Good afternoon everyone and I am glad that you have find time to join us on this edition of Leaderview. Today we will be looking at something very important which I believe will add value to your leadership and helps you to become a much more valuable leader. You see, people don't remember the number of time you have spent with them except in the value that you added to them. And so today, we want to examine valuable leadership.
I have come to realise that you are either a valuable leader or you are no leader at all. You cannot afford at any point in time to occupy space just for the sake of occupation. You must have something that you are adding to the people. You must have a value offering as a leader. It is important you realise that your leadership is not in your title or by an entitlement of a kind. Your leadership is not by the position you occupy; your leadership is in the value you add, simply put – your value offer.
You know when you share some thoughts with some people, probably some business ideas, the first thing they ask from you is what they stand to gain from such an idea or a business offer. Now in leadership, you must have things that your people will get for following you. Now at a point the disciples of Jesus came to Him and they said we have left all and we have followed you, what do we have in return, what do you have for us? You have said we should abandon and forsake all, since we have done that already, what is in this journey for us? Jesus responded to them by saying, no one that have left father, left mother, left this and that who will not have something much more in this time and in the time to come.
Now if you look at that experience, it becomes clear that as a leader you must never just tell your people to follow you, no; it does not work like that. You must be able to promise the people and then offer something to the people. There must be something you are giving unto them and because of that thing, they cannot be able to go elsewhere. Jesus preached a very strong message at a time. He said except you drink of my blood and partake of my flesh, you have no life in me. After preaching that powerful message, many people left Him. They were simply wondering how can a man be telling them to eat of His flesh and drink of His blood? They could not reconcile things together and so they left Him.
And immediately, the Bible recorded that Jesus turned also to the twelve, those who had been following Him before then and asked; are you also not going? Peter stood up and spoke on behalf of the rest by saying "To whom shall we go, you are the one that has the word of eternal life." In a way you are a valuable leader. Every time we think about eternal life, we think about you. As a matter of fact, we cannot get it elsewhere except from you. Your leadership will grow to the degree of your value. If you stop adding value, you will cease being a leader. Your leadership is to the degree of your value offering. You have to even have something you are offering before you refer to yourself as a leader.
And that is why it is important you grow your value offering capacity. The more you are able to give, the more the people would come to receive from you. Now if you have less to give, you will be able to command less attention and less followership. I am sure we still remember that place in the Bible about a people among the sons of Issachar. The Bible recorded that two hundred of them, simply because they understand times and seasons, they knew what Israel ought to do. The Scripture says that their brethren were at their command. You stand to be at command if there is something that the people need and you have it to offer.
You see, you must become a valuable leader. Don't just be a positional or a title leader, you must be a leader that has value to offer. You must have something to give. There is a Scripture I quickly wants us to read before we move on.
In Matthew chapter fifteen, an incidence occur that exposes the importance of valuable leadership. Let us examine Matthew 15:11-14. The Bible says:
11 Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.” 12 Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” 13 But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14 Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”
Verse fourteen says "Let them alone." The reason why you will leave them alone is simple. First, they are blind leaders of the blind. That is who they are. The people are blind, the leaders are blind as well. Now don't forget we said valuable leadership brings about increased influence. These people were leaders but they were blind leaders leading the blind. Now come to think of it, if somebody is blind who does she or he needs? What value can a man or a woman adds to a blind person? Are you not expected to have the value of vision?
Now imagine a person comes to you and say, you are blind, I want to add value to you. And the said person is coincidentally, as blind as you are. No what value can this add to you? That is why Jesus was very clear when He said leave them alone. That is why a leader would be left alone if he refuses to grow in his value offering before his people and generation. Don't tell yourself you are a leader and that you have been given the title, and you are called a leader. Don't get comfortable with position. A position can lead you comfortably to leadership, you must increase your leadership through the value that you offer. Becoming valuable as a leader requires that you constantly add value to yourself.
The point in that Matthew 15:14 that we read is this. A blind leader will automatically fall into a ditch, it is a matter of time. Now when the blind, instead of being lead by a man or a woman that has vision or sight is being lead by another blind man, then the experience of the blind leader will automatically becomes the experience of the one that is being led. In other words, if a broke leader leads a broke people, all of them would end up being broke. The same rule is applicable in every other aspect of leadership relationship. For example if you are frustrated as a leader, very soon your people would become frustrated people. If you are distressed or disillusioned, very soon your people as well will be.
Now the Scripture gave us an instance in the book of 1 Samuel about David. David was anointed King and because of his anointing and the presence of God with him, he became a target to the leader of the nation at the time, King Saul. Saul wanted to kill him and at a point David ran away. The Bible recorded that four hundred people who were distressed and were not comfortable with life, frustrated people, they gathered to him. And the Bible says he became Captain over them. Not too long from that time, after they have journeyed and spent time with a man who was not distressed, frustrated as they were, the Bible recorded that they became Mighty Men. They became giant killers just like David their captain was a giant killer.
The point is, your experience as a leader must not be the experience of the people. If you are visionless for instance as a leader, and you peradventure have a leadership call on visionary people, very soon, those people would end up visionless as you are. You will not be able to replicate in the people who you are not. If you are clueless, they will become clueless as well. You must have something that your people do not have, and because of that, they follow you.
Now because Peter needed eternal life, he followed Jesus. I don't know why you are following the people you are following today, but if you look very deeply and meditate in a way, you will find out that everyone you are following today has something he or she is giving or offering you. It is either a promised offer, or an offer that is currently going on. You cannot follow somebody who has nothing to offer to you. And this what the Holy Spirit has impressed upon my heart to share with you and everyone in leadership position today.
If you must increase your leadership effectiveness, you must become a valuable leader. You may start with title or position, but you must transit into valuable leadership otherwise where you are heading in error would become the experience or destination of anyone, that either gullibly or ignorantly follows you. If you and the people you are leading must end well, then you must have a capacity for a glorious ending.
That is the word and I believe it has been a blessing. Spend some few moments to think over this words, meditate on it. Review your life. Do a kind of introspection, your schedule and growth plan, review everything and check if you are indeed you are a valuable leader. Because if you are not a valuable leader, in a matter of time, the people you are leading will start leaving you.
I pray that your influence will not diminish, the Lord will cause you to grow in your influence and He will make you indeed a man and a woman of value in your generation. Thank you for reading and the gift of your time, God bless you.
