This is going to be a special week on this blog. There will be a new post everyday for this week, only. We will be doing a new series for the week called Cualidades de un Líder where we will be discussing what makes a good leader. We will be going over 7 characteristics of a leader each day this week. In each post, I will be sharing my own personal experiences in leadership. Today, we will be talking about being a leader who invests in others.
By definition, a leader is a person who leads. This seems self-exclamatory, but we have some sort of twisted perception that leadership is something that you sign up for. Not necessarily, you do not have to sign up for a position to be a leader. A leader can be anyone. Parents, friends, and mentors can all be leaders without the official titles. A leader is someone who will bring out the best in you. You can be a leader.
As a leader, it is naturally assumed that you have followers. Therefore, you need to be someone who invests in these people. You shouldn’t expect to lead without having to really interact with others. A leader is someone who goes above and beyond in pursuing others. Get to know the other people who you are leading, and let them get to know you.
I have been in many leadership positions, and I can say that one of the biggest things that I have done wrong is not getting to know the people who I am leading. I see a noticeable difference in my quality of leadership based off of whether or not I am interacting and being intentional with others.
Being a leader is an investment. You put a lot in, and you do not necessarily know what you will get out. Some of what you see will bring you some of the greatest joy in your life. Not much is greater than to put in your time and effort with someone and later, see them become a wonderful individual.
I have seen many people who have invested in other people and have seen what wonderful people those individuals become. God is able to use you to change someone’s life forever. Think about someone who has played such an integral part in your life that you wouldn’t be the same person if you had never met them. I challenge you to thank that person when you think of them. You could be that person for someone else.
Part of investing in people is being available. When you invest in people, you are showing that you care about them and are willing to help them out if needed. This means that you should not have a million things on your calendar. You should have time set aside each week to be able to spend time with others.
The word of the day is compromiso. This word means commitment. As a leader, you need to be committed to doing your job of investing in people. A leader needs to be someone who commits their time to people to see them be the best versions of themselves. You are to give up your time and energy to do this.
Who has invested their time to see you grow? How have you grown as a result of this? How will you being doing this in the near future? Who will you invest your time into? How will you do it? I challenge you to think of and find one person to mentor. Try to have this person in mind by the end of the week as we continue through our series together.
Gracia Del Rey 