Wow. Nobody is neutral…
It took me a while to get my head together to write the notes for session 4…that was partly because I was stumbled by a statement John Maxwell made at the very start of the session.
I had been prepared to believe that there are a few movers and shakers that make things happen in a positive way and a few, probably fewer, because I like to think the best of people, who try to sabotage what the organisation is trying to achieve. So it threw a spanner into my works to hear, “Every relationship nurtures a strength or a weakness within you…every person adds, subtracts, multiplies or divides.”
If that is the case I think I need to pay more attention…it seems to me we spend much of the time coasting along thinking things are just naturally getting better on their own.
But in the light of this, leaders need to know quickly into which group people fall with the first goal of helping them to move into a better group. We have to assume they want to move but if it becomes clear that they don’t we will need to be courageous enough to move them out altogether.
Having realised the truth of this and thinking back over the last few years we actually have had occasion to do this and have done it quite well. Some people have definitely grown from subtractors to adders and a couple from adders to multipliers, which is encouraging. There have also been one or two dividers, and sadly, try as we might they just seemed so entrenched we had to move them on. Moving people out is painful and difficult for everyone but for the benefit of the whole group we have done it, and are glad we did.
So John picked up with this statement and then moved on to the place he left off last time…Remember we are trying to spot the leaders that may be among us and he was giving us 10 ways to recognise them. Lets review the first 3 before continuing at number 4.
- Leaders Make Things Happen.
- Leader see Opportunities and Seize them.
- Leader Influence Others.
So on with Number 4. Leaders Add Value.
John talked about building a Dream Team by looking for and developing people with ten different leadership styles. Overall that team would all receive from the organisation and they would all add to it in different ways but in equal measures. This is the Equity Factor. It is necessary for both parties to feel they are getting benefits equal to what they are giving if the relationship is to last. This is true in an organisation, in a marriage or a partnership of any kind.
So as an inspirational leader John would expect the following from his leadership team. That they would love him unconditionally, that they would catch and run with his vision, that they would talk well of him to others and transfer the loyalty of others to him, that they would complement his strengths and make up for his weaknesses with their own different strengths to expand the organisation and that they would laugh and cry together.
In return he would expect to give them his very best in time and quality of effort, that he would trust them with his life, that he would share his blessings with them and add value to their lives. That their whole life would be better because they have been on the journey together.
So how do we ensure or allow people to add value?
We commit to team leadership rather than dictatorship
The leader must be secure, not afraid to develop people to be better than himself.
The leadership team must spend time together to share their hearts not just hard facts.
Each leader must recognise they all have strengths and weaknesses but together they are powerful enough to achieve the goals.
So what are the 10 Leadership styles then? we will list them here and make small comments such as types from scripture but define them more thoroughly as we continue in future weeks. It is quite likely thane person may fulfil 2 or 3 of the styles but no-one would have all of them.
The 10 types are…
1 The Visionary Leader.
2 Directional Leaders…knows what he wants and tells people exactly what and how to do it.
3 Strategic Leaders…can analyse the problem, determine the best way to solve it and then communicate that to people who need to do the actual work.
4 Managing Leaders…biblical example might be Joseph whose skill set enabled him to manage the affairs of Egypt through seven years of plenty in preparation for a similar period of famine. Everyone won… he came out rich and powerful, he made Egypt and the Pharaoh richer, he saved the lives of his family and prepared the way fro the birth of a nation. No bad effort for a dreamer.
5 Motivational Leaders…we all know them, no need for expanation.
6 Shepherding Leaders…pastoral care that causes people to want to serve…eg. King David
7 Team Building Leaders…can pull together all the needed ingredients and create cohesion.
8 Entrepreneurial Leaders…biblical example might be Paul the Apostle
9 Re-engineering Leaders…can see what no longer works and develop new better ways to do it
10 Bridge building Leaders…like Barnabus…the oil between those who might be opposites
The other 6 way to recognise potential leaders…
5. Leaders Attract Leaders to Them
Like attracts like, birds of a feather flock together…if someone is not attracting other leaders they are not likely to be the leader you want on your team.
6. Leaders Equip People to Lead.
There followers might have the personal skills and talents they desire on the team but need nurturing and training to become leaders themselves. Someone said ‘we take eagles and teach them to fly in formation’ eagles are clearly the right material but can they play a team game?
7. Leaders Provide Ideas.
Ideas that will make a difference, that take the organisation forward, enhance the vision. If the burden is only on the visionary leader to come up with all the ideas the organisation cannot fulfil its potential. The mental load must be shared and the people who share it will be the key people in the organisations future.
8. Leaders at the level we are talking will have an uncommon GREAT ATTITUDE
Followers accept things as they are, leaders see things as they ought to be and get on with changing them. We all experience change, discouragement, fatigue, failure, pressure etc…leaders just deal with them better.
9. Leaders Live Up to Their Commitments.
Promises and commitments are easily made in moments of excitement of high motivation and emotion and are very often broken when the excitement of the moment has worn off. Leaders always keep their promises to themselves and to others. Commitment = success.
10. Leaders are Loyal to Those Above Them
This may be number 10 on the list but is certainly not least. The first occasion of disloyalty disqualifies that person from ever being trusted in a leadership position again. Loyalty is the most important ingredient in a man’s character and in a trust network, or trust group where all our livelihoods and even our lives might be at stake there can be no margin for error and no good reason for selecting a disloyal person.
If a person come complaining about another leader and says he has come to you because your reputation is so much better you can take it to the bank that the day will come when he will also turn on you.