five hundred followers. The essential element is that people respond to your personal influence and follow your lead voluntarily. Non-leaders don’t have followers. They may have helpers for a task, but that’s not the same. Someone helping solely because of the task at hand, without engagement or response to you personally is not about leadership. That is project oriented management. Again, personal influence is essential.
• Learned leaders must think leadership before doing leadership.
Because leadership doesn’t come instinctively for a learned leader, you must intentionally think leadership to remain engaged and effective as a leader. It’s kind of like a golfer with a “natural swing” versus someone who needed to take lots of lessons to get his or her basic swing down. There is quite the list of components to a good swing, truly a lot to remember. At first trying to get all the parts of a golf swing to work together feels very awkward. But once you get it, and if you keep practicing, over the course of time your swing can become “natural.”
• Learned leaders are not inwardly compelled to lead.
This point will bring quick clarity to many of you. Here’s how it works. If you are a learned leader and you walk into a room where there is a leader who is engaged, in charge, and things are working well, you will feel no real need or compulsion to take over. You will help if needed. You will probably quickly see how you can be helpful, but you have no inner need or drive to take over. (In part two, you will see this is very different for the natural leader.)
If, however, you walk into a room where there is no leadership, (there may be a leader, but there is no leadership) and the environment is unproductive, unorganized, and the general “spirit” of the place is poor, you will rise up and do something about it. Depending on your personality, skill level, and the occasion, you may do something yourself, (take over) or you may leverage your influence to get the right people doing the right things. But you will do something to get things headed in the right direction.
• Learned leaders are industrious and take initiative.
If you are a learned leader you are likely to be a highly productive person, and you naturally migrate toward other productive people. In fact, you can be short on patience with people who even remotely appear “flaky” to you. You thrive on seeing things of value accomplished and you are quick to take initiative to get things started. Seeing things stall out drives you nuts. Your work ethic is strong and you enjoy a full schedule.
• Learned leaders seek results more than influence.
This is subtle and can morph over time as you gain more experience as a leader. In the earlier stages you were probably more interested in getting the job done rather than developing your influence with people. It’s faster and more direct. And you like accomplishing things. This is natural for a learned leader. Natural leaders want to get things done too, in fact, they are driven about results, but they are more interested in increasing their influence with people and getting things done through people than merely accomplishing the task at hand. This is one of the key competencies for a learned leader to grow toward.
Strengths
• Passion and discipline
Passion and discipline are not exclusive to the learned leader but are always in the strength mix among leaders in this profile. They are driven, full of life, and purposeful. Personal discipline is often the strength that enables a learned leader to keep up with natural leaders and, on occasion, surpass them. I don’t mean for this to sound like a competition, but merely to demonstrate the huge potential growth opportunity for learned leaders.
• Getting the job done
Learned leaders are generally fantastic at getting things done. The slight orientation toward projects and measurable goals is typically the origin of this trait. As the learned leader continues to develop, and his or her people side begins to flourish, the combination of projects and people becomes powerful, and even more productive.
• Can mentor and teach leadership well
The learned leader is a great leadership coach for one simple reason. He or she had to learn leadership themselves. This enables them to be good mentors and teachers of leadership to both learned and natural leaders.
Challenges
• Confidence
Because, at least in the early stages, leadership is not an instinctive behavior confidence is often a struggle for the learned leader. If you are a learned leader you may be unsure of yourself and will therefore second guess your thoughts and direction in general. With experience, confidence can build over time and will enable you to lead with greater inner conviction as well as gain greater ability to inspire others.
• Decisiveness
Difficulty in making tough decisions is largely an outcome of a lack in confidence. This is not about intelligence. Learned leaders are typically very smart. It’s more about a lack of certainty about what you want and your relative lack of certainty of knowing the right thing to do. Others opinions matter too much. Decisiveness, like confidence comes with practice and experience. Jump in, think it through, make a decision and take action. Do this over and over and you will begin to notice huge improvement.
• Casting a compelling vision
The challenge is not about knowing and understanding the vision. The challenge for the learned leader is selling the vision. Because learned leaders are still gaining confidence in themselves they don’t yet have the leadership persona needed to win others to the vision. If that is also coupled with underdeveloped people skills, getting people to follow your vision is difficult.
Let me encourage you. All this is doable, just not overnight. Focus on your own confidence first. Win self-leadership before leading others. Know what you want, why you want it, and at least partially how you will get there. Then lead. You don’t have to have all the details, but you must believe in yourself and what you want to accomplish before others will follow.
Key Concept
• Stretching
If you are a learned leader you will always be digging, learning and growing. This is essential to your leadership success. Coasting is not an option. It is natural and a good thing for you as a learned leader to feel just a little over your head. Most leaders are! Call it humility or call it wisdom, call it what you will but as a learned leader you will thrive if you stay focused and diligent as a great student of leadership.
Application
• Consistent leadership exposure
Learned leaders must have continual input of leadership development. From good leadership books to good leadership conferences this is a must. Exposure to good leaders is essential. Serving in an environment that is proactive about leadership development goes a long way toward your success.
• Take the reigns of leadership
Simply put. Lead. Don’t hold back. Ask forgiveness, not permission. It’s good to make mistakes, lots of them and even big ones. Just don’t make the same mistake twice. That indicates you are not paying attention and not learning. Write your plan, pick up the phone, call a meeting… do what it takes to get things moving!
• Trust your intuition
Your instincts, though not of a natural leader, are better than you think. They are probably not as fast as you would like them to be, nor are you as confident as you would like, but you must learn to read and trust your gut.
Don’t worry so much about what others think. Know what you think and go for it.
• Increase personal influence over personal productivity
At first this will seem counterintuitive to a learned leader who wants to be effective. But over the long haul this will begin to make sense. No one ever leads a project, they lead people. If you gain personal leadership influence, people will follow and get the work done. Your work becomes about recruiting, inspiring, training, coaching and encouraging. The people are more talented than you may think. Trust yourself and trust them. You’ll be amazed at what can be accomplished.
In part two we will use the same format to present a profile for the natural leader. It will be in the comparison and contrast of these two articles together that the best and most helpful insights will come to the surface.
“This article is used by permission from Dr. Dan Reiland’s free monthly e-newsletter, “The Pastor’s Coach,” available at www.INJOY.com.”
I’d be interested in your thoughts on this. Is it a great idea? Horrible idea? God-honoring? Blasphemous? Is it a cheap gimmick to get attention? A great outreach tool?
Wouldn’t it be nice to find one “right” way to do things, then
stick with that for the rest of your life? We might have those
dreams sometimes, but we were created to grow and learn
throughout our lives. If we always stick with the old and
familiar, we abandon the potential God has created in us.
I’ve heard it said that growth equals change, and I believe
that’s true. Just as an acorn changes drastically as it becomes
an oak tree, we can only reach our future potential by welcoming
or initiating change when necessary. To plant this “seed of the
future,” we must…
1. Focus on the Future.
Let’s say you’re out on a Sunday drive when you realize you’re
heading toward a cliff. Do you wait to apply the brakes until
you reach the edge? No, you apply them immediately because you
know that momentum could still carry you into the canyon. Delay
would be lethal! If you wait until it’s too late, it won’t
matter how good your brakes are. You’ve got to take action
while there’s room to maneuver.
Most of us understand the danger of hurtling too close to a
cliff, yet we don’t apply that “future focus” to other areas of
our lives. For instance, many busy pastors make the mistake of
evaluating only today’s activities. While we certainly have
enough to focus on right now, the only way to be ready for the
future is to plan for it. We can’t afford to wait until an
emergency stares us in the face, because then we’ll end up
reacting rather than leading, and miss other opportunities as
we cope with the crisis. To effectively change and grow, take a
look at the big picture. Are there changes that you’d like to
see next year? Then begin taking steps in that direction now.
Plot your course at least one year in advance – and even longer
for major projects.
2. Form a “Future of the Church” Group.
Being a visionary leader is great. Hearing from God is essential.
But trying to do it all alone today is dumb. In a world of
global networks and international communications, attempting to
figure everything out by yourself is not only impossible, but
egotistical. Plus, you rob your people of the opportunity to use
the creativity and wisdom that God gave them.
I suggest that you hand pick three to seven people who are:
1) committed to God;
2) loyal to you;
3) influencers in the church;
4) creative thinkers; and
5) learners
Meet about four times a year for a few hours, such as for a half-
day retreat. Don’t use this time to plan more programs. This is
a time to stand back and look at the big picture and dream big.
Your purpose is not decision making, but brainstorming creatively
and strategically studying the future of your church. Answer the
following questions together:
1) What does God want to do in us?
2) What are the trends in society?
3) Where are we going and what do we want to accomplish?
4) What obstacles are in the way?
5) What changes need to be made to realize our dreams?
As the leader, you must make the final decision-just you and God.
But the input you receive beforehand can be invaluable if you
receive it from a number of good sources.
3. Remember That Change Is Never-Ending.
Are you still doing some things the way you always have? Have
you been doing them so long that you can’t remember why? Does
your calendar contain activities that aren’t productive, but you
don’t dare remove them? If you answer yes to any of these
questions, you may be trapped in traditional thinking.
Life is a process of change, yet many of us have a false
expectation that we’ll one day “arrive” and never have to change
again. That’s true in a sense, but that arrival doesn’t occur
until we reach heaven. Here on earth, we need to stay open to
adaptation and growth.
If you can’t remember why something is done the way it is,
examine its value.
If you can’t remember why something is done the way it is,
examine its value. We should take both God and our ministry
seriously, but procedures and programs should never be sacred.
Get used to change; expect it and welcome it when it comes, and
you’ll be ready to lead your people to growth.
My challenge to you is to tap into the resource of God’s wisdom
and make the changes you need to make, both personally and
professionally. This will enable you to proactively guide your
church through necessary transition before it’s forced upon you
and you’ve missed out on precious potential.
“This article is used by permission from Dr. Dan Reiland’s free monthly e-newsletter, “The Pastor’s Coach,” available at www.INJOY.com.”
Those of you who know me well know that I am a pretty big football fan. My favorite NFL team is the Kansas City Chiefs, while my favorite college team is the Ohio State Buckeyes. So far this year, neither team is doing well, with the Chiefs only winning one game, and the Buckeyes having lost two (which is a lot for them!) at the time I write this article. While I’m not a complete lunatic when I watch my favorite teams play on television, I do find myself occasionally yelling at the screen, jumping off my chair, second guessing the coach’s as well as the official’s calls, and feeling anything from disappointment to jubilation, depending on how my team is playing.
If I could somehow observe myself while watching a game, I’d probably look pretty silly. Why get so excited over grown men trying to get a ball from one end of the field to the other? I mean, at the end of the day, does it really matter? If my team wins or loses, does it really change my life or the lives of others in any important way? Of course it doesn’t, yet I find myself getting excited nonetheless, and I know that many of you do too. Whether it is football, some other sport, hunting, crafts, or something else, we tend to put a lot of emphasis on things that in the long run, really don’t make any difference.
Sometimes I wonder about our dedication to trivial things in comparison to our level of commitment when it comes to living out a life dedicated to Christ. Do we get as excited about doing the work Jesus has called us to as we do about a ball game? When it comes to things eternal, is our focus squarely on the purpose that Jesus has worked into our hearts? In the game of life, we’re not called to be observers, but participants. And we know that we’re having a winning season when we can score with personal growth, leading others into a relationship with Christ, and find ourselves becoming more and more like the one that we follow. At the end of life, I want to make sure that my time has been well spent by focusing on things that have an eternal impact. That can only happen when I begin to understand the necessity of being transformed by Jesus Christ. How about you? Are you ready to get into the game?
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This group is a great way to fellowship with others who are called to ministry. Your ideas and contributions will be valued. We presently have almost 500 members. There is no charge whatsoever for this service. You will need to sign up with Yahoo Groups to join in the discussion.
Once you click on the link above, you will be taken to a page where you will find a light-blue graphic on the right-hand side of the page that says “Join This Group!.” Click on that graphic to complete your sign-up.
Is all leadership innate and natural? Is leadership limited to a spiritual gift? Or is it possible that leadership can be learned? This is a controversial subject, but I am of the strong opinion that you can learn leadership. I have watched far too many people who don’t fit the typical leadership image emerge from the fray and assume substantial responsibility and carry it well. Not as a manager, but as a leader – someone who has true influence and leverages it toward a clear and compelling preferred future.
Those of you who know me well know that I am a pretty big football fan. My favorite NFL team is the Kansas City Chiefs, while my favorite college team is the Ohio State Buckeyes. So far this year, neither team is doing well, with the Chiefs only winning one game, and the Buckeyes having lost two (which is a lot for them!) at the time I write this article. While I’m not a complete lunatic when I watch my favorite teams play on television, I do find myself occasionally yelling at the screen, jumping off my chair, second guessing the coach’s as well as the official’s calls, and feeling anything from disappointment to jubilation, depending on how my team is playing.