It is the mark of a good leader to be able to get people to believe in him.
It is those who believe in the leader who become his followers.
The fact that you have people following you is what makes you a leader. How does a leader get a following?
In the time of Jesus, Jesus got Nathanael to believe in Him.
Philip tried to get Nathanael to believe but Philip did not succeed: "Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, we have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
And Nathanael said unto him, can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see" (John 1:45-46).
However, when Jesus encountered Nathanael, the story changed!
Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!
Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me?
Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. John 1:47-49
At this time, Nathanael had a personal conviction that Jesus was a good person and that he should follow him.
Jesus was able to get Nathanael to believe in Him!
No one can truly follow your ideas unless he believes in you personally.
This is a mark of a leader.
The ability to get someone to believe in you and truly follow you is a demonstration of the art of leadership.
Being open will make others believe in you
This is where it becomes important to be open. It is important to be open as a leader.
This is different from being a blabbermouth.
A blabbermouth says or discloses the things which ought not be repeated.
Such a person is not fit to work in the king’s palace and definitely will not make a good leader.
"Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler" (Proverbs 20:19 ESV).
Someone that the bible warns us not to associate with cannot be our leader.
But a leader needs to be open in such a way that people know him enough to trust in him and believe in him.
When you are a complete mystery and no one knows about you, it would be very difficult for someone to believe in you.
What would the person be believing in?
What would the person be following?
Note that what draws a following is something the people know about you and become convinced about!
One of the reasons why leaders must be open is so that people get the chance to know them personally.
I sometimes wonder as I watch leaders who say nothing about their personal lives.
Could it be that they have no example to give or no testimony to share?
Dear friend, the people you lead need to have faith in you as a person.
How can this happen except you open up to them?
People get to know what is in your heart by your words.
…for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh; Matthew 12:34
Your deep convictions make others believe in you
When people can relate with the things that are in your heart, they will more readily go anywhere you want them to.
When you bare your heart with conviction, others can relate to it.
They can understand you.
They can grow to have the same conviction and then they will be ready to do anything you tell them to do.
It is not impressive when people just read speeches that have been written for them.
You cannot know much about the person until you hear him speaking from his heart.
It is what is in the heart that really matters.
When people can feel your passion, when they can feel your drive and can relate to your vision, your leadership flows naturally.
If you don’t have a passion for anything or a drive to accomplish something, you are not a leader!
You can learn about delegation of authority and the rules governing that principle.
But that may not make you a real and lasting leader.
You may be well-versed in the principles of management but that may not make you a leader.
True leadership emanates from your heart!
It is a direct projection of your conviction!
Delegation of authority and the other principles of management will enrich, enhance and boost your leadership.
But when you have a conviction, articulate that conviction and get people to believe in it, you are becoming a long-lasting leader.
The writer is the founder of the Lighthouse Group of churches.
E-mail: theaol@ymail.com
