7 Qualities of a Great Leader

This past year, I attended a deacon's training meeting at my home church, LongHollow Baptist. To kick off the meeting, our pastor (David Landrith), spoke with us about leadership. In particular David focused on leadership lessons we could learn from the life of Nehemiah.

Personally, I love the book of Nehemiah. Over the past 6-8 years, I've often looked to Nehemiah for encouragement in dealing with challenges at work. He is a great example of staying focused on what he was called by God to do and not letting others distract him. Nehemiah was also a gifted leader and the following are the 7 qualities David shared with us. Then, to help personalize the exercise, I've added a question to each one for us to think about.

Seven Qualities of a Gifted Leader (Lessons on Leadership From Nehemiah)

1. Godliness - What am I doing to cultivate a heart for God?
2. Courage - Am I willing to make the hard decisions, no matter the cost to me?
3. Vision - Do I have a vision for where God wants me to lead my tribe?
4. Integrity - Do my actions line up with my stated beliefs?
5. Concentration - Can I stay focused on achieving the vision in spite of internal and external distractions?
6. Persistence - Am I willing to stay the course, or will I bail when it starts to get a little tough?
7. Solution Oriented - Am I more focused on coming up with solutions to problems, or placing blame?

Whether it's in your home, at church or at work, being a leader is not easy. Leadership is hard work and not always appreciated. It's a great responsibility, but it's also a great privilege. We owe it to those we lead to do it right.