MUSINGS ON LEADERSHIP

At a recent meeting with the leadership of the School of Law Christian Union of Makerere University, our conversation led to some in-depth thoughts on my part. I shared with the young men and women, my current thoughts on leadership, as inspired by my current journey with the Harvest Institute (of leadership) as follows –

Leadership is a gift. 

Yes – In the first place, to lead is a gift that the Lord gives to the leader.  He has given different gifts to different people. One of these is leadership. ( Romans 12: 8)

⁴ For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, ⁵ so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. ⁶ Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; ⁷ or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; ⁸ he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

While some might be comfortable with remaining in the back pew and chewing popcorn as a spectator, others are literally kicked out of their seats by the Holy Spirit and disturbed so much such that they have to take the lead. For these people, it is not naked ambition per se but a deep longing ( read gift or calling) to be solution givers and often taking them to the frontline.

Leadership is about love – 

As Chair of the Board of Uganda Christian Lawyers Fraternity, I was surprised at the thoughts that kept coming into my head whenever I would think about the Christian lawyers of Uganda.  That thought was one of Love.  I didn’t understand it when it first came into my mind.  However, with time, I realised that GOD has given me the gift of leadership and with it, the love for those He has chosen me to lead for a time such as this.  Like a parent with children, a leader ought to love those under their care.  It is the reason as to why the shepherd will leave the 99 and go search for the one sheep that has gone astray. (Luke 15: 1-7).  The economics of the land does not make sense for one to look for the lose nickel or dime but the economics of the Kingdom of God is different.

Love makes it possible for us to see the better side of the people we have been blessed to lead. We become more understanding, more forgiving, more bearing, calmer and even more caring when all around us expect us to blow the fuss or to stomp off in anger. (1 Corinthians 13:4 -5 says that love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful of proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.) This does not mean that people will not annoy you or disappoint you. It means that your reaction will be like the one of Christ when He said Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. (Luke 23:34) I must hasten to say that this doesn’t mean that people should take you for granted merely because you love them but rather that one is able to correct others or even accept correction in love.

Leadership is about trust: Leaders cannot walk or lead alone. They have to do it with someone else. The best leadership partner we have is He who gave us the assignment in the first place – GOD.  So we ought to trust that the Lord sees the bigger picture, and that He can do exceedingly, abundantly, over what we can ever hope or imagine.  (Ephesians 3: 20). Most importantly, He wants to do this through us as joint heirs with Christ. So, the leader ought to trust first in the Lord – that He – the maker of the Universe will do it through them.  That is why David said “I come to you in the Name of the Lord, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have defied .....Vs. 46 this day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you ... (1 Samuel 17: 45). We can clearly see that David trusted that the Lord will do it – deliver the lead of what all the army of Israel feared the most – Goliath  - into the hand of David.

The aforementioned verse therefore means that we should not trust primarily in our expertise, physical strength or knowledge like Goliath – a giant who had been a man of war from his youth had done. (1 Samuel 17:33). This doesn’t mean that we should not be prepared but our primary source of trust should not be in our preparations.  David had prepared enough by killing bears and lions as he did explain in Verse 35, but He knew that that was not enough.  As the David’s son Solomon will later say, Horses are prepared for battle, but victory belongs to the Lord (Proverbs 21:31).  Indeed in Psalm 20: 7, David sings some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.  In Joshua 23:10, the Scripture says that  One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the Lord your God who fights for you, just as He promises  you. Deut 32 30 says how could one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight unless their Rock had sold them and the Lord had surrendered them.

Leaders also ought to trust in those they lead – The only way for the leader to achieve his or her purpose, is to work in a team.  The said team should consist of trustworthy men and women, who will also create other teams of trustworthy individuals and therefore grow the impact of the first leader.  It is therefore important to trust in the teams created and also help to develop leadership skills in others so that they can achieve more that a single lone ranger leader can.  Leviticus 26: 8 says that five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight. David had an amazing team of trusted mighty men of valour (2 Samuel 23: 8 -39).  It is interesting to note that these were originally ‘distressed, indebted, discontented, bitter, people’ who he then mentored into the heroes they later became. (1 Samuel 22:2).

Leadership is about planning –

Often times one assumes that leaders are merely born and all things come to them naturally simply because they have the gift of leadership. However, without being intentional and well organised, without planning things through and scheduling them, leadership can be a frustrating and disappointing journey.  This does not mean that well planned activities and strategic plans are the anecdotes to frustration or disappointment, but rather, they do go a long way in keeping one focused and on course regardless of the challenges and sticking stones that might hurt our feet along life’s journey of leadership.

Thinking through and planning, preparing for the journey ahead is very key. Indeed, before the Israelites started on their journey to the Promised Land, they were told to pack and even to ask for money for the journey. (Exodus 12: 34, 35, 39).  Similarly, King Solomon also implemented the detailed plans of the Lord for building the temple.  While it is true that credit for the works go to Solomon, his father David had saved up for this huge project and wrote down all the plans that the Spirit had put in his mind for the courts of the temple.... (1 Chronicles 28:11). While it was not God’s will for David to build the temple (2 Samuel 7:4), he still designated the weight of gold for all the gold articles (1 Chronicles 28:14) ....the weight of silver for all the silver articles (Vs. 16)...and he had ...in writing as a result of the Lord’s hand ... (and had been) enabled to understand) all the details of the plan (Vs. 19).

Similarly, before the walls of Jericho came tumbling down, Field Marshall Joshua in Joshua 5: 13 – 6:27), first consulted with the Lord, got his instructions and the battle plan clearly, and then executed it to the dot. In verse 26 he even cursed the man who rises up to re-build the city of Jericho.

Leadership is about learning –

As you can read above, I am taking time to study and appreciate this amazing gift of leadership

To be continued .....