I’m a little bit of a nerd when it comes to studying leadership. I subscribe to lots of leadership blogs and podcasts. I read books on leadership from both Christian and business perspectives. It is important for me, as a leader, to grow in how I lead myself so that I can effectively lead others.
One of the blogs that I read regularly comes from the Executive Pastor at 12Stone Church, Dan Reiland. Dan writes most of his blogs from a church leadership perspective, but so much of what he writes is applicable in the business world of 2020.
In his most recent blog, Top 10 Practices of the Best Leaders I Know, Reiland makes a strong case for not being overwhelmed by the list but taking one thing from the list to focus on. Before he ever gets into the list, he points out that there are two large areas that have significant impact on the success of these top ten practices. Here they are:
- Character – Over a lifetime, talent without character never finishes well.
- Spiritual Life – Your walk with God will be one of the most defining marks of your life’s leadership.
I’m guessing that I am like most leaders that will read this blog in that I tend to go straight to the list on 10 things to help grow my own leadership skill set. I was stopped in my tracks as I read about character and spiritual life having a huge impact on my long-term leadership. Sure, we all know that these two areas are critical for us as leaders. My prayer for each of us is that we will take a few minutes to focus on our character and our spiritual life before we move on to read and learn from the top ten list. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Is there anything in my character that needs to be addressed in prayer before our heavenly father?
- Are there any inconsistencies in my character that need to be dealt with immediately?
- Is there anything in my spiritual life that is inconsistent with who God has called me to be as a leader?
Character and spiritual life are critical to the success of all leaders that desire to make an impact on the world that we live in today. After you have focused on these two areas, I encourage you to read the full blog by clicking on the following link: https://danreiland.com/top-10-practices-of-the-best-leaders-i-know/