What makes a great leader?

#1 Who they are doesn’t change from situation to situation.

A great leader is the same person at work, at home, in front of the boss, or on the street. Their values don’t change to suit the whims of others.

Great leaders put others first and find ways to help others grow. They’re not rock stars or talking heads. They’re cheerleaders, teachers, and listeners, and they can be found at any level of an organization—not just in management.

#2 Great Leaders know how to motivate. different kinds of people.

Great leaders that I have observed or read about all seem to know that leadership is not one-size-fits-all. They understand how to assess and motivate different kinds of people toward success, not just people who think like them.

Here in my children’s ministry I have begun to use Tom Rath’s Strength Finder 2.0 as one of the many tools to get to know my team and their strengths as we build a healthy team. Once you take the online assessment, you are emailed your strengths. The following is a summary of my strengths according to this indicator:

Futuristic: People who are especially talented in the Futuristic theme are inspired by the future and what could be. They inspire others with their visions of the future.

Focus: People who are especially talented in the Focus theme can take a direction, follow through, and make the corrections necessary to stay on track. They prioritize, then act.

Strategic: People who are especially talented in the Strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.

Learner: People who are especially talented in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.

Achiever: People who are especially talented in the Achiever theme have a great deal of stamina and work hard. They take great satisfaction from being busy and productive.

I asked all my coordinators and top level leadership to take the test. We will be discussing them at a Leadership Retreat.

This tool along with others has helped me design ways to motiviate each one and properly position them for success. Consider what tools you can use to help build your team's success.

#3 They create opportunities for others.

Great leaders create opportunities for people to learn, grow, or progress further. They treat people as an end in themselves, not merely as a means to an end, making sure that everyone has the ability to thrive both within and outside of the ministry.

One of the new ideas we are working on materializing in our children’s ministry is to help people have new opportunities to learn, grow, and progress further is a color band idea. Simply put, we have 4 colors: blue, green, red and yellow. Each band is a progression of the previous band and shows not only the desire of the one wearing the color band but also comes with more perks invested into the volunteer. The further one goes in the colors (our way of providing a way to further their abilities and dreams), with each color having a different amount of things to be accomplished on the volunteer's side (this is helping them grow) and also given to the volunteer from my budget.

Great leaders don't just do everything themselves; they are consistent, they know how to motivate, and they help those around them succeed.