If you are ever going to excel as a leader in any strata of leadership that you may find yourself, you cannot do without any of these important abilities. One thing that you must realize about leadership is that there is no magic anywhere to becoming an effective leader. There is no leader anywhere in the world that has possessed some magic wand. Most successful leaders that we know and we read about today all possess certain traits and abilities, which when combined with their strong principles, made them exceptional and effective leaders.

 

Listen to Podcast: THE 6 CORE COMPETENCIES FOR EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP

 

What many of them are able to achieve within the timeframe of their leadership is a combination of their abilities and their principles. Even as spiritual as Jesus was and having the Holy Spirit without measure, He never lacked any of these abilities while He was on earth, and we will be looking at His leadership as a model as we take a look at each of the abilities.

 

1. Setting Direction

A leader must be able to point to a direction even when the people following such a leader cannot see any direction ahead. This is very important because the people following you needed some direction, and that is why they have decided to follow you in the first place. Your followers cannot be blind and you yourself as a leader is blind. Now, blindness here is not talking about you not having your physical eyes. Blindness here talks about lack of direction. Now, see what Jesus said about direction in the Scriptures.

 

⁵ Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” ⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

John 14:5-6

 

Thomas asked the question: How can we know the way? Another word we can use for the word "way" there is "direction." In other word, Thomas asked Jesus: show us the direction to follow. A time would come in your leadership that people will ask you: show us the way and your ability to show the people the way would tell them how much of a leader that you are. If you are unable to provide a way in that instance, then your leadership assignment would be queried. So, said to Thomas: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." and that was the last time I believe Thomas was ever confused about the direction that he needed to follow for his life. Your ability to point the people toward the direction to follow is key to becoming an effective leader.

 

2. Setting Example

Now, there is nothing you are doing in leadership or being referred to as a leader if you cannot set good example through your life. See what Jesus said to His disciples in John 13:14-15. The Bible says: "If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you." Everything Jesus did while He was with His disciples was an example. And no wonder, when it was time for the disciples to also do same, they did not find it difficult to do all that Jesus taught them.

 

3. Communication

For a leader, knowing how to effectively communicate is a vital ability that you must possess if you are ever going to be effective in your leadership. There are many leaders who have made a mess of their leadership simply because they cannot effectively and articulately communicate their purpose, their intent to the people they are leading. Unless there is something else helping you as a leader (like in the case of Moses who although stammers, but God was with him and had assistance from Aaron), there is nothing you are doing in leadership if you cannot adequately communicate.

 

Let me show us an example of the importance of communication in the life of Jesus, our model.

 

⁴⁷ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, ⁴⁸ which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. ⁴⁹ So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, ⁵⁰ and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” ⁵¹ Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”

Matthew 13:47-51

 

After Jesus told them this particular parable, He asked the disciples whether they understood all that He just said. The Bible says all of them responded and said “Yes, Lord.” That shows how clear and unambiguous Jesus was in His communication skills. As a leader, you must learn how to communicate in such a simple manner that people can easily understand your intent and where you are going. This is very important.

 

4. Alignment With Purpose

As a leader, you must never be seen to have deviated from your purpose. Purpose is what drives effective leaders. Jesus at the start of His ministry communicated His purpose to the people God had sent Him to. He said in Luke 4:18-19:

 

¹⁸ “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;
¹⁹ To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

 

There was never a time recorded that Jesus deviated from this that He had said above. Even it got to a point that the people thought He deserves to be King, the Bible says Jesus never nursed that ambition. He stayed with His purpose and He completed it before He took a bow. Effective leaders are purpose driven, and this is why they have so much to show in terms of the result they command even in a short time.

 

5. Bringing Out The Best In People And Every Situation

One of the very germane question you should ask yourself always as a leader is on how you can bring the best out of people. Jesus said "if the blind leads the blind, they both would end up in the ditch" (Matthew 15:14) The reason you have been given the privilege to lead is because there is something that you see, which probably others are not seeing, and then you were chosen to lead people into that which you are seeing. I mean, Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dream. Pharaoh in turn said, no one can make these things that you have said happen other than you, and so, he made him the Prime Minister of Egypt at the time (Genesis 41:37-44).

 

So, as a leader, if you cannot bring out the best in people and make a situation that is pathetic and worse become good and better, then there is nothing you are doing occupying that position of leadership. It would be better if you simply and honorably resign, rather than just occupying that leadership position. Give way for people who have ideas on how they can bring out the best in people's lives and bad situations. Don't go further to complicate the situation that is already complicated, just like President Buhari is making Nigeria situation worse than the way he had met them.

 

Jesus brought out the best in people and not the worse. In Matthew 5:48, He said "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." Jesus didn't go about telling people about how God is bigger and great, and how it is impossible to be like God, No! Jesus simply say to them, "you can be perfect even as God Himself is perfect." And that is what a leader does.

 

6. Providing Decision In Time of Crisis

One thing that makes you an effective leader is your ability to make prompt and wise decisions in time of crisis. When a people or a nation is at a crossroad, the leader over such a people or a nation must be able to step up in decision making. As a matter of fact, this is why a leader is even required in the first place. And in this regard, I want to site the case of Nehemiah as case study.

 

²¹ So we labored in the work, and half of the men held the spears from daybreak until the stars appeared. ²² At the same time I also said to the people, “Let each man and his servant stay at night in Jerusalem, that they may be our guard by night and a working party by day.” ²³ So neither I, my brethren, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me took off our clothes, except that everyone took them off for washing.

Nehemiah 4:21-23

 

Nehemiah and his men could have given up because the opposition against them was on every side. Their nation had been plundered and is in ruins, Nehemiah gathered few men and made up their minds to rebuild the walls of their city. As they were trying to do that, oppositions were coming from every corner. But Nehemiah and his people decided they weren't going to stop. This is what leadership is all about. Making tough decisions even against all odds during crisis period.

 

So, if you are going to be effective in whatever strata of leadership that you have found yourself or you will find yourself, whether in ministry, in any organizations, in your nation and even in your family, you must possess these core abilities, and even more that we didn't discuss here that the Holy Spirit will reveal to you as you study more about leadership.

 

God bless you!

Thanks for the gift of your time, I am Obayomi Abiola Benjamin!

Feel free to share your thoughts or testimony in the comment box below. I promise to respond to them as soon as possible!