PRODUCTIVE LEADERSHIP

 

PREAMBLE

The opportunity to be part of this Leadership Summit organized by Truth & Grace Evangelical Mission International is deeply appreciated. The vision of developing leaders for churches and national development being pursued by the ministry is noble, considering the need of our world in general and our nation in particular.

 

INTRODUCTION

It is often said that everything rises and falls on leadership. The success or failure of any institution or organization is determined by the strength of its leadership. Strong and true leadership is required for success in any enterprise. If you want to know the spoilage of fish check the head.

 

This is because according to Oswald J. Sanders in his book, “Spiritual Leadership”, leadership is influence. The enormous influence of a leader is best illustrated with the assertion of Alexander the Great when he said, “I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.” This shows what productive leadership is all about. Joseph’s productive leadership is confirmed in Genesis 39:5, “And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.”

 

Productive leaders leave lasting legacies behind after they are gone and thereby get their names written in indelible ink and not invisible ink. We have examples of people like Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, Nelson Mandela of South Africa and Paul Kagame of Rwanda, to mention a few.

 

In our world today, lack of productive leaders has left us with loss of influence, resulting in poor performance even in the face of enormous resources as well as plentiful and unprecedented opportunities.

 

I. THE PROBLEM

The most critical problem that we have is that our world is dying because of lack of productive leadership. There is a big leadership vacuum in our world. This is largely because those who are willing to lead often have neither experience nor exposure to what productive leadership is all about.

 

The problem begins with the wrong perception that leadership is an instrument of influence to oppress, force and manipulate people with words and actions. Whereas productive leadership is the exact opposite. For instance:

Ø  Productive leadership is not about control but influence.

Ø  It is not about power but empowerment.

Ø  It is not about manipulation but inspiration.

Ø  It is not about oppressing or ruling people but pursuing a purpose.

 

Productive leadership is effective management of self and task in the utilization of resources and opportunities for good performance. Our inability to convert the God given potential for leadership into reality has left us with a gap leading to poor performance.

 

II. THE PORTRAIT OF A PRODUCTIVE LEADER

The Lord Jesus gave us an insight into the portrait of a productive leader as a servant leader in Matthew 20:25-28. The first use of this concept was in 1970 by Rodert Greenleaf. The servant leader focuses primarily on the growth and wellbeing of the people they lead. Unlike the traditional leader whose focus is the exact opposite, i.e servant leadership is about:

ü  Influence; not position or control

ü  Empowerment; not exercise of power and authority

ü  Inspiration; not manipulation

It is about pursuing a vision and a purpose; not oppressing people. We can see this in the life of David leading to all Israel anointing him. 2 Samuel 5:1-3.

 

The servant leader helps their followers to develop, optimize performance and are also willing to learn from everyone. Examples of such leaders are Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King and Mother Theresa. Others are Nelson Mandela and Paul Kagame of South Africa and Rwanda respectively.

 

According to Art Barter, the founder/CEO of The Servant Leadership Institute and CEO of the Datron World Communication Inc., a leader in this model cannot have any selfish motivation, it has to be less of you as a leader. Barter says, “Behaviour isn’t just what gets done, but how it get done!” The end result of this model of leadership is high performance and productivity.

 

The demand on a servant leader is clearly stated in the advice of the old men to Rehoboam in 1 Kings 12:7, “And they spoke to him saying, if you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and answer them and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.”

 

From the above scripture, a servant leader is expected to be selfless, transparent and consistent in character. He must possess a desire to motivate followers with good example worthy of emulation.

 

Jesus also confirmed same in Matthew 20:25-28 concluding that, “……whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.” A servant leader is expected therefore to be selfless, consistent in character and transparent as well as being a motivator who is worthy of emulation. Such a leader must be ready as a servant to attend to followers and meet their needs. This will sometimes entail the following:

·        A surrender of the leader’s preference. Philippians 2:3

·        A surrender of the leader’s freedom. 1 Corinthians 9:19

·        A surrender of the leader’s ego. John 13:14

 

Every leader and potential leaders who desire to be productive should ask themselves on a regular basis whether they are still a servant-leader and therefore productive or a self-serving leader?

 

III. THE PILLARS OF PRODUCTIVE LEADERSHIP

We have looked at the problem of leadership in our world particularly productive leadership. We also looked at the portrait of a productive leader and what a leader should be in order to be productive.

 

Finally, we shall be looking at pillars of productive leadership. These are essentials of productive leadership. Every leader who desires to make impact and be productive must pay attention to these four pillars of productive leadership.

 

1) VISION GIVES DIRECTION - Proverbs 29:18

All achievements, all goals, all that God wants us to do begins with vision. God wants us to live our lives with direction, having a target, aim, goal towards which we are constantly moving. Where are you heading to as a leader?

- To live without a goal is to live like a goat.

- You must have a goal for what you are doing.

- What is the destination you are leading your organization to?

- Habakkuk 2:2. Write the vision, make it plain upon the tables.

- God only works with what you see with your inner eye. Matthew 6:22

- What you see with your inner eyes will have influence on your life. Hebrews 12:1

- The problem with most people is what they see. Some see problems, others see opportunities.

- The ten (10) spies saw giants but the other two (2) saw God. Numbers 13:25-33.

- What you see will determine your direction.

- What do you see in the future of your organization?

- How do you see yourself in the future of your organization?

 

If you are visionary as a leader, you will be self-motivated and passionate. Genesis 13:14-15. What Abraham saw affected him positively. All the land that you see is given to you

 

  Fig. 1

 

2) STRATEGY PROVIDES ACTION PLAN

Ecclesiastes 10:15, “The labour of the foolish wearieth everyone of them, for they know not the way to the city.” Having obtained direction through vision and goals, a productive leader needs a plan which must be broken into action plan, or a step by step move towards achieving the goal. An action plan must necessarily involve:

a) Specific tasks to be carried out. What is to be done?

b) Timing of carrying out the task. When will it be done?

c) Resources needed (spiritual, financial, physical). What will be required?

 

3) PASSION PROVIDED ACTION AND POWER

Of what use is a car that has sound body and engine with a good driver but no battery or fuel? Fire creates power that makes the vehicle move. John 6:63a, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing:”

 

The fire of enthusiasm (“in God”) God in us Greek word (in-Theos). Habakkuk 2:2 “……. That he may run that read it.”

 

Micah 3:8a, “But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the Lord and of judgment and of might.”

 

Distinction will only answer to ACTION. VISION without ACTION is TELEVISION.

 

Acts 10:38 “How God anointed Jesus Christ of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power and he went about going good…..”

 

Every destiny decays in the hand of laziness. Ecclesiastes 10:18

 

Proverbs 13:11 Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.

 

Terry Cox, a Canadian lost his right leg to cancer, but ran for 143 days on an artificial leg - running 24 miles/day and raised $350 million dollars. His secret - “I kept running to the next pole”. TAKE A STEP DAILY TOWARDS FULFILLING YOUR VISION. Proverbs 6:4. Do not procrastinate.

 

Motivation

·        Leaders need to be motivated to take action. An idea of what is at stake will motivate you into action.

·        Jesus was motivated to go to the cross. Hebrews 12:2.

·        Caleb motivated Othniel into conquering Kirjath Sepher by offering Achsah his daughter as wife to him. Joshua 15:16-17

·        David was motivated to kill 200 Philistines by marrying the king’s daughter Michal. 1 Samuel 18:23 - 27.

 

4) INTEGRITY PROVIDES QUALITY

Integrity is more important than talent, charisma, intelligence or oratorical skills. Integrity attracts human, material and spiritual resources.

 

§  Proverbs 14:34, “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.” There is no true success without it.

§  Lack of integrity brought Samson down.

§  Lack of integrity cost Saul his kingdom.

§  Integrity build trust.

§  Integrity makes us men/women of influence and trustworthy.

When money is lost nothing is lost, when health is lost something is lost when integrity or character is lost all is lost.

 

Jesus said, “Ye shall know them by their fruits.” Matthew 7:16a. No matter how highly placed you are, lack of integrity can bring you down. Unfaithfulness brings about bad jobs. Even a thief will always look for an honest person to work for him.

 

CONCLUSION

It is noteworthy that each of the four pillars of productive leadership has a link to God and godliness. It is God that gives vision. Our strategy will amount to nothing without God. Psalm 127:1. The fire of enthusiasm (passion) “In God” Greek i.e Godinus. Strategy and action plan without the fire of enthusiasm will produce nothing. And without the fear of God, leaders will lack integrity.