I recently listened to a lecture by a seminary president on leadership. There are lot of people writing, speaking and blogging on leadership today, but I found these comments particularly insightful.
According to this theory, leadership must begin and end with conviction – i.e. leadership is about “the transference of conviction that leads to communal right action.” So leaders must be people of conviction and must spread that conviction to those around them.
But what are convictions? Or, what are the right convictions? They are not mere beliefs. Rather, they are centering beliefs that are so fundamental that we can’t understand anything without them. We don’t know who we are or who God is without them. Convictions are not beliefs that we hold. They are beliefs that hold us.
Many people lack convictions. They are shallow and lack a clear sense of purpose. Christians are called to be people of deep conviction, and our convictions must be God’s convictions, which we find in his Word. Once the convictions of the Word of God become our convictions, then we are positioned to influence those around us in positive, meaningful, God-honoring ways.
How then do we go about conveying our convictions to others?
· It happens through communication. Presence, while necessary, is not sufficient to pass our convictions to those around us.
· A leader must be able to speak well – clearly articulating our convictions. We must repeat the same things over and over again – because people remember what we repeat. People should know what convictions walk in the room when you walk in the room because you have talked about them so frequently.
· A leader must be able to write well. Books extend further than you. They last longer than you will. They are important for maximizing your impact.
The way to tell if you are a convictional leader is to look at those around you. Do they now hold your same convictions? Convictional leaders don’t take their convictions to the grave with them. They live on as the convictions of others – expressed in their thoughts, words, and actions. This is the legacy of a convictional leader.