This is part of the monthly synchroblog. In honor of today’s election the topic was leadership.  You can check out all the links below.

Regan had it. You might argue with his policies, but he was an effective leader. He didn’t have an above average IQ, but he possessed a leadership savvy. He was flawed, yet he was committed to his ideals, whether they were popular or not. He worked hard at connecting with people and he did it well. People loved him, and hated him, but everyone understood him. He led the nation in the direction that he believed it should go.

Influence. The essence of leadership is influence and influence is a hard thing to achieve. You can’t demand it. You have to earn it, and that usually takes a long time, unless you are unusually gifted (like Obama). Leadership is a gift, a skill set, and something that is cultivated and developed. It is incredibly dangerous, given the rare ability that gifted leaders have to lead people in a direction of his or her own choosing.

Empathy. Leaders have the ability to identify with people in unusual ways. The average person believes that he understands him in ways that other politicians, pastors, service providers, etc. do not. They tap into the heart and head of a large group of people.… a market, a constituency, a parish. Their influence lies in empathy.

Communication. Personally I think George W. Bush has been an awful President. (I know… along with 75% of the population.) Aside from his policies, he conveys that he just doesn’t really care about the plight of the common citizen and he can’t seem to communicate if his life depended upon it (beyond reading a speech written for him). Bill Clinton’s one shinning characteristic was that convinced people that he cared and even his enemies said that he was a charming and congenial person. Bush hasn’t given us a compelling vision to move toward, just fear to justify his policies, whether it be national security or financial crises. Perhaps, Obama’s greatest asset is that he is the anti-Bush in that he is caring, articulate, and deliberative in his approach. Anyhow, a leader has to be a gifted communicator.

Dream. Leaders have dreams that they will not give up on. The will pay the price to make it happen. They work late, build the team, come back after hard times, and stay at it for the long haul. Their vision is so compelling to them that they cannot give up on it.

People. A vision that does not value, serve, and respect individuals throughout its development and implementation process has lost its way.  In reality, it is a popular model to manage people through blame, fear, deceit and manipulation.  Real leaders will not allow this to happen.  People will be valued, respected, and dealt with lovingly.  Disagreements will be quickly  handled with love and humility.  There are too many unnecessary casualties bleeding on the side of the road because leaders sacrificed people for their grand vision or did whatever was necessary to make it happen.

Dissension. Another lesson from the Bush presidency and darn near every pastor that have ever met, is that they mistakenly surround themselves with people who agree with them or those to whom they consistently defer allowing them to become the defacto leader. Wise leaders want to hear from the dissenters and they have an uncanny ability to recognize unlikely people who will be a great asset to the team. Because they keep listening, their vision is in an ongoing process of being molded and developed.

Character. Lastly, true leaders are the real deal. They are not selling something they don’t believe in. They will not ask people to do something they would not do. They refuse to take short cuts or make compromises to move things forward. Of course, a passion for the vision makes all of these things very enticing.

There are not many true leaders. If you are one, lead! If not, choose carefully!

• jonathan brink – Letter To The President
• adam gonnerman – Aspiring to the Episcopate
• kai – Leadership – Is Servant Leadership a Broken Model?
• sally coleman – In the world but not of it- servant leadership for the 21st Century Church
• alan knox – Submission is given not taken
• joe miller – Elders Lead a Healthy Family: The Future
• cobus van wyngaard – Empowering leadership
• steve hayes – Servant leadership
• geoff matheson - Leadership
• john smulo – Australian Leadership Lessons
• helen mildenhall – Leadership
• tyler savage – Moral Leadership – Is it what we need?
• bryan riley – Leading is to Listen and Obey
• susan barnes – Give someone else a turn!
• liz dyer – A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Polls…
• ellen haroutunian – a new kind of leadership
• julie clawson – leadership expectations
• matt stone – converting leadership
• bill ellis – church and spiritual leadership
• beth patterson – new campaign slogan: i am the river?
• kathy escobar- i’m pretty sure this leadership book won’t make it on the best seller list
  

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• Emerging Challenges
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