THE INSIGNIFICANT LEADER

Posted: 4:27 PM
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Author: Jayson Pagan

In*sig*nif*i*cant

1. Not significant, especially:
a. Lacking in importance; trivial.
b. Lacking power, position, or value; worthy of little regard.
c. Small in size or amount.
2. Having little or no meaning.

You don’t want to be included in the definition of ‘insignificant’! How does one move from earning the place of leadership to down spiraling into being small in influence and having very little value when it comes to moving people forward?

Although this list is not complete, you will find here several attitudes, dispositions, and habits of THE INSIGNIFICANT LEADER. I have struggled with them ALL.

1. BELIEVE IN THE TEAM OF ONE.

You are the leader. As leader you will be the most important person on your team. You will be responsible to bring talent, creativity, conviction, vision, and momentum. You can do it – it is what God called you to do. People need you, not the other way around.

If you believe this, you must also buy into the inevitable fact that you will become very frustrated, burned out, intolerable, and inconsistent. No leader can bring everything a team or church needs to go where God wants to take it. That is why God gave you a team. You are not the only leader, you just happen to be the one out front. People are the resource God gave you to do His work. You must learn to love them and guide them into becoming an empowered and anointed group of team players whose gifts are unleashed into the atmosphere of the church.

The vision and goals of any worthwhile leader require more than his two hands, one head, and one heart. If all you need is YOU to get where the group is going, you probably don’t have a vision worth following. Get on your knees until God baptizes you with a vision that causes you to rise up and passionately recruit the inner-workings of the people God has given you. Stay on your knees until you have something so big from God you could never do it on your own.

Remember, no one leader or team is successful unless a whole lot of people want them to be. You need people. Nothing is more your job than loving, working with, and leading people. The days of simply “tasking” your way through are over! Peoplework must become the heartbeat of your life as a leader. I heard it once said by a good friend of mine, “You can’t just love souls, you have to love PEOPLE!”

Learn to know your people. Tap into their creativity. Work jointly together on the vision that the whole group feels God is giving. Delegate and let them go. There is no “I” in ‘Team”, and there are no teams of “one”. Take time to let people know that, “Without YOU, We can never do this!”.

If you believe that the present and future of your leadership is all wrapped up in YOU, you will soon join the masses of insignificant leaders.

2. NEVER WALK IN THE SUPERNATURAL.

Insignificant leaders only offer human results. Who wants to give away their very life blood- time, energy, money, etc. for something that a well-talented man can do? Not me.

Joshua was a pretty strong guy. He had proven his leadership in dynamic ways. But when it was time to take the 'invencible' city of Jericho he realized that ‘human leadership’ without spiritual vision and empowerment was an ill attempt at greatness. It would only get him through the door of that city. ‘Human leadership’ would never bring those walls down! The voice of God doesn’t just jump out of a bush and give you an instruction sheet for the next steps in your leadership journey - At some point in time Joshua had to find a place away from the people and the impending battle and get direction from the Almighty. Leadership without the supernatural is insipid, flavorless, mediocre, and unexciting. It seldom calls great men to follow; however, when the leader leads his team to see a vision from God, and rallies them to fast, pray, and exercise faith, people start coming out of the wood-work to see “what’s happening down in Jericho.”

If you don’t discipline yourself to hear the voice of God and allow that voice to impassion you for the supernatural work of God, you will find that followers will have very little true regard for your leadership.

3. LIVE ONLY FOR TODAY.

Today is the most important day you live. This is true for everyone; nevertheless leaders are different. Imagine that! Leaders have to think ahead of next week, next month, next year!

Much of the influence you gain as a leader is because you know what is going on. You are prepared. You are organized (or you have someone help you keep organized like my incredible wife!). You are on top of your game.

One of the greatest things leaders offer people is solutions to problems and the ability to see them before the bomb goes off. Much of this comes from planning, foresight, and analyzing the risks and possible issues that may arise in the future.

People need forecasters!!! Mainstream media spends millions of dollars each year to offer 1,001 ways to access Mr. Weatherman’s indications for the next hour, day, and week. People want to know someone is looking out for tomorrow! You do not CONTROL the future, but you need to at least own a good calendar, watch, and thinking cap. People are drawn to leaders who seem to have a grip on where we are all going; on the other hand, they also drift away from leaders who have no idea what time it is.

One of your first roles as a leader is to forecast. Forecast everything you see - both victories and challenges. Get a vision for what you feel God wants to happen. Get the vision to them. Get your team. Plan. Set goals. Set timelines. Set SOMETHING!!!! Remember, what gets measured, gets done!!!

Think about the future of your people. Think about them individually. Think about talents. Think about their dreams. Think about where they want to be in a year from now. Think…Think…Think. Sit down with the next month’s calendar of events today and THINK!! What?????...you don’t have a plan for the next month? Then how do you expect anyone to follow you into next year?

Get a plan or get a plot in the graveyard of insignificant leaders.

4. CALL PEOPLE TO PLACES YOU HAVE NEVER GONE.

We need to pray an hour a day, fast one day a week, and read the whole Bible through in a year. Funny how many times I have said that. Leader’s sure know how to turn inspiration into perspiration!

Don’t waste your influence on asking people to live a fairy tale life. Be transparent. Look at where you are and then calculate where you can realistically call them to be.

You can only take people to places you are or have been. If the best that you have to offer others is not more than what they already have then you can not take them any further than where they are right now.

Focus on leading yourself, first. Gain the discipline to go places in God and in life, so you can have the passion to call people there as well.

If you are always living at the same level as everyone else, never transparently and passionately able to call them to go deeper, to places you are or have been, then your credibility is in danger and insignificance is in your future.

5. DO ONLY WHAT YOU LIKE.

I love teaching. I enjoy joking around. I enjoy going to youth events, and I’ll even chaperone. I don’t mind catering to special guests when they are with us.

But, I think vacuums are from the underworld! I do not enjoy cleaning the church vans and I am not particularly fond of going to hospitals and nursing homes. If it doesn't involve working with more than 3,257 people I don't want to touch it!

If you don’t like to do something, chances are, others do not either. True leadership has much more to do with discipline than with comfort. It is hard work, and quite frankly, it is work that a lot of people do not want to do. Until God sends a faithful servant to rescue you, those jobs fall your lot.

I have often watched my Pastor make his way through the vestibule with a vacuum cleaner. I have seen him go after busted sewer lines with lightening speed. I have seen him show up on work nights when hardly anyone else would take the time to care. Once he even fixed broken steps on my porch. I don’t think he is particularly fond of any of those chores…but the fact remains… LEADERS GET THINGS DONE. They sideline all prejudices when it comes to tasks that need completed. They don’t always delegate until they are given the right people for the job who can perform the task with the adequate talent and attitude. So, instead, they plod forward doing whatever necessary, whenever necessary, with the best that they have, every time.

If you are only interested in being comfortable then you will neither get things done nor gain the influence of people. If your ‘credentials’ blow out the window- your leadership will be gone. Inaction produces insignificance.

6. NEVER SING THE UNSUNG SONG.

The spotlight starts to blind you if you get to much of it. It is human nature to enjoy the applause for your actions-after all, that means people are recognizing your leadership.

Leaders prefer to recognize, not be recognized. Prefer to direct the spotlight, not to have it in your eyes. People recognize leadership for their ability to bring the positive talents and callings of others to the light. They aren't always the best at it, but you can see in them a genuine desire to see you succeed. Compliments are easily gained, but genuine compliments toward others show your true appreciation and celebration of people as they are.

You shouldn’t have to force people to show you appreciation. If they are not doing this automatically, you may want to check your value of people. Generally, if a leader has been among his people for some time, and his leadership is effective, the followers will show appreciation and gratitude on a regular basis. Leadership is influence...and people will go out of their way if you have influenced their lives in positive and eternal ways.

Lack of appreciation will burn you out. It will also bring burn out to the people you lead. They need to have ‘public praise’ as often as possible. Try taking one of them before the church and let the praises roll…and watch the difference genuine honor can make.

Sing the unsung song. Take time to find the heroes among your team, volunteers and faithful laborers, and sing their song. Let the world know how much you value them. Praise in public, rebuke in private. Put the spot light on them. Salute them because they are the ones who make you and the team successful, powerful, and exciting.

If you have a problem saying “for he’s a jolly good fellow” then you may as well hang up your leadership party hat because if you are unwilling to make people BIG, then you will gradually become small.

7. BE CONTENT WITH YOUR TITLE AS THE UTLTIMATE SIGN OF YOUR LEADERSHIP.

How many leaders I know that were given a position because they got things done. Production was the indicator that they were ready for a promotion. Production can get you a title, but Leadership is earned. Thank God for your piece of paper, good job!...but now, the real work begins. Self-discipline and growth, and PEOPLEWORK.

People will honor you for your title for only so long. From that point you will either grow significantly in their eyes to the point of influencing them, or you will decrease in their eyes and become of little value to them. People don’t want to follow manipulative, arrogant, or egotistical authoritarians…and that is exactly what you are if you think people should follow you because of your position.

Your leadership is only as strong as your relationships. Your relationships are only as strong as your commitment to grow them by love, faith, believing in others, building others up, and harvesting the potential in people.

It may be said often, but it is true, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” If you aren’t crying, laughing, praying, and loving them in the pew, don’t expect them to follow you from the pulpit. That is just the way leadership works.

Jesus had 70 disciples. Of those He chose another group. From that group He chose 12. From that group He chose 3. From that group came John, the beloved. None of them was any more important than the other. The only difference between the 70 and John was RELATIONSHIP. Don't leave your relationship with others up to them - it is your job to lead them, and a great relationship is the foundation on which influence is built. No relationship - no true follower.

Your title or position is not the ultimate expression of what leadership is. It is the least valuable and meaningful expression of who a leader is. From that point you must be committed to learning yourself, growing people, and growing with people.

If you think people should serve you because of your position you may want to trade your diploma in for a towel and begin washing feet. People who have to demand respect seldom get it or deserve it, and those who demand it fade away into the hall of fame of insignificant leaders.