Resonant leadership and good governance does not happen by chance.
Praying to be or to have good leaders is of paramount importance but, it is not only by praying.
You must be intentional about being a good leader or having a good leader.
You must put in good work.
You must understand and give yourself to continuous development.
Letting your mind be always renewed.
I am all for praying for your leaders. I do pray for the ones that lead me. Fervently, loving them fiercely. Being loyal. Serving them. And defending them, when I feel there’s need.
But I am also one of the people that will tell you to your face that I think you’re wrong, if I think you are.
I have never feared any man, no matter how up the ladder they are. And I do not intend to start now.
As God takes me higher, I do not want to be feared. May God forbid.
And I am glad that I still have people in my life who call me out on BS, when I spew it.
Being a leader makes me accountable. Being a leader keeps me on my toes and keeps me humble.
Don’t keep quiet when your leaders do wrong.
Respectfully and lovingly talk to the ones who lead you.
Acknowledge their good works but also help them stay on track.
Pray for them but also remember to hold them accountable.
God uses people to set other people right.
If you are a leader, be prayed for but also allow yourself to be held accountable. You will not always be right.
So when you truly miss your step or when you don’t see well (because you’re human, or because you’re too busy or too overwhelmed or just because you’ve missed an angle), when you make a wrong judgement, allow yourself to be corrected by the people who have been positioned to call you out.
Being a leader (whether business, communal, institutional, religious or organisational) does not make you a supernatural human being. It makes you someone who has been given the responsibility to serve others and to help them grow.
And when I talk about resonant leadership, it simply means leaders who use emotional and social intelligence skills to renew themselves, create positive relationships, and foster a healthy, vibrant environment to engage others toward a common goal. They do this through mindfulness, hope and compassion.
Resonant leaders, whether in an institutional, community, religious or business organisation or at home, manage negative emotions, using them carefully, consciously and appropriately. Such leaders exude emotions that are contagious and affect all around them. These leaders are consciously attuned to people, focus them on a common cause, build a sense of community, and create a climate that unleashes peoples’ passion, energy, and unified spirit. They are able to remain calm and stay focused in order to manage themselves and others effectively under stress and/or when dealing with ambiguous circumstances. Resonant leadership means that as a leader, you must be able to facilitate empowerment, acting in ways that leave the people around you (colleagues, team members, employees, suppliers, community or family members, etc.) feeling stronger and more capable. These kind of leaders encourage participation and teamwork by staying intensely in touch with what those they lead are thinking and feeling to motivate and energize them.
They allow people within their organisations to freely express themselves. They are are threatened by the voices of the the people they lead. They allow themselves to be held accountable.
As a leader, find ways to become a resonant leader. That is the only way to lead.
