Do you have personal authority that gives ongoing credibility? (137-5)

A leader’s influence has less to do with their position or title than it does with the life that they live.  Read Proverbs 17:2.

Notice the conditions this verse puts forth: The grounds for empowerment come not from titles i.e. servant or son, but from the individual’s character qualifications such as wise or disgraceful. Positional authority can be granted to you but personal authority comes with earned credibility. Positional authority is very beneficial to effective leadership as you start a job and becomes less effective the longer you stay at that job. Leaders have virtually no personal authority when they start a job but over time their effectiveness as a leader depends almost entirely on personal authority and ongoing credibility.

A leader gains credibility when their life matches their words and when both add value to others. A quick quiz that will help you evaluate your credibility:

• How is your consistency? Are you the same person no matter who you are with?
• Do you make choices based on what is right for the situation and all those involved or based on what may benefit you most?
• Do you give proper credit to all those involved when you receive credit for a success?
• Are you working harder at maintaining a certain image about yourself or do you work harder at your integrity no matter how it makes you look?
• Do you see credibility as a gift you receive or a victory you earn through consistent character and hard work?

If your answers to the test above indicated you need to change your leadership style are you willing to do the work to change? Here is a practical way to change. Do a Bible study on the life of Jesus and list ways He used His personal authority and totally ignored positional authority. Choose one element from your list and implement that into your personal leadership style over the next 40 days. At the end of 40 days choose another and start to implement that element while continuing to evaluate the effectiveness of the first principle you implemented. Continue the process until your list is implemented and evaluated.

Exodus 18:21 “But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.”