Leadership – living at the top of your game

‘in the middle of the living creature was a man, an ox, an eagle and a lion’

Leadership is the big one.  It is the master key to every success. Effective leadership is easy to spot when you enter a place or look at a life. There is evidence of benefits that are clear, bright and physical. Whether it is effective self leadership that achieves personal goals time and again, or effective group leadership that makes any group a star among their peers, quality leadership brings the dream home.

This is why I find the reports by two men who were privileged to see the throne of God and lived to tell, interesting. Ezekiel and John in the Bible report that they saw this sight in Ezekiel 1:10 and Revelation 4:7. They lived centuries apart. Yet both saw these four faces – a lion, eagle, bull and man – within the throne of God.

Think of what these four faces and creatures represent. Top players. The lion is leader of the pride territory. It may not be the wisest, largest or fastest animal in the jungle, but it is king of the jungle. You cannot get into its territory and get away with anything while it rules. The eagle has the farthest sight known. A clear and far-sighted visionary. The bull works tirelessly. It gets the work done. And puny man controls all the vastness around. We put the lion and snakes in cages and build skyscrapers that we can’t see the top off. And humanity does all this through creative ideas, innovation and ingenuity.

The key qualities of these four creatures must come into play in leadership. The visionary power of the eagle, the strong territorial management of the lion, the strength and work ethic of the bull, and the creativity of man. Whether in personal or group leadership, applying these four pillars of leadership will make your corner successful.

This is why you have to stay with being an authentic you. Don’t give up on your dreams. Just know what to do to realize them. Refusing to cherish that dream you have and imagining that you cannot achieve it can only blunt your capacity. But holding it up to the light of research and careful thought will lighten your vision to it. Developing a strategic plan and clear road map for any activity you engage with is necessary for commitment. Dogged administration of the territory will put you in charge and make sure it becomes what started in your imagination. There is no substitute for hard work. But without creative solutions, you cannot determine the pillars and navigate the tiny hairy feathers of the journey. Creativity determines the outlines and fills the gaps.

These four qualities are essential parts of the master skill called leadership. Vision. Protecting the territory. Hard work. Creativity. They will help you set goals, prioritize and plan to achieve them, and stick with the process of working it all out. Develop them in the journey.