Dear Reader,
I would give you the cliche "Sorry it's been so long since I've written" summary, but you don't want to read another one of those and I don't want to write another one. We are being honest, right? Speaking of honesty, let's get to the topic at hand: leadership.
Honesty is one of the attributes listed in the "Top 10 Qualities That Make a Good Leader," according to Forbes. I like the list and think it very accurate. The subject of being a good leader, however, is something that has been on my mind ever since Institute last week. Our main topic of conversation was a list of attributes that made Jesus Christ a good leader. We wrote up a list of 20-30 attributes/habits on the board. Of that list, we can mention a few here:
1. Individual love
In so many cases, Jesus showed that he cared for the one sheep (Luke 15) that needed his help. In our discussion, we talked about Jesus addressing the disciples individually by name and other examples wherein Christ basically ignored everything else going on to focus on one person to help them in whatever way they needed. To be the most effective leader, one must follow the example of Christ by giving individual attention to those who need it in their organization.
My current supervisor at BYU Broadcasting is a good example of this. He sets up a time with each of his employees each month to just chat with them. These interviews are primarily to make sure that their individual work is going well. Every time he chats with me, we make sure that I am working well with the Web Manager and staying on top of the website content. However, he usually asks about the rest of our lives, such as dating lives and school. This is just one way we can be effective leaders that show individual love.
2. Love enough to discipline
In the Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, section 121, verse 43, the Lord instructs the prophet Joseph Smith about another good principle of effective leadership, "No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion...Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy." In other words, sometimes leaders have to discipline those whom they have stewardship over, but never out of anger. A boss would simply get after you and tell you not to repeat a dumb mistake you have made. A leader shows a person their mistake, shows them how to fix it and then works with them to make sure it gets done right without belittling or patronizing. The scripture implies that sometimes the leader must show the mistake in a very direct and forceful way. In either case, it is imperative to show the person how much they are valued.
3. Direct Communication
One of the greatest causes of distress in a workplace or other organization is the difference between the leader's vision and the follower's interpretation of that vision. A person may have a good vision and expect great things, but it does that person no good if the people he works with do not understand/live up to those expectations. Christ was very direct about what men should to do in order to achieve the highest degrees of glory with Him.
With these attributes as an example, I just wanted to write down what I want to be as a leader if I am ever in that position. These might be attributes and qualities that I don't have yet, but it is my goal to develop them:
Take a look at yourself now: what type of leader do you want to be? Just like the homework from institute from last week, I give you the challenge to write down attributes you want to have or develop as a leader.
I would give you the cliche "Sorry it's been so long since I've written" summary, but you don't want to read another one of those and I don't want to write another one. We are being honest, right? Speaking of honesty, let's get to the topic at hand: leadership.
Honesty is one of the attributes listed in the "Top 10 Qualities That Make a Good Leader," according to Forbes. I like the list and think it very accurate. The subject of being a good leader, however, is something that has been on my mind ever since Institute last week. Our main topic of conversation was a list of attributes that made Jesus Christ a good leader. We wrote up a list of 20-30 attributes/habits on the board. Of that list, we can mention a few here:
1. Individual love
In so many cases, Jesus showed that he cared for the one sheep (Luke 15) that needed his help. In our discussion, we talked about Jesus addressing the disciples individually by name and other examples wherein Christ basically ignored everything else going on to focus on one person to help them in whatever way they needed. To be the most effective leader, one must follow the example of Christ by giving individual attention to those who need it in their organization.
My current supervisor at BYU Broadcasting is a good example of this. He sets up a time with each of his employees each month to just chat with them. These interviews are primarily to make sure that their individual work is going well. Every time he chats with me, we make sure that I am working well with the Web Manager and staying on top of the website content. However, he usually asks about the rest of our lives, such as dating lives and school. This is just one way we can be effective leaders that show individual love.
2. Love enough to discipline
In the Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, section 121, verse 43, the Lord instructs the prophet Joseph Smith about another good principle of effective leadership, "No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion...Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy." In other words, sometimes leaders have to discipline those whom they have stewardship over, but never out of anger. A boss would simply get after you and tell you not to repeat a dumb mistake you have made. A leader shows a person their mistake, shows them how to fix it and then works with them to make sure it gets done right without belittling or patronizing. The scripture implies that sometimes the leader must show the mistake in a very direct and forceful way. In either case, it is imperative to show the person how much they are valued.
3. Direct Communication
One of the greatest causes of distress in a workplace or other organization is the difference between the leader's vision and the follower's interpretation of that vision. A person may have a good vision and expect great things, but it does that person no good if the people he works with do not understand/live up to those expectations. Christ was very direct about what men should to do in order to achieve the highest degrees of glory with Him.
With these attributes as an example, I just wanted to write down what I want to be as a leader if I am ever in that position. These might be attributes and qualities that I don't have yet, but it is my goal to develop them:
Trustworthy
Hard-working
Visionary
Loving
Respected
Take a look at yourself now: what type of leader do you want to be? Just like the homework from institute from last week, I give you the challenge to write down attributes you want to have or develop as a leader.
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