Page 14 - HME Business, May 2018

HME Leadership by the Book
or the Good Book, or whatever name you use to describe it) has sold more than 5 billion copies, easily making it the most widely promul- gated book in history. Regardless of what you believe or don’t believe about the Bible, its authors, or its content, its pages contain some powerful examples of leadership styles and methods that are still applicable to today’s modern business culture, and positively enhance the way we lead.
The reality is that leadership is not easy and while we may readily see it displayed in the lives and actions of others, it can often feel like we are not equipped or have the skills to stand up, step forward, and take on the point position.
Let’s example five examples of leadership styles and actions on the part of figures from the Bible, who just like you and me, might have felt under-qualified, under-resourced, and without the perfect background, education, or training for the posi- tion in which they found themselves. However, their leadership revealed itself to possess five key qualities: they were visionary, relentless, humble, courageous, and compassionate. I think we could all agree that if someone described us as any of those types of leader, we would be proud to accept the description.
VISION
Imagine if you were pulled into a position of political leader- ship you never really wanted or expected and the moment you stepped into the role, the entire situation around you devolved into a virtual tinderbox of tension, death threats, and pushed you and your opposition to the brink of destruction.
That is exactly where a man named Moses found himself. In the beginning of his leadership story he was reluctant at best, and often wanted nothing more than to shift his responsibili-
ties to those around him rather than bear the weight himself. However, as the turmoil around him intensified and the pressures increased, he became a true visionary and did what every leader must do: paint a picture of a future that his peers cannot wait to see. He succeeded thanks to constantly communicating a vision that connected the work, sacrifice, and tireless efforts of those he was tasked to lead with something greater than themselves.
Our role as leaders must follow this example of casting a vision that is clear so our teams understand, a vision that is concise so our teams can repeat it, and a vision that is compelling enough that our teams will give everything to make it a reality.
The culture of your company, organization, or team is always an accurate reflection of the vision you are speaking and living each day. If you don’t like what you see, it’s a great opportunity
to begin making the changes that need to be made and today is a great day to start painting a more compelling picture.
Ask yourself: Does your team know your vision, can they
repeat it, and are they willing to work hard to move towards it?
RELENTLESSNESS
Have you ever found yourself way outside your comfort zone, but in that moment you knew what you had to do — and only you could get it done? Maybe you were tasked with a project that was bigger than anything you had tackled before, maybe the risks required were more than you ever thought you’d be willing to take, or maybe the situation demanded more of you than you thought you could honestly give. Fear, doubt, and insecurity were all telling you that you should stay right where you are, don’t take the chance, leave it to someone else, but deep down inside you knew that if this was going to happen, the time was now and you were the person who had to do it.
You were not alone! Nehemiah was a leader who lost every- thing, in fact, his homeland had come under attack by a foreign power, his hometown was destroyed, and he found himself a prisoner in a faraway land where he didn’t speak the language, didn’t understand their culture, and didn’t know what would happen next. It would have been easy, even acceptable, to give up and give in when the circumstances were stacked that high against him, but instead he moved to a mindset that all great leaders must possess.
That said, he became relentless in his work and efforts to return to his home and begin the rebuilding process — no matter the risk, no matter the costs, no matter the snarky comments from those who thought he was crazy to even try. As leaders, we have a great responsibility that when we know what needs to be done, nothing should be able to stand in our way.
We work in a competitive marketplace where it can be easy to look around us and think that everyone else has the advan- tage, has more talent, has more skill, has more resources, has more credibility, has a bigger network — and maybe they do. And we have all heard the voices of fear, doubt, and insecurity telling us not to even try to compete.
We might not be able to control our competition, shift the market, or define price points, but what each of us can do is be relentless, and our teams need to see that within us. It will inspire, it will motivate, it will engage those around us to work towards a goal that maybe they never thought possible, and it begins with each one of us stepping outside our comfort zone and when we know what needs to be done, letting nothing stand in our way.
Ask yourself: Have you defined exactly what it is that you, and only you, need to be doing each day and are you putting everything you have into making it happen?
HUMILITY
If you could have anything, what would it be? No really, think bigger. If someone came to you and said the world is all yours and you can have anything in it — all you have to do is ask — what would
“While we know great leadership when we see it, often it is challenging for us to define, hard work to develop, and difficult for us to see those abilities in ourselves.”
14 HMEBusiness | May 2018 | hme-business.com
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