THE LEADERSHIP SPIRIT

Genesis chapter 1




Today we are walking in: The Leadership Spirit




Today we look to the word-LEADER- H5057 nagiyd-- leader, ruler, captain, prince; excellent thing, (chief) governor, leader, noble, prince, (chief) ruler.





The Torah Testifies.............................

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The prophets proclaim...............





Isaiah 55:4 - Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader H5057 and commander to the people.










The writings bear witness.............





2Chronicles 32:21 - And the LORD sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders H5057 and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword







The Leadership Spirit




To exercise leadership, you must believe that you are inherently a leader.




Leadership really comes down to two things: who you are and how you think. It is about discovering your identity as a born leader and then understanding the way true leaders think so that you can fulfill your inherent calling. If you don’t first establish your leadership nature, it will be very difficult to have the mind-set of leadership.




True leadership is first concerned with who you are, as opposed to what you do. Leadership action flows naturally from a personal leadership revelation. To exercise leadership, you must believe that you are inherently a leader. Again, to pursue purpose as leaders do, you must think like a leader. To think like a leader, you must receive the thoughts of leadership. To receive the thoughts of leadership, you must have a personal encounter with your true self—a discovery of your nature, ability, and essence as a human being. Just as a product cannot know its true purpose or worth except in its relationship with its manufacturer, so it is with you and me.




Earlier, I made a distinction between the leadership spirit and the spirit of leadership. The leadership spirit is the inherent leadership capacity and potential that is the essential nature of human beings. The spirit of leadership, which is what most of this series focuses on, is the mind-set or attitudes that accompany a true leadership spirit and allow the dormant leadership potential to be fully manifested and maximized. Clearly understanding this difference is critical for discovering and living out your leadership capacity. In this teaching, we’ll take a closer look at the leadership spirit. In the next teaching, we will explore the spirit of leadership.




LEADERSHIP COMES DOWN TO TWO THINGS: WHO YOU ARE AND HOW YOU THINK.




WHAT IS THE LEADERSHIP SPIRIT?




In my leadership lectures and seminars, which I share with governmental, educational, business, nonprofit, and religious organizations around the world, I usually begin with a statement that encapsulates my philosophy of leadership: “Trapped within every follower is a hidden leader.” I am always amused to watch the reaction on the faces of the audiences as they attempt to grapple with the implications of this statement. I can usually predict their first thought, which is often the question, “If every follower is a potential leader, then who is going to follow?” This reaction is natural and legitimate in light of our traditional concepts and philosophy of leadership, as they have been promoted over the centuries.




However, the above statement contains the essence of what the original philosophy of leadership was intended to be. It is upon this premise that I propose the belief that leadership is inherent in the human spirit of every person,

but only a minute fraction of the human population ever knows, discovers, believes, or attempts to develop or release this hidden leadership potential.




This leadership capacity is buried under social, cultural, and ideological perceptions that restrict, discourage, and hinder its manifestation. The majority of this planet’s population surrenders to the social concept of leadership and cowers in the shadows of the myths of leadership philosophy. The result is that their tremendous gifts and talents are stifled, and the world is never able to benefit from them. What a tragedy.




My awareness of this suppression of our leadership gifting gave birth to the deep purpose in my heart, which has become the passion of my life: to help as many people as possible, of every nation, race, creed, or social status, to discover their true leadership potential.




LEADERSHIP: THE INHERENT CAPACITY OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT




If trapped in every follower is a hidden leader, then from where did this inherent leadership potential come? And if it exists, why do so many never seem to exhibit it or show some evidence of its presence? These questions point to the heart of the theme of this series, which is the leadership spirit.




A complete definition of the leadership spirit would be—

The inherent capacity of the human spirit to lead, manage, and dominate, which was placed there at the point of creation and made necessary by the purpose and assignment for which man (humanity) was created.




To understand this concept and its underlying principle, it is necessary to understand the principles inherent in the nature of creation. Again, leadership is not something that human beings should strive for; it is something that we already have been given because of our purpose and design. The leadership spirit is the essence of the human spirit. Man doesn’t have a spirit; man is a spirit, and that spirit is an expression of Yah’s Spirit. The essential nature of his Spirit is in our spirits because of the Source from which we come. Leadership is really a discovery of who we truly are and the application of that discovery to our lives. Simply put, true leadership is self-discovery and self-manifestation.




WHEN WE BECOME OUR TRUE SELVES, WE WILL NATURALLY BE LEADERS.




Recognizing the leadership spirit is key to understanding ourselves. We don’t actually “become” leaders, as if leadership were an option among other choices. Rather, when we become our true selves, we will naturally be leaders. We will desire to maximize all our gifts and talents in the fulfillment of our purposes in life. To understand this critical point, however, we must study the source of the leadership spirit.




THE SOURCE OF THE LEADERSHIP SPIRIT




To help you understand the principle of the creation of the leadership spirit, let me begin with an illustration.




In 1976, I was a student at a renowned university, and one of my major areas of study was fine art. In this course of study, we had to produce paintings, stone sculptures, drawings, and artwork in a variety of media. I loved the stone and wood sculpture work and learned many lessons from the experience. However, one of the most significant lessons I learned concerned the principles of source and resource and their relation to purpose and potential. These lessons have cultivated and formed the foundation of my understanding of and my philosophy of life.




On two occasions, I set about working on a wood and stone sculpture project and chose my raw material from discarded pieces of tree and stone. After laboring many hours following the design I had developed, the day came when I was finally finished and proud of the results. When I submitted my project to the professor, I obtained an A and was successful in fulfilling my requirements for graduation. I was so proud of my sculptures that I took them home with me and placed them in a very prominent place in my apartment.




A year later, however, something happened that changed the life of my sculptures forever. I decided to clean the wooden sculpture and wax the stonework. As I picked up the wooden piece to shine the results of my hard work, part of the wood stayed on the table and the other part came off in my hands. My heart sank as the bottom of the figure then gave way and fell apart right before my eyes.




Deeply shocked at this turn of events, I moved to the stone sculpture and wondered if the same thing would happen. As I rubbed it lightly with the cloth, the stone began to come apart like dust. With great disappointment and despair, I had to accept the reality that all my work had been in vain and that the rest of my artwork was destined for disintegration. Today, both pieces are only memories, but I cherish more the lesson this experience taught me.




Here is the great wisdom I gained from the wood and stone sculptures:




1. The nature of the composition of the source material determines the nature of the composition of the product made or produced from it.

2. Whatever is in the source is in the product.

3. The strength and durability of the source determines the durability of the product made from it.

4. The ability of the product is only as good as the ability of its source.

5. If the source is porous and weak, then the product will be porous and weak.

6. The key principle is that a thing consists of the same components and consistency as that from which it came. In other words,

7. Source determines resource.




PRINCIPLES OF CREATION




These insights helped me to understand the nature of life itself and, as a result, changed my life. A careful review of the creation account in the first book of Moses in the Hebrew Scriptures reveals that everything in creation was created from a specific raw material or source. In the first chapter of the account, we observe the process and principles of creation as the Creator produces the many products of nature, such as stars, vegetation, animals, sea creatures, and birds. The important precepts hidden in these creative acts may be summarized in the following principles:




1. The Creator first established the purpose of whatever he desired to make.

2. The Creator identified the material from which each product in creation was to be made.

3. The Creator directed his creative speech to the material from which he desired the product to be made.

4. The product possessed the same components as the source from which it was derived, and therefore possessed the same potential.




SOURCE DETERMINES RESOURCE.




From the following creation Scriptures, we quickly notice that everything that lives on the Earth was somehow sourced by the Earth and thus consists of the Earth’s elements:




Then Yah said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And Yah saw that it was good.




And Yah said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth acrucifixion stake the expanse of the sky.” So Yah created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And Yah saw that it was good.




And Yah said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. Yah made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And Yah saw that it was good.




Vegetation, birds, and animals, in essence, came from the soil. Fish and other sea creatures were created from the waters, and the stars were produced out of the firmament. All the wonderful products of creation that we have on Earth consist of whatever their source is, and when they die, they, in effect, return to the components of that source. In the case of plants and animals, they return to the dust from which they came.




Why is this principle so important to understanding the leadership spirit? The answer in found in the Creator’s process of creating mankind. When the above aspects of nature were made, the Creator directed his creative speech to the soil, water, or firmament. But when it came to creating the human species, his focus changed.

Then Yah said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule [“have dominion”] over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”




The most amazing distinction here is that, in his creation of mankind, the Creator did not speak to the soil, the water, or the firmament. He spoke to himself, saying, “Let

us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule [have dominion or rulership over the rest of creation].”




Many of us miss the essential point here. Humans were not just made by Yah, but they were also drawn out of his own nature.




The word “image” used in this verse means the following in the original Hebrew text:




selem (6754), “statue; image; copy.”...The word...means “image” in the sense of essential nature....Human nature in its internal and external characteristics.... So, too, Yah made man in His own “image,” reflecting some of His own perfections: perfect in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, and with dominion over the creatures....in Gen. 1:26 (the first occurrence of the word) the “image” of Yah is represented by two Hebrew words (selem and demut).




HUMANS WERE NOT JUST MADE BY Yah BUT WERE DRAWN OUT OF HIS OWN NATURE.




The word for likeness is akin to image but embraces an additional meaning: “demut (1823), ‘likeness; shape; figure; form; pattern.’...First, the word means ‘pattern,’ in the sense of the specifications from which an actual item is made.”17 The verb form of likeness is the following: “damah (1819), ‘to be like, resemble, be or act like, liken or compare, devise, balance or ponder.




Why is it so important to understand these words and their implications? Because these are the words that define and describe the essence of your composition, capacity, ability, potential, and value. They also confirm and reveal how the Creator designed you and why.




According to the above definitions and meanings, to be made in Yah’s image and likeness means that you possess the spiritual nature, characteristics, essential specifications, and “substances” of Yah and are a reflection of his spiritual qualities. It also denotes that you were designed to be like, act like, and function like the Creator. In essence, Yah created you from his own substance and released you from his own Spirit, and therefore, as far as species go, you are in the “Yah class” in the sense that you are considered his “son” or offspring.




However, even more important than this knowledge is knowing and understanding why Yah the Creator chose to create you and me in this manner—reflecting his amazing qualities. The reason Yah did this is the key to understanding the nature of the human (leadership) spirit.




REDISCOVERING YOUR LEADERSHIP PURPOSE




Remember that everything Yah does is motivated by his purpose, and therefore the original purpose for a product determines its design, composition, capacity, and potential. Purpose may be defined as “original intent” or “reason for creation.” For example, Yah created seeds to produce trees and plants, and therefore they naturally posses the inherent abilities and capacities to perform this purpose. Fish were created to swim, and thus their ability and capacity to swim is inherent in their design and instincts. They never need to attend swimming school.

Birds, on the other hand, were created for the purpose of flight and naturally come with the inherent design and ability to fulfill that purpose. Birds never attend flight school. The principle is that whatever the Creator established as the original purpose for his creation determined its natural, inherent design, its raw material, and its capacity, capability, natural talents, and potential.




This principle begs the question, “Why, then, did the Creator create mankind?” The answer is found in his declaration of his purpose and original intent for humanity: “Let them rule [“have dominion”]...over all the earth.” He created us out of himself because of his intent that we rule over the earth. Again, purpose is the reason for the creation of something. In essence, it is the reason why a thing exists.




HUMAN BEINGS ARE MADE OUT OF RULERSHIP MATERIAL.




With this definition in mind, it is now critical for us to define the word “dominion,” for this is Yah’s expressed purpose for the creation of mankind. The meaning of dominion in Genesis 1:26 is radah, which means “to tread down, i.e. subjugate; spec. to crumble off:—(come to, make to) have dominion, prevail against, reign, (bear, make to) rule.




I hope that by now you are convinced that the purpose for your creation is to have rulership, dominion, mastery, authority, and leadership over the earth and its environment. However, if the Creator’s purpose for your existence is leadership, rulership, and management over the earthly realm, then perhaps it might be helpful to look at a few principles of purpose as they relate to creation:




1. Purpose determines design.

2. Purpose determines potential.

3. Purpose determines natural abilities.

4. Purpose determines capacity and ability.

5. Purpose determines natural talents.

6. Purpose determines natural desires.

7. Purpose determines fulfillment and personal satisfaction.

8. Purpose is the source of passion.

9. Purpose gives existence meaning.

10. Purpose is the measure of success and failure.




Through these principles, we are again led to this vital principle: If something is created to do something, it is designed with the ability to do it. This concept is at the heart of the leadership spirit. If we were created to be leaders, then we must all possess the capacity, inherent desire, natural talents, potential, and abilities that correspond to being a leader. You cannot demand from a product what it does not have.




Recall what Yah required of humanity. The Creator expressed his intent and assignment for human beings through what he said they were to do. Yah wasn’t speaking just to the first man, Adam, but to all humanity, because inside that one man were the seeds of all mankind. The Creator’s intent was that the human creature rule and dominate both with him and for him. His intent was to share his rulership and his administration of creation with humanity.




In order to understand more about ourselves in our capacity as leaders, we must examine the nature of the Creator, since we were designed to reflect his attributes and characteristics. The Creator doesn’t have dominion; he is the very essence of dominion; it is what he is. He doesn’t have authority; he is the very nature of authority. He doesn’t have love; he is love. He doesn’t have glory; he is glory. He does not possess leadership; he is leadership. Similarly, man does not acquire dominion; he is made out of rulership material. He does not develop power; it is inherent within him. In effect, leadership is not something that man can “possess.” It is part of who he is.




THE PURPOSE FOR YOUR CREATION IS TO HAVE RULERSHIP OVER THE EARTH AND ITS ENVIRONMENT.




The Creator is a leader-maker. Being designed in the image and likeness of Yah means that we were ordained by him to be leaders. He did not produce us and then decide that he would develop us into leaders. We were designed with that in mind. Because he created us to be leaders and dominators, he had to use leadership and dominion “material.” This material originates only in him, so he made us out of his own nature.




DESIGNED TO DOMINATE




Every manufacturer designs his product with the right components, engineered to fulfill the function that the product is created to perform. In essence, the purpose of the product dictates the mechanical and engineering components required to fulfill the manufacturer’s intent. Its “circuits” are right for the job.




This principle holds true for all creation, including human beings. The Creator caused to be inherent in each created entity—including the apex of his creation, mankind— everything it needs to fulfill its original purpose. The original purpose for mankind, defined and established by the Creator, was to “rule [“have dominion”]...over all the earth.” Since the word “dominion” in this case means to reign and rule, the Creator wired all humans with the capacity and natural ability to lead.




We can conclude that human beings are wired for leadership. Humanity has the natural circuitry to have dominion over its environment. The greatest evidence of what a product can do or is capable of is determined by the demands made on it by the one who made it. Therefore, Yah’s requirement that we dominate is evidence that the ability to lead is inherent in every human spirit. This is the leadership spirit.




LEADERS BY NATURE




We are leaders by nature. Every human has the instinct for leadership, even though most of us never manifest it. The desire to lead and achieve greatness is natural, even though many of us deny that this silent, passionate longing exists in every human heart. Leadership is your desire and your destiny.




The ultimate leader, Yahusha Hamachiach, had an interesting encounter with a small group of men whom he had chosen to train as leaders. His training school lasted three years, and his success as a mentor and trainer is evidenced by the successful impact his students have had on the world and on human development over the past two thousand years. Let’s listen in on one of their conversations, which he used as an opportunity to teach about the definition and precepts of true leadership.




THE LEADERSHIP SECRET TO GREATNESS




In the New Testament book of Matthew, one of Yahusha’s students wrote this account of a request that was made by two of his fellow students who were in the leadership training school. He recorded it like this:




Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Yahusha with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. “What is it you want?” he asked. She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.” “You don’t know what you are asking,” Yahusha said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” they answered. Yahusha said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.” When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. Yahusha called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you.”




HUMAN BEINGS ARE WIRED FOR LEADERSHIP.




Next, Yahusha made an amazing statement. Please first note that he did not rebuke the brothers for desiring to be great and seeking leadership positions. As a matter of fact, with the following statement, he went even further and showed them how to become great. Why did he not rebuke them? Because he knew and understood the nature and inherent passion of the human creature.

Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.




I believe that this story contains the greatest secret of true leadership, as well as the process necessary for becoming a genuine leader. With his answer to this question of greatness, Yahusha expressed the key, the nature, and the process for you to discover and manifest your true leadership spirit.




What is natural about the leadership spirit? He said that whoever wants to be great must be the servant of all, and that he who wants to be first must be last. Therefore, the secret to greatness is in serving everyone else.




To understand this principle, you must answer the question, “What do I serve to others?” I believe that this is the greatest revelation of true leadership I have ever discovered and exceeds all the theories and research from the past. What Yahusha is stating here is that, to become the great leader you were created and destined to become, you must discover your unique inherent gift and assignment (your original purpose) and serve that to the world of mankind. Do not seek greatness, but seek to serve your gift to others to the maximum extent that you can, and you will become a sought-after person.




In essence, Yahusha defined true leadership as becoming a person who is valuable to others, rather than a person of just position or fame. If you find your unique gift or special talent and commit to serving it to the world of mankind, then your significance will cause people to seek you out. You will become an influence through exercising your gift, rather than through manipulation. The more you become a person whose gift is valued, the greater your influence will be.




Leadership means discovering and serving yourself to the world. When you do this effectively, people will call you a leader. All true leaders are simply glorified servants. Genuine leadership is not measured by how many people serve you but by how many people you serve. The greater your service, the greater your value to others, and the greater your leadership. My admonition to you is not to seek greatness but to serve your way to leadership. The shortest distance to leadership is service.




THE SECRET TO GREATNESS IS IN SERVING EVERYONE ELSE.




In his leadership training session on greatness, Yahusha revealed his leadership attitude and used himself as an example of serving your way to leadership, saying, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” In other words, he was explaining what makes a person great. It was as if he was saying, “I’m an example. Study me. What is my gift? What did I come into the world to do? What is my purpose? What is my assignment?” He came to be a ransom or substitute for the many so that they might benefit from his sacrifice. Therefore, he was saying, “See? That’s how you become great. I’m fulfilling my

purpose. I’m serving myself to the world and giving my life for the benefit of others. I’m serving as a ransom for everybody so that they can be set free.”




He is also essentially saying to us, “Find what you’re supposed to do, and serve it to others. Then you’ll become great.” Again, this means that your leadership greatness is not in a title or a position. A person becomes a slave or servant because he exists for the people he serves. Slaves exist for their masters. In a sense, as leaders, the world becomes our “master.”




Let’s return to the question, “What do I serve to others?” Whatever we were created to do, Yah built us for. This helps us to understand that we can often tell what our leadership domain is by what we are naturally designed with. What are your inclinations, likes, passions, talents, and natural abilities? These are all part of your design. They indicate the area(s) that you are supposed to have dominion in. This becomes what is called your domain. Find your domain and serve it to the world. Others have been waiting for your gift all your life. Therefore, lead through service.




SERVANT LEADERSHIP




The above discussion reintroduces the greatest leadership philosophy and secret ever given to mankind and emanates from the original concept of leadership introduced in the first book written by Moses: Each person was created to dominate in a specific area of gifting. This leadership concept is called “servant leadership” and expresses the philosophy that all human beings were designed and born to serve their unique gifts and talents to the world.




This philosophy naturally implies that every human came to this planet with a seed of greatness buried in a gift needed by the world. Servant leadership, then, is the ultimate form of leadership and manifests the true nature of mankind and the image of its Creator.




EVERY HUMAN HAS A SEED OF GREATNESS BURIED IN A GIFT NEEDED BY THE WORLD.




Servant leadership integrates all of the following precepts. It is—




• the discovery of one’s purpose, gift, and talent and the commitment to give them in service to mankind.

• being prepared to serve one’s gift to the world at every opportunity for the betterment of humanity.

• serving oneself to the world.

• “self-distribution” to your generation.

• the maximization of self-manifestation.

• the pursuit of an inherent vision in order to serve others.




The natural results of servant leadership are the following:




• Authenticity, authority, and authorization

• Originality, from not being a copy of anyone else

• Genuine confidence, based on one’s natural ability

• Personal fulfillment, stemming from satisfaction

• A sense of intrinsic value, based on the knowledge of one’s significance

• No competition, because of one’s uniqueness

• No comparison, because of one’s distinctiveness

• No jealousy, because of one’s value

• No fear, because of one’s conviction




Again, servant leadership is the ultimate form of true leadership and protects the individual from the traps that entangle the power-hungry, insecure, unqualified “shadows” who parade as leaders in many of our communities. Servant leadership is about expending yourself to increase the value of others. Peter Drucker observed that all effective leaders have ensured that they themselves were “the kind of person that they wanted to be, respect, and believe in. In this way, they fortified themselves against the leader’s greatest temptation—to do things that are popular rather than right and to do petty, mean, sleazy things.




PRINCIPLES OF LEADERSHIP




A careful study of the lessons taught by Yahusha in the above discourse will reveal the following principles of leadership:




• Leadership is predetermined and not a preference.

• Leadership is a prepared position.

• Leadership demands a price.

• Leadership is inherent.

• Leadership is a divine deposit.

• Leadership is not for you but for others.

• Leadership is becoming your true self for the benefit of others.




These principles are the foundation of true leadership and serve as the measure of leadership effectiveness.




THE ATTITUDE OF THE LEADERSHIP SPIRIT




Understanding our leadership nature is essential because the way in which we think about ourselves determines our attitudes and actions. When you discover that the Creator made you with the same nature that he has, then you understand that your desire to lead is natural. However, as we will look at more closely in the next teaching, the leadership spirit, our inherent natural capacity, comes with a spirit of leadership—an attitude.




LEADERSHIP IS BECOMING YOUR TRUE SELF FOR THE BENEFIT OF OTHERS.




When Yah told Adam to name the animals, for example, Adam didn’t sit back and try to argue with him about it, saying, “There are too many animals. How can I name all these species?” He never hesitated. Instead, he just did it. He had the confidence, the conviction, and the authority of the spirit of leadership. It is important to note that Yah did not give Adam a list of animal names to choose from. Instead, he allowed Adam to draw on the capacity he had within him, in order to show him that his ability to do so already existed.




The capacity to respond to responsibility is inherent in the nature of all humans, but most of us avoid opportunities

to activate or maximize it. I believe that the Creator has designed life in such a way that it constantly makes demands on our hidden leadership potential. Again, the principle is this: Whatever Yah calls for, he provides for.




THE NATURE OF THE LEADERSHIP SPIRIT




Manager of One’s Environment




When we speak of the nature of someone or something, it has to do with what is natural to the person or thing. It expresses the concept of “inherent essence.” Every created thing possesses an innate nature. It is a natural part of its existence. The nature of a thing is determined by its purpose and function, and it dictates its intrinsic instincts, gifts, and abilities. Remember our earlier example that a bird’s nature is natural to its inherent purpose of flight, and its design, anatomy, and abilities are built to reflect that nature? Likewise, the nature of a fish expresses its inherent purpose.




THE LEADERSHIP SPIRIT COMES WITH A SPIRIT OF LEADERSHIP.




The nature of the leadership spirit is the inherent desire of all mankind to control and regulate both environment and circumstances. This is what we call management. This desire is natural; even when it is not our actual experience, the desire is still present. Have you ever heard one busy stayat-home mother say to another, “How are you managing?” This is a phrase that many of us use, but we don’t realize what we are saying. When a homemaker asks her neighbor this question, she is really inquiring, “How are you handling your circumstances?” This is a normal question of one leader to another. So you have a homemaker, who may not even know that she is a leader, naturally wanting to manage her children, her budget, the environment of the house, and so on. That desire comes from the leadership nature within her.




Even though people may ignore their inherent nature or may be denied the full exercise of it, the desire to control and manage one’s own destiny still resides deep in the heart of the human spirit. It is our natural desire to lead.




Exerter of Influence




It is also the nature of leadership to influence. All people naturally want to influence the world around them. When you think about it, everyone is in the influence game—whether it’s a salesperson trying to influence a prospective client, a child trying to influence a parent, or a young man trying to influence a young woman. Everyone desires to influence because we naturally want to be in control. Yet we’ve confused influence with domination. According to the original design, we’re not supposed to dominate other people but to have dominion over the earth and its resources. When we don’t understand this distinction, we manipulate and abuse others and frustrate the expression of their own Yah-given leadership nature. Exerting proper influence means inspiring others through the leadership gift that we have been given. The true nature of leadership is the attraction of others to our gifts, which are deployed in their service.




Comfortable with Power




Another aspect of the leadership spirit is that it is comfortable with power. Power, in itself, is natural for the human spirit. Again, problems arise when we distort our natural gifts.




For example, when a person doesn’t have a good self-concept, a strong self-worth, and high self-esteem, he will use his power in negative ways in order to compensate for his feelings of inferiority and vulnerability. He will intimidate, manipulate, and oppress.




EVERYONE DESIRES INFLUENCE; HOWEVER, WE’VE CONFUSED INFLUENCE WITH DOMINANCE.




When you realize this truth, it helps you to understand why many people act the way they do. This is the reason tyrants tyrannize. Have you ever noticed that when some people come into positions of power, their personalities seem to change for the worse? They are tasting the nature of leadership, but they don’t have the character to manage it—or themselves—well. This is the source of many of the problems we are seeing in the contemporary business world, as well as in national politics.




We all naturally seek power. The homeless man sleeping under a bridge in a cardboard box desires power just as much as the man who is sleeping in a twelve-bedroom house by a lake. We use a thousand different ways to try to gain power, such as—




• positions of influence

• money

• association and membership in influential or elite groups

• material status symbols, such as clothing, houses, cars, and jets

• status in society, such as living in a certain neighborhood or region

• educational achievements

• type of jobs or careers




Again, the desire for power, in itself, isn’t wrong. It’s our attitude toward and use of power that can be harmful. If we don’t desire power of some sort, our natural inclination has been altered by oppression, apathy, fear, or other things. I think that we need to admit to our desire for power before we can become friendly with it. If we deny our penchant for it, we deceive ourselves as well as others.




Many people desire to be successful in their work so that they can get the revenue that their companies have promised them, so that they can generate more business, so that they can gain more money, so that they can buy more things, so that they can achieve a better standard of living, so that they can feel important and influential, so that they can do or buy whatever they want. The principal objective is power—power to control their standard of life and circumstances.




Gaining wealth, in itself, is not a bad thing, even though many people have been taught to think that it is. The problem is how some people go about gaining it and the attitude that they have toward it. According to the first book written by Moses, Yah told Abraham, the Father of the Jewish people, in effect, “I’m going to bless you and make you a blessing.” Abraham became the richest man in his region. Why would Yah want to make him rich? In order to give him influence. Abraham was very comfortable with the power that he had. He was not proud but was grateful for it and responsible with it. He had influence with others, and he credited that influence to Yah.




Why would Yah, therefore, want to cause a person to be rich? In order to give him influence. Moses, in his book of Deuteronomy, stated these words to the people of Israel: “Remember the Most High your Yah, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.” It is important to note that the biblical exhortations concerning money and wealth (for example, “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil”) do not warn against possessing money or wealth but rather against allowing money and wealth to possess us. Loving money at the expense of the dignity, value, and welfare of others is an abuse of our power to get wealth.




THE DESIRE FOR POWER, IN ITSELF, ISN’T WRONG.




The desire for power to control circumstances is one of the most potent motivating factors of human behavior. Again, when the young Jewish rabbi Yahusha began training his leadership team, one of the first things he did was to give them power—power to exorcise demons, heal the sick, raise the dead, and so forth. He sent them out, and they went and started using that power. When they returned, they told him everything they had done, and they started celebrating. The biblical account says, “In that hour Yahusha rejoiced.”




Why would Yahusha give a group of men, which included fishermen, a tax collector, and a zealot, that much power? He gave them power so that they could taste how it felt to put their inherent leadership nature to use in a positive way, and they came back excited about it. Then he got excited about their excitement because he saw humanity exercising power in the way the Creator first intended them to. Mankind was in control of his circumstances. Imagine a fisherman having power over death, cleansing lepers, opening blind eyes, and unstopping deaf ears.




I believe that this early experience is one reason why his disciples left their businesses and their jobs and never returned to them. They followed Yahusha because, when they were with him, they tasted their true selves. He introduced them to themselves. He reconnected them to who they really were. He tapped into their inherent leadership nature and potential. If you study the lessons he taught, they all relate to this theme. He walked on the water and said, in effect, “You can do this; come.” He healed the sick, and then he said, “Go ahead, do it.” He was showing them how to have dominion over their environment, how to have power over circumstances through the power of Yah.




Earlier, I mentioned the request of the mother of James and John that they have leadership positions in Yahusha’s kingdom government: “May my sons sit on your right and your left in your kingdom?” Again, it is important to note that he did not rebuke them or deny their request to become great. On the contrary, he went on to teach them how to achieve greatness.




I think that we sometimes miss his point. He said, in essence, “The rulers of this world lord it over people, but that is not what you are to do. He who wants to become great among you must be a servant.” He didn’t say, “Don’t try to be great because that’s prideful.” He didn’t tell them that their desire was wrong. Instead, he told them how to get there, what it means to become a great leader.




We should remember that James and John became two of Yahusha’s favorites. I believe that this was because they had the right interests, the right pursuits, and the right attitudes. They didn’t want to be average. They didn’t want to be followers.




When someone comes to us and says that he wants to do something great and big, we normally think that he is overly ambitious and proud. Actually, he’s exercising his true nature. But what do we do? We intimidate him in order to try to discourage him. Sometimes, we even use religion as a justification for telling others not to seek greatness. But here Yahusha is telling his disciples, in essence, “You want to be great? Then here’s how to do it: You serve others.”




LOVING MONEY AT THE EXPENSE OF OTHERS IS AN ABUSE OF OUR POWER TO GET WEALTH.




Likewise, the early church writer Paul wrote in his first epistle to his associate Timothy, “If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.” Paul was saying, “Look, if you want to be a great person, if you want to be a leader, that’s not bad.” We’ve been taught that this desire is bad, yet Paul simply went on to explain what is required for leadership. Please note that the apostle emphasized that the desire to be a leader (setting one’s heart on it) is “noble.” I want you to truly understand that the human desire for greatness is natural and inherent.




FINDING YOUR “MANSION”— YOUR POSITION OF AUTHORITY




In a number of ways, Yahusha Hamachiach introduced his disciples to the phenomenon of the power that a human being can have. In the gospel account written by one of the young rabbi’s disciples named John, it is recorded that when Yahusha began to explain the necessity for his departure from the earth and his to return to heaven, his disciple-students became nervous and depressed. To alleviate their fears, he offered them this comfort: “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in Yah, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” This statement is critical to our understanding of our human nature and to our recognition that Yah knows our inherent need for leadership.




A casual reading and interpretation of this passage through the filter of Western culture usually leads to the conclusion that Yahusha was promising a physical house, in particular, a structure that resembles the large dwelling we call a mansion. However, it is important to understand that there is no reference in the Bible to an actual physical structure in heaven in which we will live. Therefore, the word in the original language must have a different meaning.




A careful study of the Greek word mone, translated “mansion” or “dwelling place,” indicates a position or place of residing or abiding:




mone (3438), primarily “a staying, abiding” (akin to meno, “to abide”), denotes an “abode” (Eng., “manor,” “manse,” etc.), translated “mansions” in John 14:2; “abode” in v. 23. There is nothing in the word to indicate separate compartments in heaven; neither does it suggest temporary resting places on the road.




I believe that Yahusha was referring to the permanent restoration of our spiritual standing or position with Yah, which also reestablished our place of authority and power on the Earth, which the Creator had given us.




The concept of a place of authority was also used by Yahusha when the two disciples asked him about greatness and leadership positions in His kingdom, and he replied, “To sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places [positions of authority or places of authority] belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.” The Greek word for “sit” is kathizo, meaning “to seat down, i.e. set (fig. appoint).”22




“LET NOT YOUR HEART BE TROUBLED....IN MY FATHER’S HOUSE ARE MANY MANSIONS.”




A similar concept occurs in the biblical book of Jude, in which the author talks about positions of authority given by Yah to angels who subsequently abandoned them. The various translations below indicate that they left a place of authority and use imagery similar to “mansions,” including “home,” “abode,” and “habitation.”




And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. (NIV, emphasis added)




And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day. (NASB, emphasis added)




And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. (KJV, emphasis added)




And angels that kept not their own principality, but left their proper habitation, he hath kept in everlasting bonds under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. (ASV, emphasis added)




After Yahusha said, “In My Father’s house are many mansions,” he went on to say, “If it were not so, I would have told you.” In other words, there is a position of leadership, of power, for everybody. It is interesting and important to note that the comfort Yahusha offered his distressed and depressed disciples was that each one of them would be restored to a relationship with Yah the Father that included a position of leadership and authority. He told them that his departure was necessary to secure these positions.




Perhaps this assurance was given in order to confirm that that ultimate purpose and goal of the redemptive work of Yah through Yahusha Hamachiach was to restore all of humanity to its position of rule and dominion on the Earth—its leadership authority. Perhaps this is also why the final promise of Yahusha to his followers just before his ascension was, “You will receive power”—an enablement to impact, change, and control circumstances. He promised to provide what he knew we wanted and needed, as well as what was natural for the apex of Yah’s creation.




THE ATTRIBUTES OF THE LEADERSHIP SPIRIT




When we talk about the attributes of leadership, we are referring to the manifest qualities that reflect the natural source and nature of our Creator. According to Merriam-Webster’s 11th Collegiate Dictionary, the word attribute comes from a Latin word meaning “to bestow.” The Creator has bestowed on us the attributes of a leadership spirit. Here are some of the definitions of attribute: “an inherent characteristic,” “an object closely associated with or belonging to a specific person, thing, or office,” and “a word ascribing a quality.”




THERE IS A POSITION OF LEADERSHIP, OF POWER, FOR EVERYBODY.




Once more, since Yah is our Creator and the “material” from which we were created, then in order to understand our leadership attributes, it is naturally imperative for us to explore, study, and come to understand the nature of His attributes. In essence, if you want to know and understand yourself, your nature, and your abilities, it is necessary for you to know Yah, who is your Source.




OMNIPOTENCE




The first attribute of Yah is that he is omnipotent or all-powerful. How do we apply this attribute to ourselves? Omnipotence means “all-inherent power.” It can also be described as a sense of secure ability in pursuing and fulfilling one’s purpose and will. Since we were made in the image and likeness of the Creator, and possess that same ability in a measure, this means that we inherently have power that enables us to accomplish what we were created to do.




In addition, power can be defined as the proper use of energy. The application for us is this: Yah does not use energy in a negative way. His power is creative. A true leader who has tapped into his essential nature uses power to create things, to make things better for people, just as Yah does. The Creator uses his power to produce what is good, and we are meant to do the same.




OMNISCIENCE




The Creator is also omniscient or all-knowing. Because we have his nature, we have the facility to understand and retain knowledge. I believe that we are capable of learning as much as we want to. In this sense, our ability to learn is infinite. Moreover, we can never grow too old to learn. We have the capacity to know more than we think we can.




This means that whatever you’ve learned so far is not enough for you to know. Our ability to know is inherent, and any perceived limitation of this ability is based on our conclusion that we’ve learned all that we can or want to know. Yet this is not all that we are able to know. We have a long way to go in order to match our potential for knowledge.




Paul of Tarsus said that a day will come when we will meet our Creator face-to-face, and then we will “know as we are known.” We can begin that process now. For example, although I can’t bodily go into the heavenlies to communicate with and learn from Yah, I have the capacity to do this in my spirit. We need to be more aware of our ability to know our Creator and the world that he has made.




OMNIPRESENCE




The third attribute of Yah is that he is omnipresent. This means that he is everywhere and that there is no place in heaven, the universe, or on earth that threatens or intimidates him. Here is how I apply this attribute to our leadership spirit: When you read about the life of Yahusha, you sense that he could be anywhere and be comfortable. He was equally at ease in the presence of high officials, the poor, his family, his disciples, and anyone else he met. A true leader has the capacity to adapt to and function among any group of people effectively.




IF YOU WANT TO KNOW AND UNDERSTAND YOURSELF, YOU MUST KNOW Yah.




In addition, as I said earlier, you can put a natural leader anywhere on earth, and in a matter of time, he is in charge of his environment. His environment doesn’t control him; he controls it. Again, because we are made in the image of our Creator, we have the ability to dominate our environments. We can control and govern them instead of becoming victims of them. But we have to first discover that we have this ability because of the Source from which we came.




INTEGRITY




The fourth attribute of Yah is his absolute integrity. This means that he is always pure in his motives and intentions. In essence, Yah is always and completely integrated or one with himself. His intent, words, and actions are one with himself. This is also the concept of being holy. It means that what he says, what he does, and who he is are one and the same. In Yah, there is no contradiction. True leaders are honest. There is no manipulation or deception in their dealings with others or their pursuit of their visions. True leaders possess candor and sense of self. They are true to themselves first and then to others.




RECONNECTING WITH THE LEADERSHIP SPIRIT




The Spirit of Leadership Is a Spirit That Is Comfortable in the Creator’s Company




When we understand that man was created in Yah’s image, likeness, and nature and possesses his essence and characteristics, then it should be obvious that, in order for man to understand himself and his true potential, abilities, and nature, he must reconnect to his Source, the Creator. The leadership spirit is the essence of the spirit-man, who can comprehend his identity only from relating to his Source. This relationship should be natural and mutually fulfilling. Yah and man belong together, and therefore the presence of Yah is man’s natural and ideal environment.




WE CAN GOVERN OUR ENVIRONMENTS INSTEAD OF BECOMING VICTIMS OF THEM.




True leaders are born in the presence of their Creator because that is where they discover the truth about themselves. Just as the life hidden within a seed is brought forth when the seed is placed in the right environment of the soil, the true potential of humanity germinates when it is in the presence of Yah. To discover the truth about your ability and destiny, you must rediscover the value of a relationship with your Source.




The first man, Adam, was created in Yah’s presence and enjoyed spiritual relationship with his Creator as a natural experience, not as a “religious” one. Adam didn’t have to try to get into Yah’s presence. He didn’t need to perform sophisticated religious customs or rituals. In the first book written by Moses, it is recorded that Adam “walked and talked with Yah in the cool of the day.”




TRUE LEADERS ARE HONEST; THERE IS NO MANIPULATION OR DECEPTION IN THEM.




Adam was comfortable in Yah’s company because he was just like him. In effect, the nature of the leadership spirit is to be comfortable in the presence of power, authority, and might without being intimidated. When the leadership spirit is fully restored, you revere and respect Yah and his authority but are never fearful in his presence; you rejoice in his company. True leaders respect and honor authority but are comfortable in its presence.




The Spirit of Leadership Is an Otherworldly Confidence




The restoration of the leadership spirit also brings a level of confidence that is not common, and that, in the eyes of many, seems to come from another world. Your thinking and perception come from a higher plane. When Yahusha was on trial before the Roman procurator Pilate, the ruler asked him, “Are you a king?” He answered, “My kingdom is not of this world.” In other words, “My government is from another place.” When a person rediscovers the leadership spirit, his confidence emerges from an understanding of who and what he is and an awareness of his true capacity and abilities. This natural confidence, grounded in a conviction of self-discovery and self-awareness, is so sure that it is sometimes mistaken for arrogance by the insecure.




The Spirit of Leadership Demonstrates Internal Soundness and Security




When you rediscover the leadership spirit, you love and are comfortable with yourself because you become aware that your self-worth, self-esteem, and self-concept are the result of the fact that you were made in Yah’s image and possess his qualities and characteristics. Suddenly, you’re not trying to compensate for a sense of inadequacy or inferiority, and you’re not trying to use or abuse people to make yourself feel superior.




The self-esteem derived from self-discovery sets you free from the assessments of others. When the estimation of your personal value and worth is found in your realization that you are in the “Yah-class,” in the sense of your being created in Yah’s image and likeness (though not equal to him), then the result is a high self-esteem. This high self-esteem sets you free from the negative effects of other people’s opinions. That is the reason that you can serve them as a servant leader. Even if they mistreat you, it doesn’t affect your estimation of your value to them. This is why Yahusha Hamachiach could say on the crucifixion stake, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” He knew how valuable he was to them—both in who he was and in what he was doing on their behalf. His self-esteem was intact, right to the end.




Because a true leadership spirit is borne out of a strong sense of self-worth and self-esteem, leaders can be compassionate, patient, forgiving, and kind. They do not need to gain their self-assessment from the people whom they are serving. They understand that you cannot set people free until you are free from them. If you need the people whom you are leading in order to feel important, then you cannot lead them. Ultimately, they will end up leading you.




This is why discovering the leadership spirit is a prerequisite to serving. If you never discover who you are, you will always misinterpret the attitudes and actions of others. You’ll also underestimate everyone else—you’ll consider them less than what they really are because you’ll want to feel that you are above them. You will “under-esteem” them. However, you will treat people well and esteem them highly when you rediscover the leadership spirit and are secure in yourself.




The Leadership Spirit Possesses a Natural Love for All Human Beings




Self-discovery is at the heart of the leadership spirit. It is birthed from rediscovering your true nature, potential, capacity, character, and abilities through rediscovering your Source—Yah. This will naturally lead you to the revelation that all humans are created in Yah’s image and likeness, and therefore possess the same value, worth, and estimation as yourself.




SELF-ESTEEM DERIVED FROM SELF-DISCOVERY SETS YOU FREE FROM THE ASSESSMENTS OF OTHERS.




If each individual bears the same image of Yah that you do, then it becomes impossible to separate his image in man from himself. In essence, it is not possible to say that you love Yah but hate mankind, for this becomes a contradiction. You will have a natural love for others because you will perceive that you and they are essentially the same.




Since they are made in Yah’s image and likeness, as you are, then any negative approach or act against them is an act against yourself and against the Creator, as well. A true leader who is reconnected with the leadership spirit understands that serving mankind is serving Yah himself, and thus serves his fellowmen from a motivation of love and respect.




IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO LOVE Yah BUT HATE MANKIND.




We see this principle in the following expressions spoken by Yahusha:




Whoever does not love does not know Yah, because Yah is love.




If anyone says, “I love Yah,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love Yah, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves Yah must also love his brother.




Yahusha replied: “‘Love the Most High your Yah with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”




The above texts clearly indicate that love for mankind is a priority and is evidence that one loves Yah, the Creator of humanity. Perhaps this is the major ingredient missing in leadership today. The focus is on results and performance more than on values, such as love, caring, compassion, and kindness. We need leaders who love their followers more than they love their goals and objectives. We must understand and capture this spirit of leadership in order to fully manifest the leadership potential hidden within each of us.




PRINCIPLES




1. To exercise leadership, you must believe that you are inherently a leader.




2. The leadership spirit is the inherent leadership capacity and potential that is the essential nature of human beings. The spirit of leadership is the mind-set or attitudes that accompany a true leadership spirit and allow the dormant leadership potential to be fully manifested and maximized.




3. Trapped within every follower is a hidden leader.




4. Our leadership capacity is buried under social, cultural, and ideological perceptions that restrict, discourage, and hinder its manifestation.




5. The leadership spirit is the intrinsic capacity of the human spirit to lead, manage, and dominate, which was placed there at the point of creation and made necessary by the purpose and assignment for which man was created.




6. Leadership is not something that human beings have to strive for; it is something that is inherent within us because of our purpose and design.




7. When we become our true selves, we will naturally be leaders.




8. If something is created to do something, it is designed with the ability to do it.




9. Humanity was designed with the natural components or “circuitry” to dominate its environment.




10. Yah’s requirement that we dominate is evidence that the ability to lead is inherent in every human spirit.




11. The secret to leadership greatness is in serving others. To become the great leader that you were created and destined to become, you must discover your unique inherent gift and assignment (your original purpose) and serve that to the world of mankind.




12. The principles of leadership are (1) leadership is predetermined and not a preference; (2) leadership is a prepared position; (3) leadership demands a price; (4) leadership is inherent; (5) leadership is a divine deposit; (6) leadership is not for you but for others; (7) leadership is becoming your true self for the benefit of others.




13. The nature of the leadership spirit includes the following: (1) manager of one’s environment; (2) exerter of influence; and (3) comfortable with power.




14. When Yahusha said, “In my Father’s house, there are many mansions,” he was referring to the permanent restoration of our spiritual standing or position with Yah, which also reestablished our place of authority and power on the Earth.




15. Four essential attributes of the Creator—as well as the leadership spirit—are (1) omnipotence, (2) omniscience, (3) omnipresence, and (4) integrity.




16. The leadership spirit is the essence of the spirit-man, who can comprehend his identity only from relating to his Source.




17. Signs of reconnection with the leadership spirit are (1) a comfortableness in the Creator’s company, (2) an otherworldly confidence, (3) an internal soundness and security, and (4) a natural love for all human beings.