A Leader Is First A Follower. Who Are You Following?
Growing and developing as leaders requires we first do our own work.
Strengthening our "leadership" legs is vital so that when called upon, we can stand firm and rooted in the places we've been entrusted to lead. A key element of leadership formation is self-awareness.
SELF-AWARENESS: The ability to recognize personal emotions, values, strengths, and limitations.
Leaders who are self-aware have the capacity to recognize their successes and failures. David, a man after God’s heart, had moments of great victory and failure. In Psalm 139 we read David’s honest words where he cries out to God.
“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and LEAD me in the way everlasting.”
Before we can adequately lead others, Jesus must first lead us.
And rest assured, Jesus is the perfect leader to follow. As we follow Jesus, He teaches us what it means to lead from a place of humility and service. The challenge that most of us face is that there is a contrast to how Jesus lives and how we live. Being willing to identify the gaps in our lives where growth is needed requires self-awareness. Leaning into the work of self-awareness may be the very thing that helps us to identify our emotions, acknowledge our own areas of suffering, allowing us to then bring them to Jesus.