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26 Characteristics of a True Leader
1. A leader is trustworthy.
It all starts with trust for a leader. And a leader builds trust when people are convinced you will do everything in your power for their good and nothing for their harm.
2. A leader takes the initiative.
The apostle Paul seized initiative. In Acts 27, as a prisoner on a boat, he recognized they were going to shipwreck and pointed it out clearly. He had no rank. He had no particular right. He had no title. He had no authority. But he realized there was a problem, so he took the initiative and tried to bring clarity to the situation. That’s leadership. Leaders rise in times of crisis by taking the initiative.
In the Old Testament, Nehemiah led the efforts to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls:
- He identified the problem.
- He came up with a solution.
- He delegated responsibility. He didn’t take the responsibility of oversight and labor for the entire wall upon himself. He appointed trustworthy men to oversee sections of the labor, dividing their responsibilities in accord with their abilities, and he knew how to motivate people toward the goal.
Ultimately, the wall was rebuilt…and it all started with Nehemiah’s initiative.
3. A leader uses good judgment.
4. A leader speaks with authority.
Paul didn’t speak with pomposity and arrogance—that’s not the same as authority. Instead, Paul spoke with an unshakable authority derived from his absolute certainty that God’s Word was true and His promises were trustworthy.
What does this mean for us? As leaders, we must know the Scriptures. We must believe with an unshakable conviction that God’s Word is true. And we must be able to communicate the truth of God’s Word with confidence and conviction.
5. A leader strengthens others.
A real leader’s aim is to make everyone around him better—stronger, more effective, and more motivated.
6. A leader is optimistic and enthusiastic.
Optimistic enthusiasm inspires followers. People will naturally follow a leader who arouses their hopes, and they will just as surely back away from someone who is perpetually pessimistic.
True leadership is tested and proven in crises. The real leader is the one who can handle the stress. He is the one who can solve the problems, bear the burdens, find the solutions, and win the victories when everyone else is merely flustered, confounded, and perplexed.
7. A leader never compromises the absolutes.
When God has spoken, there can be no compromise. It’s one thing to compromise on matters of preference. It’s entirely different to compromise on matters of principle. No one can be a truly effective spiritual leader unless he understands the essential truth of Scripture and refuses to compromise its absolute authority.
8. A leader focuses on objectives, not obstacles.
Here’s a truth any godly mother knows—two keys to serving the Lord are prayer and a good breakfast. Paul did not neglect the crew’s physical needs and lecture them about the spiritual needs of their souls. He balanced the spiritual with the physical.
9. A leader empowers by example.
Paul was tested in the crucible of crisis, and he stepped up and showed how a true leader acts. He was decisive. He was determined. He was clear thinking and levelheaded. He took control when things were otherwise out of control. And God honored his efforts with amazing success.
10. A leader cultivates loyalty.
Paul was loyal to the Corinthian church, and he wanted them to be loyal to him. MacArthur tells college graduates that they can be successful in any profession they choose if they do a few things consistently:
- Be on time
- Keep quiet and work hard
- Do what the boss tells you
- Have a positive attitude, and perhaps most importantly—
- Be fiercely loyal to the people you work for and with
11. A leader has empathy for others.
Empathy is the ability to identify with another person so much that you feel what he or she feels. It is essential to true compassion, sensitivity, understanding, and comfort.
There were 3 keys to Paul’s sincerity:
- He always operated with a clear conscience.
- He always sought to show himself reliable in words and action.
- As the Corinthians themselves were well aware, his dealings with them were never self-serving or heavy-handed, but always driven by a genuine, tender affection for them.
12. A leader keeps a clear conscience.
Remember, good leadership is a matter of character, and a righteous character depends on a healthy conscience.
13. A leader is definite and decisive.
Good leaders must be able to make decisions in a way that is clearheaded, proactive, and conclusive. They must also be able to communicate objectives in a way that is articulate, emphatic, and distinct.
14. A leader knows when to change his mind.
While leaders must be definitive and decisive, they must not be utterly inflexible. Unfortunately, this aspect of leadership has been diminished in politics with the notion of “flip-flopping” on issues. Politicians…even when they have new information…are judged harshly when they change their minds.
15. A leader does not abuse his authority.
Paul never abused authority he held. He is known by his: loyalty, empathy, compassion, tenderness, clear communication, and unvarnished honesty. That’s why it was especially ironic that his enemies accused him of insincerity.
16. A leader doesn’t abdicate his role in the face of opposition.
Remember, the effectiveness of leadership is measured in terms of influence. When you see someone’s influence reflected so profoundly in the lives of other people, you have identified someone who is by definition a leader…no matter what the opposition says.
17. A leader is sure of his calling.
Those who are unsure of their own vocation cannot possibly be effective leaders. Nothing is more debilitating to leadership than self-doubt. People who have qualms about their own giftedness or calling never make good leaders, because at the most basic level they are uncertain about whether what they are doing is right.
In addition, leaders can’t be truly successful if they consider the present task a stepping-stone. You can’t be distracted by the future and effective in the present. If leaders take care of the present task with all their power, the future will open up even greater opportunities. Living in the fantasy of those future opportunities, however, debilitates us in the present.
18. A leader knows his own limitations.
In no way did Paul imagine himself intrinsically adequate for the task to which God had called him. And that realization kept him dependent on divine grace in every aspect of his leadership. He knew his limitations.
In contrast, those whom the world holds up as leaders often exude arrogance, cockiness, egotism, and conceit. Those things are not qualities of true leadership; they are actually hindrances to it. The leader who forgets his own weakness will inevitably fail.
Keep this in mind: no competent leader is going to be anxious to impress people with his credentials. Leaders become qualified because of their character. They are easily identified, not by letters of commendation, but because of the influence they have on others. They are people who are confident of their calling, and yet at the same time, they know they are utterly dependent on God as the source of their true power.
19. A leader is resilient.
Resiliency is absolutely essential to anyone in leadership, and it is a marvelous partner to the virtue of humility. The leader, while knowing his own weakness, must be strong and stalwart.
20. A leader is passionate.
An apathetic leader is a contradiction in terms. No true leader will ever be uncaring. In his classic work titled Spiritual Leadership, Oswald Sanders even included anger in his list of qualifications for leadership. Great leaders who have turned the tide for nations have been men and women who could get angry at the injustices and abuses which dishonor God and enslave men.
21. A leader is courageous.
22. A leader is discerning.
One of the fundamental qualifications for spiritual leadership is a knowledge of the truth, an ability to recognize lies, and skill in using the truth to refute the lies.
23. A leader is disciplined.
A common pitfall that can easily disqualify a person from leadership even after he has made a good start—the one snare that has probably caused the downfall of more leaders than any other hazard—is a lack of personal discipline.
Leaders must be disciplined. Leaders who don’t have control of their time won’t have control of any aspect of their lives. And leaders who don’t operate deliberately–on the schedule they planned–will have lives marked by crises and problem people.
24. A leader is energetic.
In addition to discipline, a leader brings infectious energy to the task, the team, and the organization.
25. A leader knows how to delegate.
Every wise leader has to come to grips, sooner rather than later with the fact that you simply cannot do everything yourself. Delegation equips others to lead. The leader who follows that plan will reproduce more leaders.
Leaders who are servants lead and train other servants. Jesus modeled that kind of discipleship during His earthly life, and He always maintained the perfect balance, never neglecting prayer or the ministry of the Word for the sake of meeting mundane needs, while never letting people’s needs go unmet.
26. A leader is Christlike.
We have come back to our starting point. Leadership is all about character—honor, decency, integrity, faithfulness, holiness, moral purity, and other qualities like these. All these virtues may be combined and summed up in one final statement. This rounds out and perfectly summarizes every fundamental requirement of a true leader: A leader is Christlike.
In the end, was Paul a failure as a leader? Not in the least. His continuing influence in the lives of so many people gives ample proof of the effectiveness of his leadership to the very end. He kept the faith. He fought a good fight. He finished his course with joy. That was his legacy in this life…and beyond…
How about you? Are you learning from Paul, as you shoot for the stars on your way to become an Out of This World Leader?