Dag Heward Mills- The Art of Leadership
One of the outstanding characteristics of a leader is creativity. Everyone is waiting for leaders who are creative! And everything depends on the leader. For a group of people to surge forward, they need a leader to who is innovative. Being innovative is born out of a desire to be creative and to create new things.
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Genesis 1:1
The universe was created by God the Creator. And the universe is ruled by this creative God. God has imparted this nature to us. You will realise that this world is also ruled by creative people. To be able to think of something new is creativity! To consider something greater than what exists is being creative. To go on and to achieve new things or be innovative is creativity. An ordinary person wants to do what everyone else is doing. A leader is someone who is prepared to be creative and to chart new territories.
There are two groups of people in this world. One group has created new things. The other group has created nothing. Creative people dominate non-creative people. Which would you prefer to be; the one who dominates or the one who is dominated? Your answer is clearly the former. This is why it is important to assume your God-given trait of being creative!
Since the creative rule the non-creative, be creative in your business! Be creative in your work if you want to be the point of reference in that area of work! Be creative as a minister of the gospel. Note: the fact that something has not been done before does not mean that it’s wrong. The fact that something has not been done before does not mean it is not possible to do it. You will dominate in your sphere of life if you are creative. Think of the iPad, for instance!
The ministry I oversee is made up of mainly lay people. I myself started out in ministry as a layperson. When I did, people preached about me in their pulpits saying I was not concentrating on my studies. They had never seen the lay ministry in operation. They could only criticize. Today, this creative lay ministry has led to much growth in my ministry. Decide to be a creative leader!
Seven steps to becoming a creative leader
- To be a creative leader, ask the Holy Spirit to teach you what to do. Realize that you may be in a non-creative environment. You may have to fight a spirit of non-creativity all your life.
- A creative leader admires nature
Be interested in animals, nature and the human body. As you become interested in things God has created, the spirit of creativity will be stirred up in you. Non-creative people are usually uninterested in nature.
- A creative leader overcomes the natural resistance to change
Most people do not like change but a creative person is ready to break out with a difference. Be honest, and deal with every streak of non-creativity in your life. Recognise your resistance to change and deal with the ‘anti-change’ spirit in your life.
- A creative leader is interested in the amazing creations of ordinary men.
Be interested in medicine, surgery, cars, planes, computers and new apps. Non-creative people are usually not interested in such things.
- A creative leader is open to new and unusual ways of doing things.
Do not have a blackout attitude towards any new suggestion. Creative people are often laughed at because of their ideas. The ideas being laughed at today will become the stunning innovation that makes you surge forward tomorrow.
- A creative leader is ready to embark on adventure.
Adventure is the sister of creativity. It takes a love for adventure to do exploits. David Livingstone did exploits in Africa. We often read the adventures of David Livingstone. He undertook journeys that were unknown and accomplished amazing things.
- A creative leader tries introducing variations to already existing models.
There is no gainsaying the fact that a creative leader is someone who is able to come up with new ideas. However, variation is the brother of creativity. It is a variation in an existing product that leads to an innovation in that area.
To be creative is also to be a can-do man. A can-do man will not stop at dreaming about new things but will go ahead and do what has not been done before. We all know that new ideas often contain the solutions we need. Are you someone with new ideas? Do not let it end up as an idea! Your idea can be created! Your idea may be the next innovation! We can be the creative leaders of tomorrow!
By Dag Heward-Mills
Culled from ‘The Art of Leadership’
www.daghewardmillsbooks.org
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