Leadership: When You are Important and Don’t Know It

I have spent the last 40 years of my life studying leaders and leadership. My antennas are always up when I am around anyone in a leadership role. I watch leaders because I want to learn both the positive and negative characteristics of the function of leadership.

I watch leaders because I want to learn both the positive and negative characteristics of the function of leadership.

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During my life, I have connected with leaders from churches, youth ministries, organizations, and businesses across this nation as well as globally. It has been challenging to learn so much about leadership from so many people. I am indebted to a plethora of men and women for influencing my life.

There are times, as was the case recently, when I realize I am in the presence of an exceptional leader. The normal, “accepted criteria” for classifying someone as an “important leader” did not bring me to this conclusion.  Yes, he did meet the standard or should I say checklist for exceptional leader:

• Pastor of a thriving church (multiple thousands)
• Multiple people on his church staff
• Nationally known speaker and gifted communicator
• Counselor to multiple Christian leaders
• Holds and has held several key denominational positions
• Author
• Board member for strategic organizations, colleges and seminaries

But none of those things were the clinchers for me.

No. What solidified it for me was the way he treated people . . . and not just those in leadership. I observed him:

• Patiently talking to people after speaking for three hours.
• Tenderly asking a man about a prayer request he remembered from the previous year.
• Meaningfully interacting with, and then thanking, a secretary for her service.
• Kindly thanking an audio/video technician for his time when he was actually the one who had given up his afternoon to help with a video project.
• Sincerely asking a couple of younger men for advice on how to handle a situation instead of trying to impress them with his vast knowledge.
• Graciously thanking people for allowing him to be a part of their ministry after seven hours of speaking, meeting, and videoing on our behalf.

I study leadership. And recently I had the privilege of being in the presence of an important leader who just doesn’t know he is important.  May his tribe increase!