Habits of Leaders

Leadership is a journey. When you are in a leadership opportunity, whether that be in a business, church, volunteer position, or a specific role in your family, you will constantly have to work on becoming better. Certainly reading about leadership principles and surrounding yourself with a mentor will help. But through the years it has been noted of leaders that they have obtained habits that enabled them to become great leaders. Recently I was in a conference listening to David Gergen, author of "Eyewitness To Power" and right hand man to four Presidents (Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Clinton). In his sharing with us, he noted four personal habits of great leaders:

1. Self Discipline and Regular Habits - Establishing self discipline will enable you to know your flaws and keep them in control. Regular habits of daily reading. It was said by one President, "not every reader is a leader, but every leader is a reader."
2. Be Physically Fit - Leaders have to endure. When we are exercising our bodies and eating right portions and food options, we enable ourselves to be fresh in our thinking and actions.
3. Build Time in the Day to Reflect - Leaders understand the need to be "reflective practitioners."
4. Sense of Humor - Learn to laugh at yourself and laugh with others.

As I look at each of these and make daily attempts to apply them in my own role as Recreation Minister, I could not help but recognize that these same habits can be found in Christ. He was disciplined in his denial of temptation. He was "buff" and cut! Think about his work as a child and the amount of walking he did. Christ always stepped away to spend time with the Father and be refreshed in His purpose. And finally, Christ had a sense of humor - if you don't beleive it, take a look in the mirror. We all have some goofy things about ourselves.