When we look around, efficacious leadership seems to be lacking in all areas of our society. From our families to our nations and everything in between in caught in a leadership vacuum which I believe is a direct result of the fact that we have leaders in positions that lack the spirit of leadership that enables them to accomplish leadership function effectively.
Let's examine what is this "spirit of leadership" for a moment.
Numbers 27:18-20 NIV
So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit of leadership, and lay your hand on him. [19] Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the entire assembly and commission him in their presence. [20] Give him some of your authority so the whole Israelite community will obey him.
Now I like definitions because they help me grasp concepts better. In light of this, here is the definition I have come up with for the spirit of leadership:
The spirit of leadership is the evident ability that a person possess that provides them with the qualities, strategies, and insight necessary to lead a people effectively and efficiently.
The keyword in this definition is "evident" meaning that this ability has to be demonstrated before being delegated. It is detrimental to both the person and the people being led to place a person who shows no signs of the ability to lead.
How do you know if someone has the spirit of leadership? In addition to trying the spirits as well as the witness and confirmation of the Spirit who knows the hearts of all men (1 John 4:1, Acts 1:24), the following are some traits exhibited by Joshua that indicated that the spirit of leadership was present in him:
Servitude (Exodus 24:13, Exodus 33:11)
Joshua was first known as Moses' minister (Numbers 11:28, Joshua 1:1) and he learned how to lead by watching Moses lead. He learned this as a direct result of serving Him and consistently being in his presence. Serving someone else has a way of humbling you so that it allows you to see things from a different perspective which then teaches lessons that you may not have learned otherwise.
Wisdom (Deuteronomy 34:9)
Joshua was a strategist who displayed a level of military brilliance in his conquest of Canaan. He also displayed heightened levels of insight and discernment when dealing with the people as was the case with Achan in Joshua 7. God never told Joshua what the sin was or who committed it that caused them to lose the battle at Ai, Joshua had to use the wisdom resident in him through the spirit of leadership to figure that out.
Boldness and Courage (Numbers 14:6)
Joshua displayed this immensely not only on the battlefield but especially when he and Caleb stood their ground in front of the nation to make their case for claiming what was rightfully theirs. Their boldness and courageousness almost got them stoned to death had God not appeared to deal with the situation Himself (Numbers 14:10). This shows that Joshua was not a pushover. He was not afraid to speak up and out when the prevailing thought is in contradiction to what is right.
However, one of the major earmarks of a person carrying this spirit is their love and concern for people because leadership is a love ministry. A leader's greatest joy should be to see their people be treated fairly and justly as well as advance and become all that they are destined to be. Joshua knew that God promised that He would bring them into the Promised Land and that was his driving force throughout the entire campaign; to see his country prosper in the land that God promised them.
So as you go about your leadership journey as existing leaders or emerging leaders, don't be a contributing factor in arresting the development of the people by appointing a person or persons as leaders who obviously shows no ability, care, or concern for the people whether it is in department, company, church, ministry, or nation!
#TheSpiritOfLeadership #DoItRight #LeadingTheRightWay
Darren Wilson is an author, speaker, and entrepreneur based in Saint Martin. He is the author of four books including Designed for Purpose and The Kingdom Focused Church that is available on Amazon. For more information, visit his website at www.darrenwilsonglobal.com or email him at info@darrenwilsonglobal.com.