What Makes A Leader? Click | View Series

Show It Consistently

Once your vision is clear in your mind and heart, and you are communicating it convincingly to your followers so that they understand what you see, the final step is to walk the talk. If you don't demonstrate that you think your vision is important by modeling it in your life, why should the people you lead think it's important? It's a matter of putting flesh onto your vision. Here is where integrity of life comes in. By God's grace, I need to practice what I preach and walk the talk, so that I don't have to tell people what my mother used to say to me: "Don't do as I do, but do as I say." Let's face it: talking it without walking it won't work over the long haul. People who follow us will do as we do, not as we say. And when they get tired of doing what we are not doing, we will be walking alone!

Model the Vision

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4:17, "That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church." That's it—being a living epistle of your dream. To hear it from my lips is one thing, but to see it in my life is quite another. Successful leaders consistently model their vision, realizing that more is caught than taught. When John Wesley was asked why people seemed to be drawn to him, he answered, "Well, you see, when you set yourself on fire, people just love to come and watch you burn." Let your life burn in living color with your dream. It is a careful blend of communicating it with my lips and living it with my life. What is a leader? He is a person who clearly sees the vision, convincingly communicates that vision, and models it consistently through his life. Pre-order Pastor Dave's new book, Leaders Who Last.