LEADERSHIP Series: Lighting the Path – Leading the Way.

In a 2003 survey done by the Best Christian Workplaces Institute (www.bcwinstitute.com) they found, among other attributes, that the leaders in organizations ranked at the top of the list were described with terms like caring, humble, approachable, and Godly. Attractive leaders. Shining brightly. Easier to follow.

Greenleaf, in his work The Servant as Leader, posited that: “…foresight…begins with a state of mind about now…” Doing right (righteousness) is both about being good and behaving with a mixture of grace and truth: it is also about being connected this moment with our Creator.

Interesting to also note that the BCW list and Greenleaf attributes resemble what Jim Collins discovered in his seminal research and his book, Good to Great. The leaders of the great companies were not the falsely bright and charismatic personalities: rather, they were humble and modest and most often shared decision-making with their staff.

Both studies point us to people that light the path making it easier for followers to invest in the vision of the organization. Light is attractive: people love to look at city lights seen from a high place. We will drive or walk to see a sunset. Some of us want to be awake early not to miss a sunrise. Just as Jesus was light, so we are called to be lights - our lives (our everyday living) so bright and beautiful that the world is attracted to our light.

Are you lighting your world?

Proverbs 4: 18-19 (NIV) The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.

For Further Study

Copyright ©2009 by P. Griffith Lindell