Introducing the Idea of Leadership

James H. Willis, III
Founder and President
The Willis Agency, Inc
1 Peter 5:7

Though there are over 350 definitions of leadership, I am going to use a two-pronged definition:

1. Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish a purpose.
2. Leadership is a relationship between leader, followers, and the mutual purpose they pursue.

Counselors assist good leaders by helping them remove barriers and facilitate the proposed journey. Advisors are people who analyze the data and provide advice to tailor the message. Management is mostly about positional concepts and consistency. Where then Leadership is about the personal concepts empowered by these followers for change and commitment, they may be the unknown.

Step back for a minute and look around. Do you see very many of these types of leaders? It is a sad site, isn’t it? And when you add the concept, “integrity is the core of leadership,” we are seeing this leadership as a rarity to say the least. Then, if we continue on and add the concept of Spiritual Leadership—moving people toward God’s agenda (ie: pastors, evangelists, and disciples, parents, business people, and you and me). (Matthew 28:18-20) We are to accomplish the purpose of advancing the Kingdom here on Earth and in Heaven.

There are 5 Critical Attributes of Leadership:

1. Deep, abiding, character
2. Highly-developed competence
3. Clear and compelling vision
4. Passionate commitment to the purpose
5. Uncommon wisdom

To conclude, followers should ask or question leaders about their:

1. Content—Do they do what they are asking us to do?
2. Commitment—Do they have the enthusiasm to keep me engaged along the difficult road ahead?
3. Character—Do they inspire others to make sacrifices necessary to complete the journey or task?
4. Competency—Do they have the ability to get us from here to there?
5. Wisdom—Do they have the resources to navigate us through challenging parts of the journey?
6. Confidence—They need confidence and we need confidence in the answers to our questions.

Once again, “Communication is the core of leadership.”

What should you be doing?

Caring for you and yours,


Leave a Reply