Leadership

"If a man's gift is...leadership, let him govern diligently." Romans 12:6-8 NIV

Good leaders have intuition. They "see it" when others don't; they "get it." We all fall into three intuition levels:

(1) Those who will never see it. Putting these people into a leadership role is like putting a square peg in a round hole; you can keep hammering and driving it, but it won't fit. When someone's gifted to work in a support role, it's a mistake to put them into a leadership role. Besides, every orchestra needs a good second fiddle. We're only responsible for the gifts God gives us, not the ones we want - or other people think we should have.

(2) Those who are nurtured to see it. These folks have the raw material; they just need to be nurtured and mentored. Dr. John Maxwell points out that the ability to think like a leader is "informed intuition." These people just need someone to inform, instruct and inspire them, and they'll become good leaders. The truth is, without intuition we're condemned to be blindsided by events and opinions all of our lives.

(3) Those who naturally see it. These are the ones who are born with true leadership gifts. They instinctively understand people and know how to move them from point A to point B. Even as children they act like leaders. Watch them on the playground and you will see everyone else following them. People with such God-given intuition can build on it, become great leaders and bless others.

Now, if you want to see leadership in its finest form study the life of Christ, who said, "the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life" (Mt 20:28 NKJV).