1. Be great not just be good

As popularly said, great leaders make a difference. However difference must not be construed as being different. It doesn’t mean when others are good you must become bad or when others are bad you must become good. It means when others are bad or others are good, you must be great and remain great all the time. Leadership is a transformation from being good to great, from ordinary to extraordinary and even from normal to paranormal (a higher opposite of abnormal). A leader can transform from good to great as follows:

   a.       from a receiver to giver

   b.       from being served to serving

   c.       from thinker to decision maker

   d.       from imagining to creating

   e.       from just competitive to cooperative

   f.        from reactive to proactive

   g.       from just timely to being timeless

   h.       from organizing systems to organizing values and principles

   i.        from recruiting workers to recruiting important human beings

   j.        from material to spiritual

   k.       from the Universe to Heaven

   l.        from just a ruler to a great example

   m.      from controlling people to self controlling

   n.       from tradition to innovation

   o.       and others

2. Be like the sun

Let’s have some astronomy with a mix of divinity on this matter. When God created the earth and the universe, He created them well-engineered. An example of this is our solar system. Our sun is a great manager. It effectively manages the planets and other cosmic objects around it. But how? Our sun does it through revolution. Its powerful and massive energy manages planets (including Earth) and other celestial bodies to revolve around it with precision for the past millions or billions of years. But don’t you know that our Sun is also a great leader? I said this because it’s not only governing planets to revolve around it, but it’s also allowing each planet to rotate in its own axis. By allowing rotation, our planet Earth and its inhabitants do not only witness the bright days but also experience the beauty of the nights. The sun is not a selfish star. It gives planets their freedom to rotate in their own axes so that they can be empowered and utilize their own gravitational forces. The sun also gives us night time so that we can be able to see not only one star (the sun itself) but also the other stars (which can obviously be seen only at night).

A great leader should not only rely on his own capabilities but he should also empowered people and allow their own capabilities to be nurtured and utilized in achieving organizational goals. A leader should also give his followers a freedom and a chance for a balance life. This can also be applied in business organizations where managers treat his subordinates as pure workers by pulling almost all of their time and energy for work instead of giving them enough time to spend with their families and other personal matters. Like the sun, a great leader should also give his followers the chance to experience not only the other side of their lives, but also their entire lives. He should not be selfish but trust them to rotate in their own and promote and preserve harmony and a balance existence for everyone.

3. Plant trees not grasses

Great leaders create things that last not things that are temporary. Similarly, they want to grow like trees and not like grasses. They build foundations in a rock and not in the sand. Wicked leaders always want to get things quickly and easily. What they plant are like grasses which grow instantly but pass away swiftly. An example of this is a business owner who deceives his customers just to make his company earn instantly. Another example is a religious leader who uses violence to force people to embrace his religion. Both the business owner and the religious leader achieve instant success – profit and increase in members. However, these kind of success will not last for long because of negative customer feedback (for the business owner) and because of involuntary membership (for the religious leader).

On the other hand, great leaders plant things like trees. They do not build recklessly and gain success overnight. They calculate and visualize permanent things rather than temporary things. Great leaders are not just timely, they are also timeless. They work hard and practice patience. In the example above, a great business leader assures that he offers quality products that satisfy customers. Also, a great religious leader does not use violence to instantly increase his members. Instead, he patiently and faithfully set himself as a perfect example of righteousness and justice to convince people to freely join him. Both the business and religious leaders does not acquire their success instantly, but this kind of success remains constantly.

4. Walk like a dove think like a serpent

Matthew 10:16 in the Bible once said…”be wise as serpents and harmless as doves”. This can be applied also in leadership. Leaders should not only possess intelligence and knowledge, they should also have humility and modesty. What the bible tells is that we must combine wisdom with humility so that we can be powerful and at the same time harmless. Don’t you know that gentleness can also become a great source of power? Look at the infants and the babies, they are not strong, they are so delicate, fragile and innocent, yet, their cute smiles and innocent faces can “lead” you to kindness and unique happiness. Can you punch a baby? Can you kick those little human beings? Majority of people cannot do those cruel things to them because of their innocence and tenderness. Do you get my point? Babies and doves are humble, modest, gentle and harmless. These qualities combined with wisdom are vital for becoming a great leader. Hence, if you want to become a great leader, move like a dove and think like a serpent or be harmless like a baby and think like an elderly.

5. Be a great follower…of our Almighty God.

This does not require a long explanation. We should accept the truth that there is a being that is more powerful than us. He is pure and perfect. His words are very powerful because He never lies. A foolish, wicked and proud leader disobeys Him but a wise and faithful leader follows Him.

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