Excelling as a leader requires that you possess the right spirit. As a matter of fact, it begins by first and foremost having the spirit of leadership. The bible recorded of Joshua in Numbers 27:18 (NIV) that he was a man who possessed the spirit of leadership.

So the LORD said to Moses, "Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit of leadership, and lay your hand on him.

Numbers 27:18 (NIV)

That tells you that it is possible for a man to stumble upon a leadership position, but lacks the spirit of leadership. I termed these set of leaders 'Accidental Leaders' and don't be surprised, we have so many of them around us today. Haven laid this foundation, let us now examine the different dimension of God's Spirit that should be evidenced in the life of any leader. In other words, when people see you as a leader, they should see these dimensions in you and upon your life.

There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.

Isaiah 11:1-2

As read in the Scripture above, every leader is expected to operate in this dimension by the help of God. The first Spirit a leader needs is the SPIRIT OF THE LORD. A leader that lacks the Spirit of the Lord would lead the people astray. This was the difference between Aaron and Moses as documented in the book of Exodus 32:1-14.

Moses had gone up the mountain to consult God on how to move the people of Israel forward. This great assignment of liberating the children of Israel from Egypt was God's idea to Moses from day one, so; Moses never does anything or takes any decision without first and foremost consulting with God on how to go about it.

However, because Moses tarried long in the presence of the Lord, the peoples impatience grew out of proportion, and they beckoned to Aaron, Moses right hand man; to make another god for them. See verses one to four of that scripture below:

`1 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”

2 And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf.

Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!”

The scripture recorded that God was angry with the children of Israel because of this act, and He thought of destroying them right there and then. It took the timely intervention of Moses to get God to change His mind concerning that decision. This is to corroborate the fact that when leaders don't have the Spirit of God, they will lead the people astray.

9 And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people! 10 Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation.”

What distinguishes Jesus as an outstanding leader as well was the Spirit of God. Acts 10:38 tells us how God anointed Him with the Holy Ghost and with power, and He went from there doing good everywhere that he goes, leading the people unto the path of God. Every leader requires the Spirit of God to start with.

THE SPIRIT OF WISDOM is the next one. Many people don't know that wisdom is a spirit. In Deuteronomy 34:8, the bible says "Joshua the son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; and the sons of Israel listened to him and did has the Lord had commanded Moses." Wisdom is a spirit, and it can be impacted by the laying on of hands on an individual who so desire it. When leaders don't operate in the spirit of wisdom, the people they are leading will not listen to them.

Wisdom would make people to gravitate towards you as a leader. How do I know this? The bible talks about the Queen of Sheba going all the way to listen to the wisdom of Solomon. Let's examine this account in 1 Kings 10:1-6

1 Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions. 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very great ^[a]retinue, with camels that bore spices, very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. 3 So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing ^[b]so difficult for the king that he could not explain it to her. 4 And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5 the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers, and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her. 6 Then she said to the king: “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom.

UNDERSTANDING is important in leadership. A leader who lacks understanding would not be able to adequately lead. When Solomon became King, he needed to ask God for an understanding heart to be able to lead the children of Israel. Understanding is important in taking the right decisions at the right time, and that won't affect the rest of the people that you are leading negatively.

"Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”

1 Kings 3:9

One of the errors that is readily seen in many leadership today is borne out of the fact that we are being surrounded by leaders who don't consult God for understanding on what to do. Take a look at our political leaders for instance, many of them would rather consult their godfathers, their cabals for direction rather than consulting God first. Many of them have forgotten that it is God that rules and reigns in the affairs of men. So because they lack understanding, they lead the people astray. Aaron was a good example as we have seen earlier on.

THE SPIRIT OF COUNSEL is important in the life of a leader. A leader who cannot counsel, bring out strong reasons either for or against a thing; should not be found in the corridor of leadership. Moses operated in this Spirit when he counseled God to have a re-think when He was contemplating to destroy the Children of Israel. Let us examine the Scriptures below to see that.

11 Then Moses pleaded with the Lord his God, and said: “Lord, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, ‘He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’ 14 So the Lord relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people.

Exodus 32:11-14

What an awesome account that was! Moses spoke God into changing His mind. Isn't that an example of what God desires from us, when He said in Isaiah 1:18 that "Come now, and let us reason together..."? No wonder we cherish and appreciates men and women that God uses in our generation, some of them have been so much intimate with God that they reason with Him on a one-on-one basis. A leader needs to operate in this Spirit to excel in his or her leadership destiny.

Followed by the Spirit of counsel is the SPIRIT OF MIGHT. Might has to do with power to do something, not necessarily physical power or strength, but the strength that can be mustered as a result of the presence of the Spirit of God that is in you. This kind of power is all that you require as a leader to produce results and be effective in your leadership destiny. Jesus told the disciples in Luke 10:19: "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you."

THE SPIRIT OF KNOWLEDGE immediately follows the Spirit of Might as we read in that Isaiah 11:1-2. Why is the Spirit of knowledge important for a leader? The answer is because Knowledge helps you to know what you have been raised up as a leader to do, and those things you have not been raised up to do. A leader who does not have a proper knowledge of the scope of his or her assignment would fail. If you don't know what you have been raised to do as a leader, then everything you do would look like it.

By knowledge, Jesus was able to communicate his assignment to the people. He said in Luke 4:-18-19

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me to Preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."

The Spirit of the Lord upon any leader is always for something, and knowledge would help you to locate it.

Lastly, THE SPIRIT OF THE FEAR OF THE LORD is very important for every leader. The reason why our political leaders are constantly failing and underperforming is because they lack the fear of God. A politician who does not have the fear of the Lord would steal, would be corrupt, would lie to the people and also plunder their resources. Most importantly, a leader who lacks the fear of the Lord will lead the people astray.

Aaron didn't operate in the Spirit of the fear of the Lord, no wonder he was able to listen to the children of Israel by creating a smaller god for them. When a people are drifting away from the paths and counsel of God for their lives and destinies, simply examine those people who are leaders over such people. Leaders that fear the Lord are able to lead their people and nation towards the right path and destination. Embrace the fear of the Lord as a leader, and see yourself excelling in your leadership destiny.

I believe you have been blessed by this piece, thank you for reading and God bless you.

Source: Obayomi Abiola Benjamin | Youtube Video
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