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Great Leaders Have This Characteristic
1 Samuel 18:4
"And the king said unto them, What seemeth you best I will do. And the king stood by the gate side, and all the people came out by hundreds and by thousands."
Leaders are a dime a dozen, but great leaders are hard to find. David was certainly a great leader whose life and leadership skills should be studied. I fear too often we study the leadership skills of the heathen and try to copy their characteristics in the Christian world. However, following godly leadership characteristics will allow you to help those whom you lead in a greater way.
One of the great characteristics of David's leadership was that he was not afraid to listen to the people. The verse above shows that David listened to and followed the advice of the people concerning the war with Absalom. David was ready to go to war with the people against Absalom, but the people asked David to stay back and let them fight this war for the LORD. David was secure enough in the skin of his leadership that he was not intimidated by following his follower's advice.
Great leaders will learn to listen to their followers. Listening to those whom you lead is not a sign of weakness, on the contrary it is actually a sign of strength. There are many leaders who never listen to those whom they lead to their own detriment. If leaders would listen to their followers, they would find that their followers would be more apt to listen to and follow their leadership. However, when leaders never listen to their followers, then eventually the followers will stop listening to their leaders.
One sign of weak leadership is a leader who thinks they know everything. Let me make this clear, no leader knows everything. The leader who thinks they know everything is a leader who is insecure. The leader who thinks he knows everything is the leader who is filled with pride. Leaders must realize that those who follow them have wisdom that could help them. If you think you know everything and will never listen to your followers, then you will end up hurting your ability to lead. Nobody wants to follow a know-it-all.
Most followers want success as much as their leader. For some reason there are some leaders who think that their followers don't want as much success as they do. This simply is not true! Most church members want their church to succeed. Most employees want their company to succeed. Most citizens want their country to succeed. Most family members want their family to succeed. Yes, there are some followers who would delight in the failure of their organization, but those followers are few and far between. The followers who are loyal to leadership want success as much as the leader does. This is why leadership would be wise to listen to those whom they lead.
In whatever area you lead, learn to listen to those you are leading. Realize that they have good ideas and wisdom that could help you to lead them in a better way. As a bonus, if you will listen to them and follow their ideas when appropriate, then you will further win their heart, allowing you to do greater things. Great leaders are great listeners, and great leaders will listen to those whom they lead. They may not always do what their followers want, but they will listen and give serious consideration to the suggestions of their followers.