- Women of Reverence
WHERE LEADERSHIP BEGINS - BY ANG MORGAN
Are you wanting your life to inspire others?
Do you wish to lead them to become the best version of themselves?
Do you long to see others taking hold of their true purpose in life, reaching their full potential?
Perhaps your children, or your small group members, or those on the
team you head up? Maybe your employees or the members of the
congregation you lead? Whoever or whatever you may be leading, this
truth applies to you: Good leadership starts with YOU, as in the person
under your hat!
More specifically, leading yourself well is a
fundamental prerequisite for any noteworthy exercise in leadership. You
cannot truly lead others if your own life is unkept, neglected and in a
state of disrepair, like an abandoned garden. You won’t inspire if you
aren’t first growing and tending your own lot.
I am not for a second suggesting that you need to be perfect. No ways!
Kick that notion to the curb immediately! You don’t need to be perfect to
be leading others, but you do need to be growing your own life and
making the most of what is yours to manage.
Self-leadership involves discovering who you are, what you uniquely possess to offer the world
and how it is that you can do that. Personal growth, honing of skills,
assuming the posture of a student and a willingness to share your
journey are all essential elements in the process.
In essence, self-leadership is largely about stewardship. Stewardship
can be defined as “the careful and responsible management of
something entrusted to one’s care”.
Following this then, the question really is as follows:
What is mine to manage, and how am I doing in this?
I like looking at life holistically and so, I take stock of my life in the
physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual quadrants. Each
component is as important as the other, and in fact, they are inseparable
and have enormous bearing on one another. Their interconnectedness
is undeniable!
You, and you alone, are responsible for your life and your
decisions. Our loving God has given us freedom to choose. He never
forces Himself on us, but entrusts us with our “one wild and precious life”
(Mary Oliver). What a gift He has given us! Surely He loves to see us
making the absolute most of our lot! Better still, He is completely
available to come into each and every space of our lives that we open to His touch. He wants to empower our growth and change, He wants to be
alongside for the journey, helping and guiding us each step of the way.
So then, what is yours to manage? Take a good look at what is in your
hand today, right now. What are you responsible for? Consider the
following:
How well do I manage my time? What am I doing with my 24 hours a
day? Am I wasting precious hours, squandering the minutes, moments
and days?
Do I manage my energy wisely, knowing that it is finite and limited? Do I
know when I am most productive, and do I structure my days to suit
these ebbs and flows?
Do I allocate precious energy to pursuits I value
and refuse to expend it negligently? Do I know what fills and drains “my
tank”? Do I build in sufficient time for energy to be restored?
Am I stewarding my body well, knowing that it is a precious resource
and mine alone to care for? Do I manage my eating, exercise and rest
well? Am I taking responsibility for my health?
How well do I steward my emotions? Am I aware of what I’m feeling and
why? Do I take charge of my thought life or do I allow fear, anger and
anxiety to rule my life? How well do I process emotions? Proverbs 25:28
warns us that a man or woman who “lives without restraint” (The Passion
Bible) or “has no rule over his own spirit” (Amplified) is like a “city that is
broken down and without walls”. On the contrary, leading ourselves well
will mean that we are safe, protected and our lives have good
boundaries. A lack of self-restraint leaves us vulnerable.
What am I doing with my intellect? Am I learning and growing my mind?
Am I a student? Am I tending my relationship with God? Is it intimate and organic and
causing the rest of my life to flourish and mature? Is my spiritual life
growing?
Am I careful with my words? Do I speak in a wholesome and helpful
way? Do my words carry life? Are my actions loving and congruent with
my beliefs? Am I living from my heart and being true to myself? Do I live
with integrity? Am I a good steward of the material and financial resources that come
into my life? Do I spend wisely? Do I give? Do I save?
Are you managing a household and making a home? How well are you
stewarding the space entrusted to you? Are you working magic with
whatever you have been given? Do you make the most of the role and
eagerly put your hand to doing the best for those under your roof? Are
you leading your children to the best of your ability?
What about your talents? Are you developing them? The world needs
you offering your best gifts! Are you sharpening your skills? Have you
placed your seemingly small offering in the hand of the Miracle Maker?
He will make much of it, multiplying what you never could!
What is your life’s work, the thing that He has appointed you to do? Are
you embracing that and working heartily at it? How well do you do your
job? Are you reliable, faithful, innovative?
“Self-control” is among the beautiful fruits of His life within us (Galatians
5:23). It involves “self-restraint” (Amplified Bible) and “strength of spirit”
(The Passion Bible), and is really all about self -leadership.
If you are walking with the Spirit and His resurrection life resides in you, you have
divine ability to lead yourself well. Your weaknesses humbly submitted to
Him can become strengthened and transformed by Grace. Your life will
be a fruitful, useful and an inspiring life and others will be drawn to you. You
will help others to grow.
The process starts with you!
May you become one who, in the words of Eugene Peterson, is “able to marshal and
direct your energies wisely” (Galatians 5 The Message).
A wise life is a

beautiful life that others will gladly follow!
Read Ang Morgan bio here