The Art of Leadership
A leader is a man of conviction! Be a leader with conviction! Be driven by your convictions and beliefs!
The Apostle Paul was a man of conviction. He was a man with a strong belief in God and he was ready to die for his beliefs. At one point he said openly, “I am ready to die.”
For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
2 Timothy 4:6
If you really consider yourself a leader, you must have a conviction about something! A leader without a conviction is a lifeless personality. Note that people who have convictions rule the world. Men of conviction are difficult to contain. You cannot put them in a box. You cannot tie them down. You cannot keep them still. You cannot de-motivate them. They are spurred on and driven by their convictions.
Be a leader with conviction. Do not dryly read out your speeches. Learn to speak to people out of your heart. A leader without convictions is a lifeless and emotionless puppet. Nobody takes any notice of him. Nobody believes his words. Nobody follows him. Do you sometimes wonder why people are not following you? It may be because you are not a man of conviction.
Be a leader with conviction and make sacrifices for what you believe. When you believe strongly in something, you make sacrifices for it. A man of conviction is prepared to sacrifice many things for his conviction. When I see people who claim to be called by God but are not prepared to sacrifice anything for their calling, I wonder if they are really called. A calling is a conviction to work for the Lord. In the political world, the masses will follow someone who seems to have a conviction. They will follow someone who speaks from his heart. They will follow someone who is prepared to go all the way for his beliefs.
Be a leader with conviction and think about judgment. To be a leader with conviction, you must think about your day of accountability. Take some time and read a lot about Heaven and Hell. Why do I do the things I do? I do them because of my convictions. I believe in Heaven and Hell. I have a conviction that one day Christ will reward me for all my labour on this earth. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He rose from the dead. I believe that Jesus is the only way to Heaven. I do not just give mental assent to these facts. I believe them with all my heart! That is the driving force that made me abandon my medical career. What do you believe in? What are you convicted about? If you want to be a good leader, think about your day of judgment. What are your convictions about your day of accountability and reward? Think about it. it will encourage you to do your work well.
Be a leader with conviction and think deeply about everything. You must ruminate about your life. You must meditate on your calling. You must think deeply about your purpose on earth. You must think deeply about events that occur around you. You must think deeply about history. Your convictions will be born out of your deep thoughts.
Are you a real leader? Decide to be a man of conviction. “Conviction of what,” you may ask? Have conviction about the things you believe God has called you to do. Have a conviction about the things you are supposed to accomplish in your lifetime. Have a conviction about the things that God has told you.
Live by these convictions! Be prepared to give up anything so that you can fulfil your conviction. Be a leader with conviction by showing emotions. Jesus showed emotion. Do not take on a dry and stiff posture. That does not reveal any conviction. Be like Jesus! Have emotions about your convictions! Be passionate about your beliefs. Jesus wept.
John 11:35
Be a leader with conviction who is zealously affected always in a good thing. When a person maintains his zeal for something, it shows that he is a man of convictions. Most people are emotionally excited about something for a short while. But to maintain zeal and to be zealously affected always reveals that you are a man of great conviction.
But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you. Galatians 4:18
Be a man who is constant, steadfast and persistent in his convictions and beliefs. Remember that after the emotional excitement is over, a person still stands by what he believes. Be zealously affected always in your good convictions! May you have amazing convictions that will lead you to a good place this year!
Culled from “The Art of Leadership”
theaol@ymail.com
By Dag Heward-Mills