INTEGRITY OF HEART AS AN IMPORTANT KEY FOR EFFECTIVE SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP

Leadership is influencing others toward an identifiable goal. It includes motivating and inspiring people to accomplish certain organizational objectives. It is the process through which leaders accomplish their goals or get things done through people. Leadership therefore cannot be divorced from the responsibility to achieve particular ends using available resources whether material or human. This responsibility is a critical principle of leadership. Leaders cannot lead if they lack that sense of responsibility to accomplish things through others for the common good.

As Peter Drucker observes leadership is primarily the art delivering on performance. It is therefore clear that without responsible leadership nothing gets done and woe to the people who serve under irresponsible leaders their path will be dogged with frustrations and may end up accomplishing nothing of significance. Responsibility is inherent but can also be learnt.

Skill versus the Integrity of Heart

Effective leadership skills to move people from point A to point B and deliver on certain planned objectives are critical in any form or level of leadership. Integrity of heart however is much more important than skillfulness in getting the job done. While most would pragmatically focus on the skills and ignore the all-important sphere of character development for integrity of heart, the truth is that this misnomer doesn’t produce effective leaders for the long haul, especially from the spiritual perspective. According to George Barna (1997) its is the predisposition of human being to spend time tweaking systems than prioritizing honest–to-God introspection and to be constantly available for transformation. While wrestling with systems, methods and technologies remains a valid demand for leadership, there are things that don’t change. According to him, a godly character alone, assures true fruit, lasting influence and durable leadership (Barna, 1997).

 Building from this perspective, its clear that a bad character has the potential to sabotage a leader’s vision no matter how big it is. Skill cannot compensate for lack of integrity. In essence people are most likely to follow someone who has character than the one who has great skill but grossly lacks integrity. The depth and height of success of a leader as it were centers on the issues of the heart (Barn, 1997). The writer of Proverbs 4:23 had this in mind when he said, “Above all else, guard your heart,
   for everything you do flows from it.”

It is important to note that those practicing leadership from the secular front operate in the public rather than the private venue. For spiritual leaders however, their leadership is anchored from the private venue and is actualized in the public arena. In answering the call to leadership the spiritual leader answers to a call from the highest source—divine source—and this call has potential to shape him or her in the deepest and most personal corners of his or her soul. The most critical introspective question for such leaders according to Barna is "am I maintaining integrity of heart?"

With this perspective in mind we can deduce that a leader is not only someone who has followers behind him but one who has the ability to lead himself. From the ability of the leader to lead himself the leader acquires the permission from the people to lead them.King David could provide a great example of a leader who embraced both skill and integrity of heart (Psalm 78:72).

TO BE CONTINUED...