6 Habits of Purposeful LeadersSample

Like many leaders, I always gravitated to the role. As a child I would assemble a group of peers on the playground to pretend that we were fighting for a noble cause. Entering my career, I quickly made my way up the leadership ladder. Before I was thirty, I was leading a multi-million-dollar organisation. But here’s the problem, no one taught me how to be a purposeful leader. No one told me that while leadership is a gift, it is also a challenge. It is hard to drive a mission forward while also taking time to coach and build up your employees. It is hard to set boundaries while still inspiring growth. It is hard to be generous when nothing ever feels like enough.

Sometimes I would be spinning so many plates that I thought the world revolved around me. I focused solely on achieving the mission ahead, but my heart ached to be a leader that inspired people. I teetered from being too mission-minded to being a people-pleaser. I just didn’t feel effective. I didn’t feel purposeful.

I remember the day I broke. I met a friend for lunch. She asked me detailed questions about my leadership, and something cracked. Tears aren’t my thing. I just don’t cry. I feel, but I don’t cry. This day was different. Crocodile tears were pouring down my face. With a defeated voice I said, “I don’t ever want to be a leader again. It is hard and it hurts”. Fortunately, this friend of mine also happens to be a successful leadership coach. She reached over the table, grabbed my hands, looked me directly in the eyes and said “I’m sorry to hear that. How does it feel in your soul to tell God ‘NO!’ to the thing he specifically designed you to do? You have a choice to make, you can say no and run away, or you can say yes and equip yourself to be a good leader and steward the gifts He has given you.”

I am ashamed to admit that I chose “no” that day. I ran. But I couldn’t hide that desire inside to be the leader God created me to be. So, I set out on a journey to learn everything I could about leadership and how to do it well. I discovered many definitions of good leaders. But, “good” didn’t feel like enough. You can be described as a good leader and still squash inspiration, withhold opportunities from certain staff members, or have your people leave your organisation worse off than when they arrived. I was amazed at how many people I know who worked for “good” leaders and then had to go through counselling after leaving the organisation to deal with the resulting trauma. We all have memories of leaders that have created scars for us and others that have showed us that we are capable of more than we ever dreamed.

It is purposeful leadership that we should aspire to develop. A purposeful leader embraces wonder, exudes generosity, names the talents and achievements of their staff, seeks God’s heart for their colleagues, resists that which can distract them, and knows what it is like to rest in the Lord and trust that He is the one that holds the outcomes. A purposeful leader achieves goals with excellence, but not at the expense of their staff. No, a purposeful leader achieves goals with excellence because their staff are inspired to harness their passions, strengths, and resources to excel far greater than they could have imagined. When you leave the presence of a purposeful leader, you leave changed for the better.

Over these seven days, you will learn six habits of purposeful leadership and suggestions to help you implement them. May God inspire you with new ideas for your leadership.