What Every Leader Needs
By: John Maxwell, Earlene Perkins & Brian Kinsey
 
Every master has either his text or his tools for the job he is given to do. The words and the weapons are necessary for a general to mobilize his troops to meet the enemy and defeat them. Whether you are going to war or building a tower, you must count the cost to complete the project. Leaders need specific tools and aids to equip them for the task ahead.
 
1.  Encouragement – Giving out depletes, but speaking faith and hope replenishes! A leader needs to encourage, but also needs to be encouraged often. Affirming words, “job well done” give strength back to a weary leader. Meeting with other leaders to keep them informed of what is going on, keeps the unity of the goal alive. Discussing what is working and what is not will keep the projects moving smoothly. Open communication is a must for success (2 Chronicles 15:7).
 
2.  Training & Mentoring – Jesus was willing to invest in people whom others  would have overlooked or rejected because he understood what His redemption could do. Jesus was a mastermind thinker. He understood both the small pieces of the puzzle as well as the big picture and how each part fit the whole. “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”  This is the mantra of leadership expert Simon Sinek. Everyone needs training and we all need to continue to learn. Dr. Ashley Montagu wrote, “The only measure of what you believe is what you do. If you want to know what people believe, don’t read what they write, don’t ask what they believe, just observe what they do.”
 
3.  Anointing – only through the power of the Holy Ghost can we possibly expect to accomplish what Jesus wants us to do. What does it mean to be anointed? Here’s one way to break it down. Anointed leadership is characterized by:

Charisma – The anointed enjoy a sense of giftedness that comes from God. It seems magnetic.

Character – People see God’s nature in your leadership. They trust you.

Competence – You have the ability to get the job done. Your leadership produces results.

Conviction – Your leadership has backbone. You always stand for what is right.

4.  To live Intentionally – Make every day your masterpiece because what you seek is what you receive. Most people end up accepting their life rather than making their life. You can’t spend the rest of your life hoping something will change or happen. You must become intentional if you are going to be the leader God wants you to be. You have to find out what God created you for. What are you passionate about! Then you will be able to reach your goals. But, you have to be prepared on the inside. You have to grow on the inside to make your goals reasonable and achievable. Look at your friends and ask yourself is this person going to be an asset on my journey or a liability. “The greatest gap in life is the one between knowing and doing.”
- Dick Biggs