A few weeks ago, we started a mini-series on leadership style. Leadership styles refer to the behavioral approach employed by leaders to influence, motivate, guide, and direct their followers. And I approached it from a different angle than the five common leadership styles that you may have heard of. We discussed that a good leader is approachable, accessible, and real. Don’t be aloof or secretive. Live life as an open book, hate hypocrisy, and love integrity.
We also discussed that good leaders are sensitive to the needs of others and have affection for people.
Today, we’ll conclude this mini-series by pointing out that good leaders are enthusiastically affirming.
Have you ever sat on hard bleachers in a high school sports game, surrounded by parents standing up, yelling at top volume? They are their own cheer section. Why? They are the parents! The kid on the field’s going, “Come on, knock it off.” But the parents are loving every minute of it.
Encouragement goes a long way in preparing a child for life. But encouragement is not just for children. We all need encouragement from time to time.
Good leadership balances the tender nurturing of a mother with the loving affirmation of a father. Encouragement is like an oasis in the desert. It brings needed refreshment to weary individuals whose souls are parched from time spent in the desert of self-doubt. There’s also the desert of failure when we’ve tried so hard to succeed and the desert of no progress when we so want something to happen but it doesn’t. And there’s the desert of rejection and a thousand other arid, barren landscapes of life.
In those desert experiences, you long for an oasis where you’re able to get a cool drink of water. The affirming words of a leader, who, in speaking, dips his ladle deep in ice water, and as he pours it out, it cools your spirit and refreshes your soul.
So, as a leader, how do you intentionally create an environment where people feel supported, valued, and affirmed? What specific actions or practices do you employ?
Share in the comment below. I’d love to hear from you.
Excerpt taken from Insight for Living by Chuck Swindoll.