Good leaders are also good Stewards

Leaders and leadership; the topic is common and leaders are needed in all walks of life.  I spend time with leaders every week and I try to be a leader in my own business and with my own family in all that I do.  Being a good leader requires a variety of skills and competencies.  Some of these are listed below:

• Vision
• Empathy
• Compassion
• Strategic Thinking
• Problem Solving Skills
• Team Building
• Listening
• Dealing with Ambiguity
• Dealing with Change

I could add many more to this list, but this is a good starting point.

Leaders work with others to help them move in a direction that is an improvement from their current state or in a direction they have never moved in before.  The common thread with leaders is that they deal with change through people.

Another aspect of good leaders is that they must be good stewards.  Stewards are those who care for others or for things that they do not own.  When you boil things down you quickly realize that none of us really own anything, we only use what we have while in this life and then we move on to Eternity, at least that is what I believe.  Others may define that next step differently, but in the truest sense of the word, we take nothing with us when we leave this world.

My pastor, David Cassidy, brought this home clearly when he spoke to us last Sunday and he inspired me to find this photo shown below-this may be painful for some to see, but it is the true that many of us operate in a mode where we seem to believe we will be taking a “load” with us when we pass on.   How unfortunate that type of thinking can be.

Good leaders realize that what they do, the changes they make, are really focused on others and not on themselves.  No matter how hard they may try, the changes they make will not result in something tangible that they can take with them (maybe some short term rewards), but they need to operate with a stewardship mentality in order to be completely effective.  What would leaders as stewards need to consider in order to be effective?

• Other centered
• Focus on return for all and not for self
• Self aware-transparent
• Humble
• Servant mentality-Servant Leadership
• Respectful
• Sharing success with others
• Shouldering blame when failure occurs
• Renting vs. owning mentality-we really own nothing, but are here to use things to better others

These traits may seem strange to some, but they are spot on when considering the Steward leader.

Think on these for the next day or two and I’ll come back later this week to share some further thought on the concept of the Steward leader.

In the meantime, go forth and find someone you can serve.  You’ll be glad you did.