The Heart and Soul of Leadership: Part Seven

For my final post (for now) about leadership, I will offer a word about courage. Leadership requires courage. It begins with the courage that is required for raw honesty. We have to be willing to look in the mirror and invite God to help us see and confront the reality of what we have become. As Heifetz and Linsky (Leadership on the Line, p. 225) have said, “No one looks in the mirror and sees a cynical, arrogant, and callous self-image. We dress up these defenses, give them principled and virtuous names. Cynicism is called realism, arrogance masquerades as authoritative knowledge, and callousness becomes the thick skin of wisdom and experience.” Before we can lead others, we have to allow God to transform us. The transormation begins with a redeemed heart, then we can lead others. We do ourselves no favors when we underestimate the courage that is required to surrender our own defenses and lay our lives down for the sake of our Savior. In the words of Apostle Paul, we discover that "we" no longer live, but "Christ" lives in us. He defines me. He prescribes my actions. He directs my path.