GREAT LEADERSHIP QUALITIES FOR GREAT PEOPLE:

GREAT LEADERSHIP QUALITIES FOR GREAT PEOPLE WHO REPRESENT WELL:

TYPES OF LEADERSHIP THEORIES AND SKILLS:

TEXT:  3 John 11-12 "Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God. Demetrius hath good report of all men, and of the truth itself: yea, and we also bear record; and ye know that our record is true".

INTRODUCTION

WE ARE CREATED WITH DIVINE LEADERSHIP POTENTIALS

If you are a parent, a teacher, a day care provider, elder, a coach. No matter whom you are or what you do, you are a leader, a person of influence.

If we can become the leader we ought to be in the inside, we will be able to become the leader we want to be on the outside.

When that happens, with God’s help we’ll be able to tackle anything in this world and people will want to follow us.

TYPES OF LEADERSHIP THEORIES AND SKILLS

DEFINITION

According to thefreedictionary.com, Type is defined as a number of people or things having common traits or characteristics that distinguish them as a group or class. Leadership is defined by businessdictionary.com to be an “individuals who are the leaders in an organization, regarded collectively. Theories are defined as set of statements or principles devised to explain a group of facts or phenomena. While Skills are defined as the ability and capacity acquired through deliberate, systematic, and sustained effort to smoothly and adaptively carryout complex activities or job functions involving ideas (cognitive skills), things (technical skills), and/or people (interpersonal skills).

There Are Different Types of Leadership Styles that could be found in work environments

Advantages and disadvantages exist within each leadership style.

The culture and goals of an organization determine which leadership style fits the firm best.

Some companies offer several leadership styles within the organization, dependent upon the necessary tasks to complete and departmental needs.

1. Autocratic

The autocratic leadership style allows managers to make decisions alone without the input of others. Managers possess total authority and impose their will on employees. 

No one challenges the decisions of autocratic leaders. 

Countries such as Cuba and North Korea operate under the autocratic leadership style. 

This leadership style benefits employees who require close supervision. 

Creative employees who thrive in group functions detest this leadership style.

2. Participative

Often called the democratic leadership style

Participative leadership values the input of team members and peers 

But the responsibility of making the final decision rests with the participative leader.

Participative leadership boosts employee morale because employees make contributions to the decision-making process. 

It causes them to feel as if their opinions matter. 

When a company needs to make changes within the organization, the participative leadership style helps employees accept changes easily because they play a role in the process. 

This style meets challenges when companies need to make a decision in a short period.

3. Transactional

Managers using the transactional leadership style receive certain tasks to perform and provide rewards or punishments to team members based on performance results. 

Managers and team members set predetermined goals together, and employees agree to follow the direction and leadership of the manager to accomplish those goals. 

The manager possesses power to review results and train or correct employees when team members fail to meet goals. 

Employees receive rewards, such as bonuses, when they accomplish goals.

5. Transformational

The transformational leadership style depends on high levels of communication from management to meet goals. 

Leaders of this group motivate employees and enhance productivity and efficiency through communication and high visibility.

This style of leadership requires the involvement of management to meet goals. 

Leaders focus on the big picture within an organization and delegate smaller tasks to the team to accomplish goals.

SOME TYPES OF LEADERSHIP STYLES THAT WE MAY FIND IN GROUPS ARE:

1. Coach style of leadership

2. Goal minded style of leadership

3. Dictatorial styles of leadership

4. Sacrificial saint style of leadership

5. Abdicating style of leadership

THE COACH STYLE OF LEADERSHIP

Some things a good coach will practice in leading a team to victory is that he is a team-minded. He has cooperative spirit.

Those who lead with this style of leadership are generally not individualistic. 

They see themselves as accomplishing something with the aid of others. 

They organize others into a group effort to accomplish a common and accepted goal. 

They are lovers of people, they enjoys being with those who have a common goal.

A coach motivates others to participate

A coach will be one of the primary sources for motivation for the team. 

His primary method of motivation will be to involve everyone in a team effort. 

In accomplishing a particular task, the coach leader does not see himself standing alone. 

He sees the success through the efforts of several people who joined in the team effort.

A coach stimulates mental participation.

The coach leader does a great deal of teaching in order to encourage the mental and emotional participation of the team. 1Timothy 3:2…apt to teach

He is able to stimulate others with creative ideas. 

He asks questions in order to develop the mental alertness of the team. 

He motivates and educates others concerning the task that must be accomplished. 

Once everyone understands the goals and how to accomplish the goals; then the coach leader encourages cooperative action on the part of the team.

A coach stimulates physical participation. 

It is his work to see that everyone participate in accomplishment of the determined goal. 

He organizes the team into a dynamic group by mental and motivational preparation. 

Everyone is made to feel that he or she is very important part of the group Everyone is given responsibility.

They are encouraged to participate in order to accomplish the common goal of the group.

A coach accepts feedback. 

A good coach always accepts “constructive criticism.” 

Even corrective criticism of his personality and approach to leadership

He always listens for new ideas

He is sensitive to the work of the players. 

He desire feedback in order to readjust or reorganize the effectiveness of the team effort. 

If one is too sensitive to corrective criticism, then he or she will not be a coach leader.

The over sensitive isolate themselves from others in order that their feelings are not hurt. 

Coach leaders, therefore, understand that they too have faults.

GOAL MINDED STYLE OF LEADERSHIP

A goal is a defined point to which one desires to go.

It is a point of accomplishment for which one seeks to strive

It is for a personal fulfillment or to accomplish a general task of work.

Everyone has goals they would like to accomplish.

The problem comes in actually when we are accomplishing our goals.

After a few weeks, those resolutions (goals) are often forgotten. 

And one moves on with his or her regular behavior of life.

 Every leader must be a goal-oriented person.

Others follow the vision of those who set and accomplish goals. 

If we set goals that we accomplish, then others will follow our example. 

In order to be successful in accomplishing a goal, the goal must be defined. 

We must put in writing exactly what we want to accomplish.

If it is an entire group who is establishing the goal, the agreement on the goal or goals must be made in writing.

We must set realistic goals, that is:

Goals that can be accomplished with the added factor of faith 

A goal can have a time at which it should be accomplished.

Yet one cannot place a date on any work without prayer of faith. James 5:1ff.

Goals give us points of progress and it release personal potential.

Goal can be redefined, if it’s too high for the abilities of those who were trying to reach it.

If so, we must reestablish a more realistic goal and allow God to do His work in our lives. 

It is better to establish goals that can be easily reached.

DICTATORIAL STYLE OF LEADERSHIP

Almost everyone understands the nature of a dictator.

Everyone has experienced the nature of this style of leadership at one time or another in life.

It is rare that a dictator is good to the people over which he rules. 

Most are self-centered, and thus, totalitarian in their rule. 

This is a style of leadership that is practiced by many leaders in the secular world.

Here are the characteristics that are associated with this style of leadership.

A dictator motivates by power.

Because of his position, a dictator exercises authority over people by use of power. 

When he commands, he expects followers to obey. 

Because he knows he has the power to command action, the dictator often abuses his power

He loses touch with the people through abusive of his power.

One often adopts this style of leadership because he feels insecure.

The dictator does not delegate control or authority to others

For his sense of insecurity, he expects all instructions for the group to come directly from him. 

The group, therefore, is usually regimented or controlled by his explicit instructions. 

If other leaders start to join from the group, the dictator feels threatened. 

He sees the emergence of another personality as a threat to his position.

A dictator corrects by threat. 

When the dictator feels threatened, he reacts. 

However, his action is often negative. 

In order to maintain discipline and allegiance in the group, the dictator is strict in the area of punishment. 

Order is maintained in the group by threats of punishment. 

In this way, the dictator maintains his control though he has lost the allegiance of those over whom he exercises control. 

THE SACRIFICIAL STYLE OF LEADERSHIP

1. This is the leader who martyrs himself for those he serves. 

He seeks to lead people by the contagious nature of his total commitment to those he leads. 

By the sacrifices he makes for his work, and the people he serves, people are motivated into action.

2. Here are some characteristics of this leadership behavior

The sacrificial leader seeks response by sympathy. 

When those who follow realize the commitment of the leader, they are moved into action. 

This behavior must be communicated to the group with sincerity, lest the group not follow because they see the hypocrisy of the leader. 

However, once the group realizes that the leader is sincere, they usually respond in sympathy to what the leader is trying to do.

Personal sacrifice manifests personal sincerity

The sacrificial saint’s commitment usually leads to his being overworked. 

A common characteristic of this type of leader is his or her tendency to be overworked. 

This leader sees that the job must be done. 

When no one else is around to help, he will carry on with the responsibilities that are necessary in order to accomplish the goal. 

Even when others do not follow, he will do that which must be done in order to accomplish the task.

The sacrificial leaders maintain a high standard of conduct.

The sacrificial saint usually sets a high standard of behavior for himself. 

In maintaining a high standard of performance, he usually demands the same from his follower. 

However, he must be careful not to enforce a standard on others that is unreasonable and unbiblical for others to bear.

If he does not keep this in mind, he will frustrate those who follow.

ABDICATING STYLE OF LEADERSHIP:

This style of leadership is illustrated by an aging king who gives over the rule of the kingdom to his son before he dies. 

He abdicates the throne in order to give the son an opportunity to reign in his presence. 

Those who practice this style of leadership maintain the following characteristics.

The abdicating leader delegates responsibility to others.

Those who generally follow this type of leadership behavior often avoid responsibility. 

To do such, they easily delegate responsibility to others. 

The delegation of responsibility to others is not a negative characteristic of leadership. 

It is, however, if one is trying to avoid the responsibility of leadership. 

On the other hand, those leaders who have overcommitted themselves should learn to delegate responsibility to others. 

The abdicating leader often withdraws from the responsibility of the leadership role. 

Those who generally lead by this style of leadership often have the personality characteristic of withdrawing from the responsibility demanded of leaders. 

If this is done simply because one is neglecting responsibility, then it is a negative leadership characteristic.

A leader must realize that others will not work unless he is working. 

We do not lead from behind. 

We lead from the front. 

And to be in front, we must be actively involved in the work.

Leaders are in front simply because they get started before others start. 

The abdicating leader is motivated by the demands of pressing needs. 

It is not wrong to abdicate if there are other pressing needs that must be accomplished by the leader. 

In fact, if one cannot abdicate in such situations he will hinder the growth of the work. 

Abdicating is necessary for those leaders who have trained up others to assume the responsibilities of the work. 

CONCLUSION

1. Leadership motto

I must be an example to them – 1 Timothy 4:12; 2 Thess. 3:9

I must give them myself (time, energy, and focus) – Matthew 28:20; 

I must give them ownership of the ministry – 1 Peter 4:9-10

I must become a resource person (training, support, tools)  - 1 Timothy 3:2 

I must make expectations Clear – compare James 2:12-14

I must eliminate unnecessary burden – compare - Matthew 23:1-4

I must catch them doing something good, and then reward them - 2 Samuel 2:6

I must work on their weakness and thereby work out their strengths  - Gal. 6:1-2

These principle should be practiced in placing leadership responsibility on any Christian. 

Leadership involves knowing the individuals of the group, and then applying the style of leadership that motivates the group to respond and accomplish the task. 

It involves knowing the circumstances in which the group is, and then, knowing the means by which one will influence the group to go in the correct direction.  

Good leaders are in touch with the feelings and thoughts of those they seek to lead.

References:

The Maxwell Leadership Bible by John C. Maxwell, Tim Elmore – second edition 2002,2007

Biblical Research Library books, 19, 20, 27 by Dr. Roger E. Dickson – South Africa

Quotations:

Voice in the Wilderness – VW 2008 Edition

King James Version – 1611 Edition