Leadership Under the Microscope

Everyone is a leader in one-way or another. Most employees in your workforce are accountable to someone, and the person at the top of the organizational chart is ultimately responsible to God for his life choices and the way he has influenced those under his leadership. Even those with non-decision making power in the workplace have the power to lead and influence decisions. Employees have double-duty when they have leadership roles at home and at work.

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So, how do you grow as a leader? It might be helpful to begin with the five ways in which we judge a leader. Then, you will know where you need to focus your attention to become a better leader, whether at home or in the workplace.

Leaders Are Judged By:

1. Appearance. One doesn’t need the most expensive clothing on the rack to be a leader, but should be neat and clean in appearance. This goes beyond outer garments and includes one's facial expressions and pleasantness. People like to be with those who are pleasant. To be a good leader, you will want to surround yourself with people who enjoy being with you.
   
2. How they react under pressure. Life is like a pressure cooker from time to time. You might be being squeezed at home, at work, or in both places at once. What comes to the surface when under pressure is a key to your character. From a Christian worldview, you can be angry, disappointed, or downright aggravated about something, but you must let Christ be the one to shape your response to the things that are squeezing you and causing the pressure.
   
3. How they deal with people. People and their needs should be our primary focus in our homes and in the workplace. Because leaders most often are responsible for influencing larger numbers of individuals, they need to be able to discern people’s life needs and know how to successfully match people’s gifts and passions with the tasks that need to be completed. A skilled leader knows how to motivate each family member or team member based on the individual’s uniqueness. Leaders value people and know how to serve in order to get the best out of those under their leadership.
   
4. How they communicate. Effective leaders leave a meeting with everyone feeling empowered, motivated, or at least positively informed. Leaders learn how to communicate to make sure that they frame things in a positive light. Communication of effective leaders is also goes the other way; effective leaders allow others to give input and are not threatened as others share their views.
   
5. Their competence. Effective leaders are competent in what they do and have gained the trust of those who work alongside and follow them. They seek to better understand their roles, their work, and how to successfully motivate those who work alongside them. They continue to work toward improving their knowledge and skill sets and understand their need to model continued education in their career.

Make a list of those you lead or influence. Decide how you can better lead or influence those on your list. Look at the life of someone to whom you look up in a leadership role. Decide why you look up to the person and what you could do to develop some of the same traits in your life. Consider asking a person in your workgroup to mentor you in how they lead. Take the initiative to set up a training plan to help the person know what you want to learn from them. As you begin to grow, think about how you might begin mentoring someone who is following in your footsteps.

Joy Emery is a freelance writer and editor living in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. She frequently writes about career and workplace issues.

 

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