Collaboration Like Jesus Iron sharpens iron and one man sharpens another. {Proverbs 27:17} The idea of this proverb is that of suitability, sharpening and shine. A knife is not sharpened by cloth, bread, wood, plastic, or even gold. A knife may cut and shape these things for them to be more useful, but these things will only dull the knife. Sharpening a knife requires iron or a substitute for iron at least as hard as the knife. Once sharpened, a knife is much more productive with less effort on such things. {Ecclesiastes 10:10} Using a dull ax requires great strength, so sharpen the blade. Thats the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed. Not only is it better for use once sharpened, it also shines more because the dullness has been rubbed off. Without a doubt, of all the leadership styles, the most efficient way is via dictatorship. A method in which one person makes all the decisions, at least for a while, is the most efficient and the least messy. But dictatorship, even the benevolent kind, is neither healthy nor biblical. But why? Because power corrupts and ultimately, while decisions get made and orders are carried out, those decisions are often bad ones. Great execution of a bad decision is still, bad and messy. This is exactly what happens when leaders fail to choose collaboration. But with collaboration, leadership becomes suitable, sharpened and they shine with godly honor. Now collaboration is not the same as delegation-where the team leader tells each person what to do. Rather, a collaborative leader listens and actually expects the people they lead to solve problems and move forward together. One of the greatest gifts of leadership is our social conditioning toward collaboration. Leadership that builds consensus and collaboration does not necessarily come naturally to anyone, male or female. We are all human beings and therefore, possess a little selfish ambition. We all need to improve our skills in collaborative leadership. That is why a great leader like the apostle Paul could say, I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 NLT Lets lead like Jesus in the spirit of collaboration. L. James
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 04:52:37 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015