Thursday, December 12

LEADERS LEAD YOURSELF

It is impossible to be able to lead others before we have learnt the art of leading ourselves.

A leader must lead from a place of progress in personal victories.

Whilst it is also true that our strength is in our ability to connect through our brokenness, this only remains true for as long as we are learning to live well in and through our brokenness.
This is about personal leadership.
You can only lead where you have gone yourself.

Proverbs 25:28 NKJV

Whoever has no rule over his own spirit Is like a city broken down, without walls.

What does this require?

  • A healthy self-awareness – It is essential we are aware of how we are being toward others.  The ability to take a helicopter view over your own life enables you to avoid pitfalls, see your weaknesses and pre-address problems that might effect others.  This also means that even in moments of difficult interactions with others, largely due to a problem with the other person, I should be prepared to ask myself – “could I have done that differently?” “what can I learn from this?”
  • A healthy ability to hear other people’s feedback
Feedback can come from anywhere and anyone.  The best feedback, or should I say the easiest feedback, comes from a close friend or a loving overseer.  However, we can also seize the opportunities when feedback comes from our teams, our peers, or even our enemies (although be careful not to take on board their destructive intent).

All feedback is helpful for us to win battles of self and become a leader with greater authority.

  • A conviction to change
We will never change if we are not convinced we need to.

So we place self development, and the fight of our battles high in our priorities.

  • A strategy to work on an area of you

To win a battle you must attack it on every side.  Bomb from above, use your ground military to attack from the front, snipers from behind and ambush it from the side.

We are body, soul & spirit.  Your soul being mind, will and emotions.

Body
We are our weakest when we are tired – stay fresh.  Sleep, eat, exercise.
Win the battle of bedtime!

Spirit

Sometimes we must pull down spiritual strongholds, maybe demonic forces engaged against us – we must win these battles, stay alert to these moments.  Anything that is uncharacteristic could be a demonic activity.  Family fighting that seems to have come from no-where for example.  Defeat that demon, no not your spouse!

Stay close to and sensitive to the Holy Spirit and His presence.  I have fought battles by staying attuned to what I know is right in the Spirit verses what is a familiar habit or mindset.  The Holy Spirit reveals to you patterns, reassures you that even though it feels unfamiliar to resist that normal reaction it is actually the right thing to do.

2 Corinthians 10:4 NIV

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

Soul
Our soul is our mind, will and emotions. Let your emotions and your will aline behind the desire to be free.

But one of the most significant areas that creates victories in our lives is in the battle for the mind :

Romans 12:2

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

It is imperative we see the destructive paths in our minds that we are walking in and re-route.

We re-route by seeing clearly the destruction of the current pattern.

– I eat when I am worried
– I find it hard to think big about money
– I lose my temper when I am disrespected
– Self-condemning mindsets

Then I replace this with a new mindset …

I am worried – so I meditate on “I cast my cares on Him”; I acknowledge the destructive pattern : worry leads me to lose my peace, I don’t feel God’s nearness, I think small, it’s just not right.

I meditate on more scripture : “Be anxious for nothing, instead pray” – I get into His presence.

– ah that’s so difficult – I know, that’s why we call it a battle or even a stronghold – you fight it on every side … and you will win.

Leaders always lead first from within.

Believing for you today that you will be that leader.