Quotes about Leadership

As I listen to leaders tell their stories, I hear very little about strategic planning and goal setting. I hear a lot about identifying and acting on opportunities. Strategies and goals have their place. But they don't define leadership. Leaders see and seize opportunity. And in most cases, the opportunities take them by surprise.

Leaders worth following are always careful. They are careful because they genuinely care for those who have chosen to follow. A leader who is careless will eventually be considered thoughtless by those who have entrusted their future to him.

Leaders understand the unique roles of confidence and caution. Courage requires both. David's caution did not keep him from the battle, but neither did he allow his confidence to blind him to the need to select his stones with care.

As you evaluate your response to the risks involved in leadership, are you careful or fearful? Every next generation leader must wrestle this question to the ground. What you don't know can hurt you. As a leader, what you don't know can paralyze you. Are you consumed by thoughts such as these: What if it doesn't work? What if I'm wrong? What will others think of me?

This goes right to the heart of leadership. Leaders instill courage in the hearts of those who follow. This rarely happens through words alone. It generally requires action. It goes back to what we said earlier: Somebody has to go first. By going first, the leader furnishes confidence to those who follow. In this way, leaders give permission.

We almost always involve unbelievers in our small groups. And we give them opportunities to lead the discussion.

God had called and equipped David to lead. But it took an act of courage for that call to be recognized by the public.

I don't know about you, but there have been plenty of times when I have driven home from a hospital visit wondering why they let me be the pastor.

As a next generation leader you already possess the talent and intuition necessary to lead. But chances are it is your courage that will establish you as a leader in the minds of others. To put it in perspective, try to identify a leader worth following who didn't pop up on the public radar screen as a result of a decision or action that required courage.

It is amazing what can be accomplished when we wait on God to lead us out. It is equally amazing the mess we can make of things when we charge out on our own.

It's been my experience that great leaders, in spite of a multitude of distractions, know how to keep things focused. They know how to inspire and motivate their followers to keep pushing "the main chance." They don't let side issues overwhelm them.17

Striving for balance forces a leader to invest time and energy in aspects of leadership where he will never succeed. It is not realistic to strive for balance within the sphere of our personal leadership abilities. …discover your zone and stay there. Then delegate everything else.