A leader is not born.

A leader is created and the whole process starts inside the most dangerous place you’ll ever encounter – your own mind.

How can you become a strong leader who inspires others, drives people toward excellence, holds people accountable, and instills a sense of trust? Learning what makes a great leader is your first step.

Here are some things you can do to become the leader you’ve always wanted to be:

1. Control yourself. Every great leader in history has had to become a master of self-discipline and willpower in order to stay focused on the big picture. If you don’t have a goal or the drive to achieve it, you can’t lead others to attain theirs.

• Follow through in everything you do. As challenging as it may be, you need to be disciplined enough to be where you need to be, when you need to be there, whether you want to or not. By being strong in your resolve and resisting temptation to give up, you are setting an example for others to live up to.
• Choose your emotional response to a situation carefully. Sometimes you’ll need to practice the art of silencing your inner thoughts when they’re not appropriate in order to set a positive example.

2. Project your goals. If the people you’re leading don’t completely understand the deeper meaning in their work, they won’t share your vision or work ethic. Every step of the way, communicate with your team to make sure they’re on the same wavelength and know what you expect of them.

• Get your team involved in the planning process and the implementation of your ideas. This gives everyone a greater sense of ownership toward the end result.

3. Praise highly and criticize constructively. The way you praise and criticize others can make all the difference in being able to lead effectively.

• Make sure you publicly praise the people who do excellent work for you. You’ll give the person a sense of accomplishment and the drive to do even better.
• When someone does something wrong, offer constructive criticism and do it privately. Suggest solutions on how they can improve and take the time to answer any questions. They’ll accept your input more willingly if they know it’s done to help and not to harm.

4. Know your people. You can’t truly lead a group of people unless you truly understand their hopes, dreams, struggles, pains, and goals. All the good intentions in the world mean nothing unless you have a true sense of the people you’re working with.

• Talk to your team and get to know them. Getting to know each other on a personal level will strengthen the bond between you. They’ll want to do better for you because you’re more than just a “boss.”

• Be their leader, first, and their friend second. You’re their leader and that means that you have to make difficult decisions from time to time. These decisions cannot be affected by personal relationships.

5. Make the hard call. There are times when you have to bite the bullet and make some unpleasant decisions. Firing, demoting, and holding people accountable for their actions can be very hard at times. As a leader, it’s your responsibility to handle these matters.

Regardless of where your leadership role takes you, believe that you can be a strong leader. Remember that in order to lead others, you must be disciplined yourself. After all, your actions will speak louder than anything you can say.

In order to gain the respect of others, strive to lead by example in every area of your life.

When you follow these simple guidelines, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a true leader!

Blessings!

Theodore Henderson, The Wisdom Compass

During the year and especially during holiday seasons such as Christmas and Easter time, we should keep in mind that God's blessings flow from our willingness to serve others with humility. Notice I did not say how much money you make, how many college degrees you have, or how well you are dressed, but rather how can you make others lives blessed through you.

You are not truly blessed unless you are a conductor of blessings to others. The biblical teaching is clear that we are blessed not just so we can feel good about ourselves, but also so that we can bless others.

Genesis 12, "I will bless you and you will be a blessing to others."

By blessing others God looks out for us.  In short, by using our native gifts and talents, being a cheerful giver, and sincerely doing our best each and every day we are fulfilling our responsibilities. If you won't give because you can't give as much as you think you should you are engaging in erroneous thinking.  If you won't volunteer your time or complete a volunteer project because it won't be perfect you are engaging in erroneous thinking. Give what your heart says is right, do the best you can, and leave perfection to our creator.

When you care about helping other people, God seems to somehow work on your behalf to meet your needs and aide in the resolution of your problems. Do you want to handle your problems alone or would you rather have God on your side as your co-pilot?

Our blessings to others will come back on us. The more you bless other people, the more you help others, and the more God blesses your life. Luke 6:38 tells us,  "Give your life away and you'll find your life given back. But not merely given back. Given back with bonus and blessing." You cannot out-give God. The more you try to bless other people in the world around you, the more God will do the same by you. To take it one step further the more we are given in life the greater our responsibility to give back.

Lastly be humble in our interactions with those around us. Give with humility.  Humility only means we hold a precise and dispassionate assessment of our strengths and weaknesses. We understand our shape and our gifts, and we're aware of, but not fretting over, our limitations. We see everything we have as a gift from God, and we know that without him we have nothing.

Luke 12 "Much is required from those to whom much is given. For their responsibility is greater."

**You have permission to reprint in your publication or to your website/blog any articles by Theodore Henderson found on this website as long as Theodore Henderson's name and contact information is included. Theodore Henderson, Faith-Based Business Consultant and Author. http://thjassociates.com, henderson.theodore @ gmail.com.

It is always interesting to watch the talking heads on TV speak with such certainty about what would happen if we follow their advice on the economy, foreign policy, war, industry, and just about anything else they feel compelled to pontificate on. They apparently (if you believe everything they say) even understand how we should best conduct our relationships with family and friends.  Amazing clairvoyance, but luckily enough for those of us in the real world we have a greater strength to draw on than that, our faith in our Creator.

The only certainty we have is that there will be always be uncertainty in life and we will have to deal with it.  Either we will face it head on or we will cower in the corner and allow it whack us on the head without fighting back. Which is better?

Recently I saw a movie on DVD called “As Far as My Feet Will Carry Me”.  It is a fact-based story of a German soldier who escapes a Siberian labor camp in the wake of WWII and travels 8,000 miles on foot over three tortuous years to reach his family back home. It is a story of love, faith, divine providence, goals, and desire. These five attributes saved his life because a 25 year sentence in a Siberian labor camp is a death sentence.  He chose life, and more importantly he chose action.

The Bible gives us certain principles for facing an unsure future:

Set goals according to your Creator’s direction. Pray and meditate over the important areas of your life. If your life is worth living it’s worth praying about.  I personally will not make a plan or take any action of importance without anchoring it with prayer and biblical reference.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 (New International Version)

11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart

This sounds like a great back up when trouble hits!

Even though I just mentioned planning, you still have to live one day at a time-- so live!  Don’t beat yourself up for what didn’t happen for you or what you didn’t accomplish as each day is a fresh start. Get up tomorrow morning and be sure to at some point during the day acknowledge that it is good to have a new day and a new opportunity to do something with meaning!  Stop dithering and do something important. See someone you haven’t seen in a while, but need to. Do something you really should do but have procrastinated about, or begin something you have only dreamed of but never started. Each day is precious and each day is an opportunity to be just a little better than you were the day before

The personal life deeply lived always expands into truths beyond itself. ~ Anais Nin

**You have permission to reprint in your publication or to your website/blog any articles by Theodore Henderson found on this website as long as Theodore Henderson's name and contact information is included. Theodore Henderson, Faith-Based Business Consultant and Author. http://thjassociates.com, henderson.theodore @ gmail.com.

On Saturday October 17, 2009 I attended an all day retreat called "Unwrapping Your Gifts" which is sponsored by the Laity Empowerment Project.

The key points of the project are the following:

• Activating the Gifts and Ministries of the Laity
• Connecting Christianity to Everyday Life
• Getting People Talking about their Faith
• Building Caring Fellowship; Heals Divisions
• People Learn to Empower Each Other
• Developing New Leaders and Leadership Teams

Jesus says that we are the "light of the world." Unfortunately, many of us Christian's do not believe we have much light to shed in our weekday world, and we put our light under a bowl. Jesus nurtures and encourages us to "let our light shine." One way to know the gifts God has given us is to look at the activities we love to do, and then see what gifts we employ in those activities.

If you are wondering if this was a Christian group the answer is yes. If you know that these traits are what not only make our participation in our faith-based activities meaningful but also have a practical place in our everyday lives then you get it. Your faith should connect to your everyday life in useful practical ways. If you want to spend time discussing the end of the world or damning people to hell who don't adhere to whatever you believe in exactly then this event probably would not have been something you would have enjoyed.

The group that was in attendance will be part of a larger leadership entity that will roll out the full laity curriculum at my church, The Riverside Church of New York as a way of fostering growth and relevant useable skills that congregants can take away. During the day the retreat which was predominantly interactive as opposed to a passive preacher-teacher-to-audience experience made for a lively and enjoyable time.

We engaged in activities that focused on the following:

• How to identify someone's gifts through discernment exercises
• Identifying the gifts and ministries of EACH individual and probe for ways that we may live out our Christianity in our work-a-day world.
• Imaginative and lively Bible study, supportive spiritual sharing, and meditation/prayer exercises
• Explored how to deepen our relationship with God and revitalize the church experience.
• Reached one another's heartfelt emotions and senses with visual altar displays and sincere worship moments.

The experience is an inclusive one and able to create common ground between people of differing theological views because of its emphasis on daily life application of scripture, listening, and people learning from one another.

Other activities I made particular note of during the day were:

Commitment to spiritual focus.

Active listening.

Allowing the use of imagination.

No right or wrong answers,otherwise known as non-judgmental.

Reflecting on what is being shared.

Safe atmosphere to share your thoughts.

All in all, it was a very powerful day spent with good people, some of whom started out as strangers but by virtue of engaging with each other during the event left as spiritual siblings.

**You have permission to reprint in your publication or to your website/blog any articles by Theodore Henderson found on this website as long as Theodore Henderson's name and contact information is included. Theodore Henderson, Faith-Based Business Consultant and Author. http://thjassociates.com, henderson.theodore @ gmail.com.