SELF-MANAGEMENT, KEY TO SUCCESSFUL LEADERSHIP

TOPIC:

SELF-MANAGEMENT, KEY TO SUCCESSFUL LEADERSHIP

BY: MOSES AKINYETUN

Introduction

Leadership is a field. It has been said that leaders are both born and made. In making of leadership, one of the ingredients that make and promote leadership is Self-management.

Though leaders are called and appointed to manage peoples, empires, nations, communities and establishment, the issue of self-management holds key for any leader that wants to succeed. Any leader who fails on self-management will definitely fail in other areas of life.

One of the things that distinguishes our Lord Jesus Christ from other religious leaders is this issue of self-management.

Under this topic, I want to discuss seven areas a leader should self-manage.

A Leader should Manage his/her Emotion:

Everything falls and rises on leadership. The buck-stop at leaders table. When things are going on well, leaders are praised, but when things fall apart, leaders are held responsible. Apart from this, constant criticisms from those that are expected to support their leaders often make the emotion of leaders to be high. Failed vision, expectation, promises and weak loyalty from followers contribute in no small measure to the emotion of leaders. Another thing is the challenges at home front.

Current statistics show that:

One out of five victims of fatal accident five had been quarrel with another in the six hours preceding the accident.

Moses was one of the best leaders the world has ever produced, but he failed in emotion management. – Number 20:10-12

Israel constant murmuring against Moses and their total disbelief in God who saved them miraculously from the iron grips of the Egyptians made him to rage and rave. He could not manage his emotion well and was denying entering the Promised Land.

The actions and reactions of any leader could be negatively affected if the emotion is not properly managed.

A leader should Manage his Time

Time is the only raw material any leaders need to accomplish his vision. Most of the times, the workload of a leader is more than the available time. Time is a fixed resource, nobody can add or subtract from it, this nature of time creates headache for any leader that wants to make a mark. Leaders needs time to eat, sleep, romance with the members of his/her family and for recreation.

The key to successful leadership is not creating more time in one life or packing more activities into one’s day but to focus more on priorities.

Time proceed second by second, minute by minute hour by hour despite leaders’ effort to manage it. Good leadership hinges on making the best choices on with ones’ time.

Any leader who wants to optimize his productivity must focus on priorities every day. Priorities itself should be properly managed.

80% of the time – work when you are strongest

15% of the time – work when you are learning

5% of time – work in other area

A leader of the American army during World War II was General George Marshall. His effectiveness as a leader was his ability to distinguish between the important and the unimportant.

A leader should be ready to say POLITELY no to unimportant things that may rob him of attending to unimportant things.

Leaders who are deluged by their schedules are leaders who have failed to say no when they should have. God does not give people more than they can handle, but people regularly assume responsibility for things they should not be doing.

A leader should Manage his Energy

Excessive load which leaders bear make their energy to wane and sag. Some leaders have suffered premature death due to their inability to manage their energy.

Leaders should be careful not to run themselves out in the name of deadline, busy and mandate. “A leader who allows himself to be overburden in the name of beating a deadline will soon become a dead person”. It is better to arrive “late than being ‘a late’”.

Jacob made a statement that can help any leader “and he said unto him, my Lord knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herbs with young are with me and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die” – Gen. 33:13

The issue here is that no leader should overdrive himself. Overdriving leads to untimely and unfortunate death. Every leader should watch out for Energy drain: A B C

A – Activities without Direction: Doing things that have no bearing to the growth of their organization or doing things that are not important.

B – Burden without Action: Not being able to do things that really matters. Actions unburden burden. When a leader carries a burden without action, before long such leader will crash under the weight of the burden.

C – Conflict without Resolution: Not being able to deal with what matters. Accumulated conflicts in the heart of any leader can sap or drain energy and death is imminent under such condition.

Leaders should Manage his Thinking

“Your mind will give back to you exactly what you put into it”

Every leader should be mindful of the kind of though he puts into his heart.

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he Prov. 23:7. The fate or destiny of any organization is tied to the leader. If therefore a leader stuff his heart with defeats and failure, his organization will experience the same, a leader should manage his thinking very well.

A leader should Manage his Word

“Words are very powerful! Everything that is in existence is created by words”

Words are very powerful. It is the most invisible force. Words can destroy, words can build up, words can bring encouragement and discouragement, and words are powerful.

Leaders should Manage their Home

A leader should never do anything at the expense of his wife, husband and children.

“One that ruleth well his own house having his children is subjection with all gravity” – I Tim. 3

“A leader should know that life is like a ship on a voyage or on high sea, at the end of the voyage, the ship would definitely berth at the shore”.

As a civil servant, your final shore after the retirement is your home. As a self-employed, your final shore is your home after a day’s work or old age. As a clergy, your final shore is your home after retirement.

Let love saturate your home. Be affectionately connected with your wife and children. Don’t break their hearts because of your work.

Conclusion

The Epistle to the Timothy by Apostle Paul is what every leader needs to excel and successful.

I Tim 3: This is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a Bishop (leader) he desireth a good work. A Bishop (leader) then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober of good behavior, given to hospitality act to teach.

Self-management in leadership involves the contents of the Epistle of Paul to Timothy. It contains sixteen elements.

LET US CONSIDER THEM:

Must be blameless – This refers to life that are devoid of faults. It is a life that is constantly improves on himself/herself through the help of the Holy Spirit.
Husband of one wife – A life that is not polygamous and promiscuous. Sexual purity.
Vigilant – A life that is constantly careful of not falling into temptation. A life that is not over-confident about sins.
Sober – A life that have a heart that is contrite, that quakes at the word of God. A life that is ready to change or repent anytime the word of God comes out irrespective of the bearer. David was a good example of this, there are some leaders that see themselves as too high to accept rebuke from both the seniors and juniors.
Of good behavior – This is a life with sound character, position; power and personality are all misconceived sources of influence for leaders. Christian leaders should demonstrate specific characters that confirm their legitimacy as spiritual leaders. Good characters make leaders to be approved by God and men. Character and not educational qualification will give us Credibility. “Credibility is the foundation of a leadership” Leaders must be well mannered and normally peaceable.
Given to hospitality – A leader must be like God in giving. God is a hospitality Being. A leader must not be tight fisted. A leader must emulate the old Patriarch Abraham who entertained angels unawares – 18: 1 – 8
Apt to teach – This is a life that seek knowledge everyday to help himself and the followers. A leader should be aseeker and distributor of knowledge.
Not given to wine – This is a life that separate himself from alcohol and gluttony.
No strike – This is a life that is not violent at home and work place. He is completely gentle and not using acidic or derogative statement against anybody.
Not greedy of filthy lucre – This is a life that does not love money. Some leaders live a life that anything that goes. A leader must pass the test of money anytime and anyday.
Patient – This is a life that believers in God’s timing. He does not rush ahead of God.
Not a brawler – This is a life that eschews noise and violence in all its ramification.
Not covetous – This is a life of satisfaction in what God has given. He does not covet another man’s wife or property.
Ruleth his own house well – This is a life that can be called a ‘family man’. His family is not an object of reproach.
Not a novice – This is a life that have full knowledge of his work and leadership. He is versatile in leadership.
Good report of unbelievers – This is a life that have good credential s even among the unsaved ones.