The right to lead

Now that you have been elected into office, or have been given the promotion, consider this: position, title, rank or degree doesn’t qualify you, or anyone for that matter, to lead other people. Leading others doesn’t automatically come with age or experience either.

No one can be given the right to lead, but everyone can earn the right to lead. And earning this right takes time and a lot of effort. Rightly so, because the key to becoming an effective leader is not to focus on making other people follow you, but on making you the kind of person they would want to follow. You must become someone others can trust to take them where they want to go or where they ought to be.

Thus, Dr. John Maxwell, whose programs our company presents, offers the following advice on effectively earning the right to lead:

1. LET GO OF YOUR EGO

The truly great leaders are not in leadership for personal gain. They lead in order to serve other people. Lawrence D. Bell remarked, “Show me a man who cannot bother to do little things, and I’ll show you a man who cannot be trusted to do big things.”

2. BECOME A GOOD FOLLOWER FIRST

Rare is the effective leader who didn’t learn to become a good follower first. That is why a leadership institution such as the United States Military Academy teaches its officers to become effective followers first - and why West Point has produced more leaders than the Harvard Business School.

3. BUILD POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS

Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less. That means it is by nature relational. Today’s generation of leaders seem particularly aware of this because title and position mean so little to them. They know intuitively that people go along with people they get along with.

4. WORK WITH EXCELLENCE

No one respects and follows mediocrity. Leaders who earn the right to lead give their all to what they do. They bring into play not only their skills and talents, but also great passion and hard work. They perform on the highest level of which they are capable.

5. RELY ON DISCIPLINE NOT EMOTION

Leadership is often easy during the good times. It’s when everything seems to be against you – when you’re out of energy and you don’t want to lead – that you earn your place as a leader. During every season of life, leaders face crucial moments when they must choose between gearing up or giving up. To make it through those times, rely on the rock of discipline, not the shifting sands of emotion.

6. MAKE ADDING VALUE YOUR GOAL

When you look at the leaders whose names are revered long after they have finished leading, you find that they were men and women who helped people to live better lives and reach their potential. That is the highest calling of leadership – and its highest value.

7. GIVE YOUR POWER AWAY

One of the ironies of leadership is that you become a better leader by sharing whatever power you have, not by saving it all for yourself. You’re meant to be a river, not a reservoir. If you use your power to empower others, your leadership will extend far beyond your grasp.

Maxwell is so right isn’t he? And maybe this is the reason why so many people attend my once-a-month public seminar on leadership, and why the many who have attended have increased their leadership skills and accomplished more and better things as a result of it. Wouldn’t it be a great idea if we can have all the newly-elected officials attend leadership seminars too?

Here is a powerful teaching from Jesus: “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.

I’m sure this works. 

(Develop your leadership skills! Francis Kong will be the lead trainer for the Dr. John Maxwell’s “Developing the Leader Within You” leadership program this June 28-29 at the EDSA Shangri-la Hotel. For further inquiries, contact Inspire Leadership Consultancy Inc., at 632-6872614 or 09178511115.)