There is a lot of noise about becoming, transforming into, learning about, in need of, and conscious leadership. Go to any bookstore and the shelves are lined with a wide array of topics on leadership. On those shelves is everything from the academic to the bizarre. 

Faith-based and for-profit organizations make the same mistakes when it comes to leading. Leadership tends to focus upon the management of programs and strategies that produce outcomes for the bottom line. While we are all conscious about the bottom-line, this type of thinking tends to lend itself in searching for the next “latest and greatest” idea as the motivation for leadership. The trade off is that we manage programs at the expense of leading people! This is not meant to be an indictment, but rather an observation of a distinction.

So what are some characteristics of spiritual leadership? Jesus would be our starting point for this discussion. He was not a manager, but a spiritual leader. It should be noted that not every faith-based organization offers spiritual leadership. Here are six characteristics of Spiritual Leaders that are not only worth examining, but implementing.

Spiritual Leaders…….

1. Lead others into their own encounter with a living God. Our goal is not solely equipping people with techniques and technology, but encounters with a living God as we move through life.
2. Lead people to discover their own purpose and identity. Workplace issues and strategic development are nothing more than tools to help followers of Christ Jesus discover who they are in Him. We are to help people to become overcomers of their own obstacles that hinder their forward progress.
3. Lead people into transformation not just production. Spiritual leaders understand that people function at their peak when they function out of their true identity. Loyalty will be a byproduct of this type of leadership.
4. Impact their environment. Spiritual leaders can walk into an environment that is tension filled and stressful and immediately bring a different attitude to the table.
5. Lead people into seeing old things as new ways. I find that people are not really stuck in their circumstances so much as they are stuck in their perspectives and paradigms of life. Changing thought patterns always precedes meaningful change in life.
6. Gain followers because of who they are and not because of their position. Spiritual leadership is more about influence versus directing. Spiritual leaders are in touch with the notion they are serving something and someone larger than themselves.

What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and start a conversation. This list is not exhaustive but meant to provoke thought on a larger body of knowledge and information. I am attempting to advance that discussion for the greater good.