an inborn behavior. Good leaders study and master the
discipline of leadership.
“...deliberately exerting special influence...”: This phrase
is a reminder that there is no leadership without influence.
Simply put: leadership is influence – nothing more, nothing
less. The leader has a conscious awareness of his God-
ordained ability to exert special influence on people. That
special motivational influence is called leadership.
“...to move people toward goals...”: This means that the
leader must have a clear focus on his goals – and those goals
must be both specific and measurable. If you can’t define
and measure your goals, then they are too vague to pursue.
A leader’s goals are designed to be stepping-stones to the
fulfillment of his vision, or life mission. We will look more
about the subject of goals later.
“...goals of beneficial permanence...”: This phrase is a
cardinal reminder that the goals he leads people toward are
to be beneficial for the group. The goals are first for the good
of the follower - rather than the benefit of the leader. The
goals are to be permanent, enduring, and lasting in their
results. That means that they have an impact for both time
and eternity.
“...that fulfills the group’s real needs”: Whereas many
worldly leaders abuse their followers, and intimidate or
coerce them to unworthy and malevolent goals, a Biblical
leader will always lead his people toward a goal that fulfills
their real needs – not just their perceived needs. The meeting
of real needs of real people in real life situations defines real
leadership!
- Let me share several other shorter definitions of leadership that
are helpful and insightful (I have included even more definitions
at the end of this chapter):
- Leadership is knowing what to do next, knowing why that’s
important, and knowing how to bring the appropriate
resources to bear on the need at hand. Whoever knows these
three things will emerge as the leader, whether she or he is
