What does a leader do?
The best and most simple definition was giving years ago by Peter Drucker: A Leader Does What Needs to be Done.
To expand on this a little, I think a leader pays attention to five things:
1. Core. A leader has to take care of his core - his or her call from God; his or her relationships; keeping his or her own boundaries intact; resting; and nurturing the spiritual disciplines not as "have to's" but as "want to's."
2. Care. People care what leaders know when they know that leaders care. You can't fake this for long. People know when they are being used. If you have trouble caring, you need to ask God to give you a bigger heart.
3. Coach. The people you lead need you to tell them what needs to be done; they need you to show them how it is done; they need to do with your help; and they need your encouragement as they do it for themselves.
4. Communicate. Leaders have to be able to communicate why something needs to be done. Or as Andy Stanely said, "What problem are you trying to solve? And why does it need to be solved now? And why are we the ones to solve it?"
5. Courage. A leader has to lead people to decisions. Someone will have to compromise. Someone will get mad. Many people will have a comment about how it could be done better. A leader has the courage to make the right calls about the right things.
