The exponential impact of great leader

Reverend Steve Jones of the Mission Community of Exmouth, Littleham and Lympstone (Image: Steve Jones)

In the Book of Genesis in the Bible, we learn about a man called Joseph.

He is the guy of the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat fame, whose brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt.

When in Egypt, Joseph is purchased as a slave by a captain in Pharaoh’s Guard, a man called Potiphar.

Joseph quickly rises to a key leadership position in Potiphar’s household. Due to a false allegation, Joseph ends up being thrown into prison. In prison, Joseph soon becomes a key leader in the prison community.

When he is eventually released from prison, Joseph then goes into Pharaoh’s personal service, and soon becomes a primary leader in the nation, second only to Pharaoh himself. Joseph’s life is a good example of the old adage, ‘You cannot keep a good person down.’

That saying is particularly true when it comes to leaders. Great leaders, like Joseph, always seem to rise to the surface. They are, and always have been, few and far between.

My own observation is that leaders and managers are often different types of people. While managers tend to attempt to get things done right, leaders are usually working on doing the right things.

Managers can tend to be detail-oriented people, whereas leaders are often ‘big picture’ types. Great leaders significantly enhance the success of a nation, business, or organisation, and tend to improve the overall quality of life for individuals in their care.

I think that there are probably at least four things that great leaders do which help them to achieve significant things. Firstly, great leaders are visionaries.

They are people who can see over the horizon, sense a forthcoming opportunity or risk, and then lead their people into a safer and more preferable future.

Secondly, great leaders are courageous. They have to be, as point leadership is often lonely and difficult. Sometimes the primary leader is the only person in the organisation who can see the Promised Land.

They must deal with the vocal nay-sayers and doubters and encourage their possibly wavering people to press on. Part and parcel of being a point leader is taking some hits, and sometimes some very personal ones.

Great leaders try to absorb, with good grace, those hits, understanding that worried people sometimes strike out. Thirdly, great leaders are also compassionate people.

My experience is that people do not follow their leader the extra mile, or willingly put their future and security in the leader’s hands, unless and until they know that the leader cares more about them as a human being than as a resource.

What often moves good leaders on to the next level of effectiveness is being able to communicate a real sense of value to each of their people. Prior to the turning-point battle of El Alamein in North Africa in World War Two, Field Marshall Montgomery visited every one of his men, standing on top of tanks, bunkers, and cars to address them.

He told each man that his individual part in the coming battle was important, and that their commander appreciated them all.

The rest is history. Finally, great leaders are people of integrity. Trust is immensely valuable capital for the leader of a business or organisation. When your people know that you are the same person everywhere you go, that you hold yourself to the same high standard that you hold them to, and that you are consistently honest to a fault, they will follow you pretty much anywhere.

Character counts. For myself, I don’t think that I will ever be a great leader, but I am attempting to be a good one.

If you happen to be reading this and your business or organisation is blessed with a great leader, I would encourage you to take a moment to thank God for them, and then just let them know how much you appreciate them and what they do for you all.