Praise Makes Perfect

Yesterday we looked at how prayer can help you become a better leader. When you make prayer a top priority in your leadership role you will see changes and you will end up leaving a leadership legacy. The second way to solidify a leadership legacy with your faith is through praise.

You have heard it said that sometimes the best thing to give an employee is praise. Praise for a job well done, this is true. Most people love to hear their boss tell them they are doing a good job. They want to hear that praise. It motivates people to then do a better job and keep working harder at what they do.

A leader needs to make sure s/he is giving praise.It can't be insincere praise and a leader can't just give praise all the time. Employees can tell when someone is disingenuous. Make sure you make your praise count.

That however is only part of the praise puzzle. There is someone else you need to praise and you need to praise Him daily.

Psalm 146:2 "While I live I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being."

This verse is telling us to praise God every day as long as we are alive. We need to praise Him and thank Him for the opportunity to be a leader. The gift He has given us of life and the ability to lead. If you praise God he will help you in your leadership role. You shouldn't just praise Him to get help. You should praise Him because of everything He has done for you. God knows if you are not sincere with your praise.

So praise God for the gift of leadership and praise your people for the work they do. In the end your legacy will be "Well done My good and faithful servant."

Prayer Makes a Difference

Leaving a positive legacy isn't an easy thing to do. You want to make sure that you do some things that are life changing. Not just life changing for you but life changing for those around you. The biggest impact you can make is to touch the lives of those you come in contact with.

One of the most important things you can do toward leaving a positive legacy is to pray for your employees and pray for your company.

James 5:16 says: "Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."

We all have passion and we need to turn that passion to our prayer life and pray for our employees. They don't even need to know that you are praying for them. Pray for their jobs and their personal life. If you are effective and fervent in your prayer then you will see changes. You will see the fruit of your prayers in better employees and more grateful employees.

There is a caveat to this. In order to avail much in your prayer you must also be righteous. No one is righteous in their own right but by the grace of God we all can be righteous. If you really want to avail much in your prayer life for your followers be a leader in your faith by making sure you are right with God and then be fervent in your prayer life.

Be careful when you pray don't be selfish, remember you are praying for others it is up to God to make the changes in you and others. Just lift them up in prayer and start to see the changes.

As a leader you will be an agent of change through your prayers and you will be on your way to leaving a God led legacy.

A Higher Calling

Being a leader can be very rewarding especially when you can help others become leaders. Leading can also be a very difficult role and it has many challenges. That is why it is important that leaders continue to grow and find ways to grow. It is through growth that leaders become better.

You may find yourself being a leader at more places than just on your job. You may be a leader at home or at church. In all those areas you can find ways to grow your leadership skills.

The best way to grow your leadership skills is through your higher calling. Each of us have a higher calling through God and it is your faith in him and your spiritual life that will help you grow exponentially. You need to find out what your higher calling is and become a leader in that area.

Your faith is the most important aspect of your leadership role. You cannot be leader on your own you need to lean on the power of God. If you try to go it alone you will burn yourself out and you will end up making some mistakes.

Here are some things to do daily to stay focused on God and stay the course on your leadership and your higher calling.

• Pray - Communicate daily with God. Don't do all the talking, spend some time listening.
• Read God's Word - Spend time daily reading God's word.
• Think about how God's word applies to your leadership.
• Praise and Thanks - Give God praise and thanks for all He does to help you.

Your higher calling is God's plan for your future. Find out what it is and be a leader guided by God.