10 often misused attributes all creative leaders need

There's a right way to be great in the Kingdom of God

Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

A few years ago, I was trying to improve my creative leadership. And so I wondered what great leaders do to become great. I was hoping for a secret sauce. One fantastic tip I could pour into my leadership to make it truly sizzle!

I knew then and still know today that there's not one secret formula for achieving "greatness." Or is there?

Jesus spoke to this exact topic in Matthew 20:25b - 28. While rebuking James and John, he says this;

"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Whoever wants to become great!

As it turns out, I was asking the wrong questions and seeking the wrong outcomes.

Leadership, the way Jesus intended, is hard work. It takes and takes and takes. That's the point Jesus was trying to make. We're not meant to aim at greatness... our aim is service.

This way of Jesus and his whole approach to leadership was countercultural then and remains countercultural today. I know you know that, and so do I, but living that way, without self-focused ambition, especially as a leader, isn't easy. It's more natural to go after greatness than seek to serve others. And so, Christain leadership is a balancing act of doing many things other leaders do but with a completely different spirit.

A different spirit...

Our daughter Lilli was sharing a devotion with a small group the other night. She encouraged humility and quoted from John Dickson's "Humilitas" book. John says;

"Without a life example that speaks louder than words,
even the most persuasive leader will fail."

This is a challenging sentence because it means that our lives must say more than just what our words communicate to truly succeed. Lilli put it in a way that has stuck with me. She said;

"My goal has to be more of Christ in you,
and your goal should be the same for me."

What a beautiful, life-giving way to approach our creative leadership. In everything we do, imagine aiming at more of Christ in those we lead. What a big difference it would make to the tone and style of our leadership. It would color everything.

With this as a foundation, we can examine leadership attributes that the world says make for "great" leaders and redeem them for God's purposes. Because the reality is;

"We have to "do" leadership acts, not just think leadership thoughts." 

What are those attributes?