There is a tremendous amount that could be said and a tremendous amount that has been said about what makes an excellent leader. There is actually a sermon series linked to on this blog entitled "Leaders Worth Following" by Pastor Darrin Wright, a leader who is very much worth following.
Sometimes we find ourselves in a position to follow leaders who aren't exactly worth following, but it is our duty to do so. Sometimes we find ourselves in a position to follow a leader that isn't great, and maybe isn't even that good, and how we follow will speak of our character.
If we are leaders, we should take a look and see if we like dealing with people like ourselves. As with answered prayer, we can mistake something as an indication we are doing a good job, when the reality is, we might not be doing a good job and that little litmus test we've used was faulty. God may answer our prayer, but it doesn't mean we have no sin or are 100% fine in all other areas. Likewise, people may follow us, but that doesn't mean we're excellent leaders. Just as everyone can't win in a competition, every leader isn't a great leader.
This brings me to the point of this evening's post. A simple characteristic that differentiates a great leader from one who is merely good, is this: punctuality.
Every full-time homemaker is managing her home, but each is not equal in the quality of her management. Every boss is doing something, but if he is not able to manage time well, start and end meetings on time, show up on time...he isn't a great leader. He isn't able to be counted on to show he values the time of others. He may have many great qualities as a boss, but in my book, he would not be a great leader if he can't tackle the simple task of being. on. time.
Parents are setting their kids up for greater success if they will teach their children to value the time of others, be dependable, and be efficient spenders of their own time by showing them how it is done. Don't be late. Ever. Leave a cushion of time before you have to leave the house. Stop doing whatever you are doing before it is time to go sooner than you'd like, and don't always be rushing. Realize how long it takes to do all the things if nothing goes wrong, and add in 10 minutes. Arrive early so you aren't always harried. Every mother has a million things to do. Everyone is busy, but everyone is not late. It is a solvable dynamic. Solve it. Demonstrate excellence. Demonstrate putting others before yourself and be able to be counted on to show up, start on time, and end on time. This makes all the difference in homeschools that are able to start the school year on time, end on time, and have happy, well-rested children and moms.
The reality is, if a man can't manage his own family well (including being on time), why would we then rely on him to manage much bigger things that have to be on time? That would be stupid. Be faithful in the small things and then you have proven you can be faithful in the bigger things. Manage your personal finances well and then consider helping others manage theirs. Have your anger under control and then help others manage theirs. It is a known reality that if a person can't be faithful in something small, they probably won't be faithful in a similar arena on a grander scale.
If we want to be great leaders, we can start by being on time and managing our little domains effectively. The dividends will be better, and we will be on the path to being excellent leaders, not just good ones with some great qualities (or merely good ones with some good qualities).
There is no way to know how many relationships or job opportunities fall away because we are not people who run on time. It gets wearisome for people to deal with continual unreliability. Everyone is very busy and everyone else's time is valuable. We need to show we value the time of others and not waste their time by being late ourselves. We can and should do better if want to be great leaders.
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