A spirit of leadership

The world seems to view our leaders as those that just have spirits of courage, of risk, of vision and those that have made it.  The world is enamored with celebrity and those that become rich, even if what they do is a fad, or materialistic. The headlines are on scandals and stock markets rushes and on how much money someone did or didn't bring in.  The world celebrates fame and money, and highlights those that WIN at the success game.  Leaders tend to be described with phrases and words such as: powerful, dominant, aggressive, no mercy, a mover and shaker, a wheeler and dealer and the like.

Love, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, these are words that you rarely hear to describe leaders.  I have actually been told not to use those words in marketing at companies, they sound too fluffy.  I was told they were too personal and should be saved for families and parents with children, lovers, but not adjectives to describe our companies and certainly not our vision or our leaders, right?

Nothing could be further from the truth!

When you search history, and not the timeline of this week on Facebook, you will fine the best leaders EVER possessed these characteristics as part of their inner beings, in other words, their spirit.  From Jesus Christ to Dr. Martin Luther King, from Abraham Lincoln to Mother Teresa, from a long time loving foster parent to your favorite pastor, they all shared this spirit.

A spirit that showed their care for others in love. A spirit that showed their wanting for what was best by exercising patience not just pusuasiveness. A spirit of doing what was right, not popular, but always righteous. A spirit to lead by being kind, good and gentle, always acting with self control. They didn't "lose it". Each of them worked tirelessly, for the cause of who they led, without pomp and circumstance and always with critics.

Take time now to reflect on if these words described as the ideal spirit of leadership.  This "spirit" of leadership, is what comes from within you, naturally, without hesitation.  It isn't what you want to be or how you want to act, it is what you actually do and say.  Be honest with yourself and see where you can improve.

How do you react to conflict. Is it with with anger, bitterness, and malice? Do you have words that are gentle to heal, or do you speak with slander and hatred when your ideas are challenged? Take time, have the heart check and become a leader that has a spirit of true leadership and you will find yourself in some great company.