Leadership Ego Vs Discipleship Oriented
Everyone has a natural aroma, whether good or bad, you can only disguise it with cologne and
perfumes for a short while. A lot of time to get rid of the bad aroma we have to use good ole soap and water.
Just like your natural aroma, we have a leadership aroma. Sometimes we stink and try to hide it with seminars and books, but after awhile it wears off and we stink again. In order to really get of that stink we need something stronger like soap. One of the challenges of being a leader is willing to get to root cause of your bad aroma.
Why do you desired to development yourself as a leader?
How do you define leadership and what does that look like?
Without first answering these and other personal questions you may be in danger of chasing the carrot that is ever before you and never attainable.
You cannot hide your underlining reasons for leadership within books or seminars because the bottom line revolves around your heart. One thing I have noticed about individuals we give a leadership title away to is that they help others succeed. It’s a life style for them not just something they talk about, or do every now and then.
This can be a challenge to some because it is a lot easier to put on some “perfume” / “act” and smell good or pretend for a short while. But it is a lot more difficult to “clean your whole body” or “live life transparently” before others.
It is a challenge to all, and I see myself in it right now. I really believe you can not figure it out over night because it can take be a long process with many realizations and fixings. And sometimes we do not realize we stink and takes someone else to let us know.
Individuals are in need of deep character transformations and sometimes inner healing in order to reach there created potential.
On this road to leadership many struggle with EGO the most. It seems every time I let my ego get in the way it is because I want something without considering ramifications towards others or what it could do for others. The bottom line is that I want to lift myself up without lifting others up.
Is leading by Ego the best way? Yes, we want to be successful and alone, but at what cost? I believe fully that ego can lead to success in the short-term but like the leaders of Enron and Arthur Anderson it can catch up to you. We can only fill our ego for so long before it needs more.
One of the questions I continue to ask myself to keep my ego in check is, “Am I here to be served or to serve?”
This question is one of the keys that Ken Blanchard writes about in his book “Lead Like Jesus.”
Ego driven people think they own everything. The own their relationship, they own their possessions, and they own their position. In fact, they perceive their identity as the sum of their relationship, possessions, and position.
Called people, on the other hand, believe everything is on loan. They believe their relationships are on loan; they know that we have no guarantee we will those we love tomorrow. Called people also believe their possessions are on loan are to be held lightly, to be enjoyed and shared with an open hand.
Attaining a position of leadership is often driven by our ego or a inner wound. Discipleship invests in others and lifts them up. Discipleship makes great leaders; however, if we focus on leadership alone we may be in danger of cultivating a “platform” person with out any depth.
“Leadership degrees can be attained through courses which only pass on knowledge. They can’t teach character or vision-and indeed they don’t even try. Developing character and vision is the way individuals are silently transformed into leaders.” – Warren Bennis “On Becoming A Leader”
With character and vision comes trust and direction. Anyone can direct people, but it is character and vision that bring people back again and again to be lead because they trust the individual knows where they are heading. Let’s keep a beginners mind that is discipleship oriented vs driven by an ego of leadership.
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