LEADERSHIP TRAINING MANUAL 5

                              THE VITAL ROLE OF RELATIIONSHIP IN LEADERHIP                           

  (CULTIVATING PEOPLE’S SKILLS IN YOUR LEADERSHIP)

“For I have left you an example that you should do as I have done to you.” (Jn.13:15)

Clearly, no one exemplified people skill better than Jesus, Himself. Everywhere he went, people followed him. Why? Because it was obvious that people were his passion. He met their needs wherever he encountered them. Jesus touched people physically, spiritually and emotionally.

The basis of leadership is people. If you cannot relate with people, they won’t follow you. Relationships will make or break a leader over time. To effective leaders, success means developing people.

FOUR TRUTHS ABOUT LEADERSHIP AND PEOPLE

1)    People are a Church most appreciated ASSET.

2)    A leader’s most important asset is PEOPLE SKILLS.

3)    A good leader can lead various groups because leadership is about PEOPLE.

4)    You can have people skill without being a good leader but you can’t be a good leader without having people skills.

THE ANALOGY OF THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN

 Luke 10:30-37. In this parable, Jesus taught that relationship and ministry are not confined to your immediate circle of friends. Those relationships are more important than any spiritual activities we practice. (Matthew 5:23-24)

He also taught the truth below:

The story illustrates how we treat people based on how we see ourselves. Notice the different ways the victimized man was treated in this story…

1)    THE ROBBERS: They used people; they manipulated others; they saw the man as A VICTIM TO EXPLOIT.

2)    THE PRIEST: They were law keepers, they were pure, and they saw the man as A PROBLEM TO AVOID.

3)    THE SAMARITAN: He was despised, he knew how it felt to be ignored, and he saw the man as A PERSON TO BE LOVED.

LEADERSHIP AND RELATIONSHIPS

What separates us from other religions in the world is the centrality of relationship. Our faith is built on relationships and not on creeds or disciplines. When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, He said we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart and soul and might and our neighbours as ourselves. This is how we are identified as his disciples.

QUESTIONS:  Think of the most difficult people to love in your life. Why are they difficult to love? How do you view them? How can you begin to see the way the Samaritan saw?

A DEFINTION OF SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP

One who assumes responsibility for the health and development of his relationships.

Four word pictures

1)    The analogy of the GOOD HOST: A good host takes initiative and makes others feel comfortable. Knowing what a good host does in his house, he ought to be able to do it with people everywhere.

2)    The analogy of the GOOD DOCTOR: Good doctors ask questions, they probe until they see the need. Then they can address the need with a prescription.

3)    The analogy of a GOOD COUNSELLOR: Good Counsellors are active listeners and interpret what they hear. You should non-verbally communicate, understand a person and identify with them. We earn our right to speak by listening.

4)    The analogy of the TOUR GUIDE: Guides do not merely fellowship with others; they also get them to their destination. Our purpose is not to be liked by people, but to take them on a journey to reach a goal they might not have reached alone.

WHAT EVERY LEADER SHOULD KNOW ABOUT PEOPLE

1.     People are INSECURE, give them confidence. Hurting people hurt people. Secure people offer security to people. Most people are insecure in some areas of their lives and are looking for security and a secure environment can only be provided by a secure and confident person. Hebrews 10:25

2.     People like to feel SPECIAL, honour them. To deal with yourself, use your head, to deal with others, use your heart. When you affirm and honour someone with words, make them:

Ø SINCERE: Be genuine about what to say

Ø SPECIFIC: Be pointed and specific about what you say

Ø PUBLIC: Share the honouring word in front of others

Ø PERSONAL: Get beyond general gratitude. Speak personally to them. Romans 12:10

3.     People look for a better TOMORROW, give them hope. The key to today is a belief in tomorrow. Everyone lives for something to come. A research conducted on the secrets of successful Pastors’ success reveals that they offer hope to their people. Lam. 3:21-23

4.     People need to be UNDERSTOOD, listen to them. To discern someone’s heart, find out the following:

Ø What do they talk about?

Ø What do they cry about?

Ø What do they dream about?

Ø What do they laugh about?

Ø What do they plan about?

5. People lack DIRECTION, navigate for them. Most people can stir the ship but only a leader can chart the course. Leaders must KNOW the way, go the way and show the way. 1Pet. 5:1-2

2.     People are NEEDY, speak to their needs first. People must be ministered to before they can minister:

MOST PEOPLE THINK…	LEADERS MUST…
Their situations are unique	Put their people first
Their problems are the biggest	Know their people’s need
Their faults should be overlooked	See the total picture
Their time is most precious	Love people to help them grow. Phlp. 2:4

7. People get EMMOTIONALLY LOW, encourage them. What gets rewarded gets done. Encouragement enables people to tolerate twice more than when they are not encouraged. Col. 3:12-13    

8. People want to SUCCEED, help them win. Reach out and help others achieve their goals. Victory has a thousand fathers, defeat is an orphan. What do the following words have in common: high morale, enthusiasm, momentum, optimism, energy and excitement?

VICTORY! Everyone wants to be in a team that experiences victory and reaches the goal they are pursuing. Leaders provide this for others. Ecc. 4:9-10.

9. People desire RELATIONSHIPS, provide them community. Practice the 101% principle with people. Find out the 1% you have in common and give it your 100% attention.

  

 10. People seek MODELS to follow, be an example. People do what they see. Saint Francis of Assisi said “preach the gospel at all times; if possible, use words”



Leadership Training Manual 4

LESSON 4

PRIORITES AND DECISION MAKING (MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR TIME)

Mistaken priorities lie at the heart of ineffective leadership. In Matthew 23:24, Jesus scolded the Pharisees for confusing what was with what was not important. The priorities of Christ were the spiritual needs of others. Great leaders know the heart of their people and act with the end in mind.

As spiritual leaders, we know that Christ died for us and we are saddled with the task of the great commission. The Bible rarely gives us step by step instructions for a given task. Consequently, we must ask for wisdom, keep the big picture in mind, lead from God’s priorities making the most of our time because the days are evil. Eph. 5:15-17

BIBLICAL ANSWERS ON PRIORITIES

1.     What was Jesus’ priority?-Mark 1:35-38

2.     What is the Christian’s priority?-Luke 10:39-42

3.     What is the priority of Church leaders?-Acts 6:2-4

4.     What about distractions and hindrances? –Hebrews 12: 1

5.     How does our purpose help us with our priorities?-1Cor.9:24-27

                             THE 80/20 PRINCIPLE  

This principle teaches that if we focus our attention on the most important activities, we gain the highest return on our effort. In other words, if we tend to the top 20% most important priorities, we’ll accomplish 80% of the results we desire. Whereas if we embrace the wrong priorities, 80% of our effort will merely return 20% of the desired fruits to us.

                        EXAMPLE OF THE 80/20 PRINCIPLE

TIME: 20% of our time produces 80% of the result.                                        

COUNSELLING: 20% of people take 80% of our time.                                      

WORK: 20% of our effort produces 80% of our satisfaction.

MINISTRIES: 20% of the ministries provide 80% of the fruits.

LEADERSHIP: 20% of the people make 80% of the decision.

WORKERS: 20% of the workers do 80% of the ministry.

MENTORING: 20% of the influencers are where you should invest your time.

LESSONS FROM THE 80/20 PRINCIPLE

1)    ACTIVITY does not equal accomplishment. Your goal is not to stay busy. Look for the wisest people and places to invest your time.

2)    Work SMARTER, not HARDER. This means doing things only you can do and delegating what others can help you with. What good is it to work extremely hard when it accomplishes little?

3)    ORGANISE or you will AGONISE. If we can learn to organise then we can become more efficient in getting things done. This will save us a lot of time and frustration.

4)    EVALUATE or STAGNATE: Determining where we stand in relation to our goal is very important. To move to the next level of leadership, we must evaluate our current situation.

5)    SCHEDULE your priorities: If you do not control your day by good planning, your day will control you.

6)    REACTING is not leading: when we lose control, we are no longer acting as  leaders but reacting to the urgent. If we forget the ultimate, we will become slaves of the immediate.

7)    Say NO to little things: when you know who you are and what your gifts and talents are, it is easier to know what to put your effort in and what to avoid. When a task would not further your goal, you need to say “no” and the way you say it is as important as the decision to. So you must do it gracefully as follows:

(a)  Say no to the IDEA not the PERSON: Make sure the person understands that you are not rejecting them. Give the idea of your affirmation but make them understand that the idea does not fit in with the things you need to accomplish.

(b) Respond in terms of the best interest of the person asking: communicate that your constraints will actually prevent you from doing the kind of work they deserve.

(c)   CREATIVELY come up with an ALTERNATIVE: Think of a way to help them complete their task. Give them confidence that they can do it or suggest who can.

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR TIME

1)    Make a to –do list

2)    Set your priorities

3)    Avoid perfectionism

4)    Question everything

5)    Welcome tension

6)    Avoid clutter

7)    Avoid procrastination

8)    Control interruptions and distractions

9)    Staff your weaknesses

10)       Use a calendar

THREE WISE SELF EVALUATION QUESTIONS

1)    What is REQUIRED of me?

2)    What gives me the greatest RETURN?

3)    What gives me the greatest REWARD?

WELCOME TO APRIL: OUR MONTH OF DIVINE FAVOUR

 Texts: Ps.102:13:

 “Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come.”

Ps.5:12:  

“For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.”

Welcome to the month of April. This month has been prophetically declared our Month of Divine Favour. The bible says except the Lord builds a house, they labour in vain who try to build on their own. No matter how good you are at what you do, if God does not grant you favour in that thing, you will remain hidden and never be able to gain recognition for it. So after all said and done in life, it is the Lord that makes the difference for us.

In Ecclesiastes 9:11, we read:

“I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.”

From this text of scripture, we gather that all who are under the sun are those living on earth where the influence of the sun is felt everywhere. Interestingly also, we are told that the race is not to the swift. This is rather paradoxical because by our natural calculation, the swiftest runner wins the race! In spiritual arithmetic on the other hand, that is not the case. Do not forget however, that spiritual arithmetic is superior to our natural calculation. Even when you are at the back of a queue for greatness, God can and will cause you to jump the queue and be brought ahead of all the others on queue when the time to favour you comes. Of course, it would not be illegal because only God has the yardstick for measuring legality. If He says you are leaving the back of the queue, who can tell you to stay there?

Beloved, you have been divinely inspired to log on and read this because God has been trying to tell you that by His favour on you, you are leaving the back of the queue to be a main player in the field of greatness on the earth.

Another interesting thing we read in Ecclesiastes 9:11 is that favour is not necessarily given to men of skill, but people have to be located at the right place and the right time to receive favour. This month of April, God will locate you at the right place and the right time so that all that pertain to your greatness will be delivered to you. The good news I have for you is that NOW is your right time – CONGRATULATIONS!!!

It is with the above in mind that this month, we shall be looking at How to cultivate the shield of favour. But first you must understand that if you have not made Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, God is not obligated to favour you. Our text in Ps.5:12 says God will bless the righteous and surround him with favour as with a shield. When you add that scripture to 2Cor.5:21 which says God made the Lord to be sin for us (even though the Lord never sinned) that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him; you will appreciate that only those who are in Christ can be righteous. That automatically positions you for the blessing and favour of God that will release you into your greatness.

If you are not yet born again and you want to be blessed, you can be born again from this moment by saying the sinner’s prayer below and meaning it with all your heart. Ensure that you read it out loud to God and you will enter into your season of undeniable favour in Jesus’ name!

THE SINNER’S PRAYER

Father in Heaven,

I come to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Your word says in John 6:37 that you will not cast me out when I come to you. So I thank you that you will take me in.

You also said in Romans 10:9-10 that if I shall confess with my mouth the Lord Jesus and shall believe in my heart that you raised him from the dead, I shall be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is the son of God. I believe that he was raised from the dead for my justification and I confess him now as my saviour and Lord.

I believe that I have now become your righteousness in Christ whom you made to be sin for me on Calvary’s Cross.

Thank you father that I am saved from this day in Jesus’s name!

 Once again, I welcome you to our month of DIVINE FAVOUR. For more information, please log on to http://www.kingdomheirsministries.org/. or you may check out my blog at www.flourishinggirl.blogspot.com  and follow me or on twitter @ alero_nanna or on face book by liking Healing and Restoration Time With Pastor Alero Nanna and also liking Kingdom Joint Heirs Family Churches. GBY!