In this article, you will learn the qualities of a good leader and how to be an effective one.
Leadership is simply the ability to influence people positively. This ability can come from positional or non-positional influence.
If you have the privilege to serve in any leadership capacity, there is a need for to be effective.
Therefore, I am advising you to read it in-between lines for in-depth understanding. Cheers to a resulful reading!
WHAT IS LEADERSHIP?
The word “leadership” contains two nouns which are leader and ship. Hence, leadership is simply a ship that contains a pilot who is leading some set of people to their various destinations.
This means that for leadership to occur, two things must be involved — the leader and the followers.
Where there are no followers, there’s no leader and vice versa.
If success will be recorded in any setting be it an organization, church, crew team e.t.c., there must be leadership.
Leadership has to do with the ability to influence people positively.
It is the capacity to direct, instruct, motivate, and encourage people. It is the act and art of showing people the right way to go through the help of the Holy Ghost.
This ability can either be positional or non-positional. Whichever way it is, a leader must be able to influence, inspire, encourage, direct, and instruct his or her followers.
QUALITIES OF A GOOD LEADER
There’s this beautiful Christian-ese phrase we use to describe the kind of person Jesus talks about in Matthew 20 — a “servant leader.”
In Christ, the goal of our leadership is not to grab power, but to serve. Leadership isn’t about making our names known. It’s about making God’s name known.
It’s about having the ability to love and respect the people in our care, using the authority we’ve been given with grace.
It doesn’t matter if you’re the CEO of an organization, an older sibling, the drum major of a high-school marching band, or a volunteer at church, everyone is leading someone.
So how do you actually become an effective leader?
That is what I want to teach you in this article. However, I will discuss some qualities of a good leader with you before I move on to that.
1. INTEGRITY
“To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.” Proverbs 21:3 (ESV)
As a servant leader, the most important quality is integrity. It is the foundation on which all other leadership qualities are built.
Proverbs 21:3 is a reminder that Jesus calls us to walk in the ways of righteousness and justice. Our actions should reflect our faith.
If we are true servant leaders, we can’t cheat, lie and manipulate our way to the top.
We are called to do something much different and entirely countercultural; to be honest.
Jesus tells us to humble ourselves and live lives with integrity. The world tells us to do whatever it takes to achieve success and acclaim.
Books ask us to dress and act a certain way to get noticed. Fairy tales ask us to just believe in ourselves. Nevertheless, Christ’s standard remains our standard.
Integrity is an intentional lifestyle, reflecting an overall track record of honesty and good character.
We may stumble here and there and fall short of God’s standard sometimes.
This is because we’re humans, after all. But true servant leaders can confess their sins before God and those they lead.
Living life with integrity, especially in the face of challenges and temptations, is an incredible way to witness to those who look up to us.
Therefore, you must imbibe this quality if you desire to be a good leader.
2. HUMILITY
“Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tender-hearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” Colossians 3:12 (NLT)
One of the most difficult things to admit to ourselves and others is that we don’t know it all.
With the internet at the tip of our fingers, it can be tempting to swipe through a few pages in a search engine and convince ourselves we’re an expert on a subject.
It can be so easy to isolate ourselves in a bubble of self-knowledge and self-assurance, kicking out any and every opinion that doesn’t align with what we want.
If we’re not careful, we can become prideful.
It’s easy to become addicted to the power and authority attached to being a leader.
A servant leader is someone who has built in space to learn and grow from the experiences and opinions of others.
In Christian servant leadership, we have to be willing to learn from and listen to those we lead because we know that they have value and worth.
The truth is that they might actually have better ideas than we do or a perspective we don’t.
One of the greatest qualities of an effective leader is to learn and grow from the experiences and opinions of others.
Have you ever had the chance to hear a story about someone else’s culture or step into a space where everyone looks different than you?
Have you ever tried an authentic meal from another country?
One of the most rewarding experiences is the opportunity to meet people from various backgrounds who can share their perspectives and stories.
Knowing someone else’s journey allows us to expand our view of the kingdom of God — it’s a beautiful place filled with people from all countries, languages, and ethnicities!
Your leadership position shouldn’t allow you to override your followers. You must learn to stay humble while leading them.
3. FLEXIBILITY
“I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:12‑13 (NLT)
Servant leaders practice flexibility — they’re willing to adapt to any situations and surroundings.
They recognize that life can throw them into unexpected situations or challenges.
When this happen, instead of allowing those unexpected events to cause anger, confusion or panic, servant leaders recognize that God is present in every circumstance.
They have the willingness to practice being flexible and actually invite change!
It can be easy to get stuck in routines, with one set way of doing things.
But a servant leader’s ability to recognize change for what it is — an opportunity for growth and faith. This will help to lead others well.
4. RESILIENCE
Set in the context of running, the first two verses of Hebrews 12 define a life of resilience.
It’s a quality that comes from building up spiritual endurance to the point where you’re actually thriving in challenging situations.
Have you ever trained for a race or played a sport? You would agree that endurance doesn’t just happen overnight.
Initially, you have to trick your body into liking long distances! You run short distances first and then build up to longer ones.
You get blisters, and you take water breaks, but eventually, you can run farther and longer.
Life will always have challenges: fights we cannot win, mountains we just can’t climb, and dark valleys with no visible way out.
However, resilience will help you find your path in life.
Resilience in the Christian life can only happen when we look to Jesus.
But in the midst of life’s challenges, God’s constant presence is our source of comfort.
He doesn’t always fix our circumstances, and occasionally the solution isn’t on our timetable, but he will always help us get through it — with love, strength, patience and more.
Resilience in the Christian life can only happen when we look to Jesus.
If we rely on ourselves and our strength, we’ll fail every time; we’ll face-plant in the middle of our race and quit.
Servant leaders recognize that struggles are real and life is difficult, but God is in control.
Resilience isn’t an absence of fear, challenges or momentary failures.
Resilience is the ability to bounce back, to push through and to press on based on the truth that God has enabled us to persevere because he is our ultimate source of strength.
5. STEWARDSHIP
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” 1 Peter 4:10 (ESV)
God’s given so many spiritual gifts to his people. Could you imagine? These gifts are not given for self use. They are given for service.
As a leader, God wants you to serve your followers with your gift. He desires to see you help them become best versions through your gifts.
What spiritual gifts do you have? Use them to service the life of your followers. When you do this God smiles on you.
“Even Jesus, the king of the universe, didn’t come to be served but to serve and give his life away.” (Mark 10:41-45)
Jesus himself modelled servant leadership by humbly serving others and putting their needs before his own. In the workplace.
This means that as a leader, you are called to lead with humility, putting your team’s needs in consideration first, and serving as a role model for your employees.
You must be reading to serve your followers. You must be ready to wash their feets just as Jesus did for His disciples.
A leader who cannot serve is not ready to be an effective leader. Service is needed if you want your leadership to be effective.
You must therefore learn to always serve in your capacity as a leader.
6. UPRIGHTNESS
Proverbs 11:3 tells us that “the integrity of the upright guides them.”
As leaders, we must be people of integrity, consistently demonstrating honesty and transparency in our words and actions.
This builds trust and respect with our team members.
You must live uprightly and consistently walk in the standard of God. You are the epistle your followers are reading. Hence, the keen need to walk uprightly.
7. VISION
Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
As leaders, we must have a clear vision for where we want our team to go and be able to communicate that vision effectively to our team members.
A leader without a vision can never lead effectively. If you want to be a good and effective leader, you must have a vision.
Also, it is important you communicate this vision to your followers expressly.
8. ACCOUNTABILITY
In Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, we are reminded that “two are better than one because they have a good return for their labour… if either of them falls down, one can help the other up.”
As leaders, we must hold ourselves and our team members accountable for achieving our goals and helping each other along the way.
There must be chances for accountability. The leader should be accountable to the followers.
The followers should also do the same.
9. EMPATHY
Finally, 1 Peter 3:8 tells us to “be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.”
Empathy is the ability to share another’s feelings and understand their needs. It is not sympathy. Infact, it is greater than sympathy.
As leaders, we must be able to empathize with our team members and understand their unique perspectives and needs. This helps to connect with our followers.
If you cannot empathize with your followers, you can’t lead them effectively. Christ empathize with us.
He shares our pain, grief, and infirmities. This enables Him to relate with us in proportion to our needs.
Develop the empathy ability. Remember that people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
Let your followers know you understand how they feel. This will help you to lead them effectively.
CONCLUSION ON QUALITIES OF A GOOD LEADER
There are several qualities of a good leader. I have only discussed few of them here.
By embracing these biblical principles of leadership, we can create a workplace culture that fosters growth, respect, and collaboration.
Remember that Jesus is our ultimate example. We look to Him first when learning how to lead and love well.
So, the next time you’re faced with a leadership challenge, ask yourself: how can I lead like Jesus? This will always help you to always lead effectively.
Many thanks to you for always stopping by. God bless you greatly. Shalom!