By Prof Michael Ogunu
Introduction
Leadership can be defined as a process by which one individual influences others toward the attainment of group organizational goals.
In the following sections, Christian leadership and leadership requirements for effective lay apostolate work will be described.
Christian Leadership
The first and the most important requirement for Christian leadership is to be a man or woman of prayer. “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labour in vain that build it” (Psalm 127:1).
As a Christian leader, you are held to high moral, ethical and social standards. As a leader, you are held to high standards, but as a Christian leader, that bar is raised even higher. Why? Because both the Christian and non-Christian social environment has tended to expect that Christians measure up to their self-proclaimed moral and ethical standards, as they rightly should.
Therefore, your conduct should be commendable and exemplary. A good leader should be trustworthy, so that people can follow him. He/she should live his life with honesty and integrity. He/she should live a life such that nobody can question his character.
What can you do to be sure you ‘stand up to the test’ in the area of Christian Leadership?
1) Next to regular and authentic prayer life, probably the most important thing you can do as a Christian leader is to clean up your act – if there is anything in your life, moral or ethical, which would not stand up to scrutiny if the entire world found out – you must eliminate it immediately. Do not give anyone an occasion to think that you are a hypocrite.
2) Be sure that every decision you make is honest and ethical. You cannot effectively lead as a Christian when your decisions and actions are not above-board, fair and honest.
3) As a Christian leader, commit to telling the truth no matter what. As a Christian leader, when you lie or tell half-truths, people tend to feel that your entire faith is a sham. In fact, if you are habitually lying and telling half-truths, your faith may indeed be a sham.
4) Have a good knowledge of the apostolate work you are doing. Be familiar with Catholic Doctrine and the social teachings of the Church. Have a mastery of Vatican II documents and papal encyclicals relating to the role of the laity in the Church and in the modern world. Learn everything you can about the tasks at hand.
No one likes to be led by someone who has never done what they are doing. This doesn’t mean you have to become an expert. One benefit to this is, when you have actually done the work, you can more effectively brainstorm solutions to challenges when they arise.
5) Another important factor that makes a good leader is good example. A great leader sets a good example for his or her subordinates. If you are very particular about tardiness, then you have to make sure that you are always on time, if not earlier than others. If you have strong feelings against cheating then you yourself should not be tempted to cheat. Set a good example for the people in your team. Actions speak louder than words.
6) Learn to delegate without completely losing touch with the work at hand. By doing some of the work, not only do you gain the respect of those under you, but also you keep in touch with the flow of things.
7) Constantly, reevaluate your own performance. Often, you may spend so much time correcting the actions of others and solving crises you didn’t create, that you develop a sense that others aren’t as capable as you. Consequently, you may not recognize when you are falling into bad habits that also need to be corrected. Be the first to recognize and correct your own short-fallings.
8) Avoid pride. Once in a position of leadership, especially if you are good at what you do, it is easy to begin to feel that you are invincible. Once that occurs, you become vulnerable to pride, and may make decisions you would frown on, if your subordinates made the same decisions.
9) Learn to manage your time. When you are in a position of leadership and find yourself delegating away most of the time-consuming tasks, it is easy to lose control of your time. Again, when the workers under you see you wasting your time, they will tend to do the same.
How can you become an effective lay apostolate leader?
To be an effective lay apostolate leader, you must, in addition to all that have been stated in the preceding sections,
1) Learn to motivate those working with you. As a leader, it is your job to motivate your subordinates to deliver better results. You can do this by keeping them posted on the fruits of their labour and by giving them a pat on the back each time they contribute to the success of the organization. It would also help if you can reward them for their hard work from time to time.
2) Make your subordinate feel that they are needed and that they are crucial part of your organization or apostolate. You can do this by simply keeping them informed, making them proud for all their achievements, allowing them to grow, and by sincerely complimenting them once in a while. Recognize their contributions and make special mention of their accomplishments in front of their colleagues or follow workers in the Apostolate.
You can help people reach their full potential if you work on improving their self-esteem. Doing this is relatively simple; start by asking for their advice on certain situations to make them feel that their opinions and ideas are valued. Make it a point that you remember their names so they’ll feel important. Avoid arguing with them; instead, discuss things with them in a conversational tone. Sincerely compliment them for all the good things they do and be willing to listen to them actively.
3) Build good human relationship with your co-workers. If you want them to be more open to you, you must treat them as friends (with boundaries) instead of just co-workers. Mingle with them from time to time. Through this, you’ll be able to know them better and you’ll easily find out how you can bring out the best in them.
4) Be a good listener. A great leader listens. Make sure that you are ready to listen before you start a conversation with the people that you lead. Stay alert with your facial expression, posture, and other non-verbal cues. Make it a point to eliminate bias in your thoughts about the individual that you are talking to otherwise, you will not surely understand what he is trying to get across.
Take a mental note of the keywords that were used to easily recall the conversion a lot easier. If leaders are isolated from what is going on around them, they’ll have shut themselves down to the flow of vital information about what is going on in the organization. Apart from simply being aware of the day to day operations it is imperative to be able to listen to what is “not” being said i.e. the general mood state of one’s fellow workers in the Lord’s vineyard. Being a leader doesn’t always mean knowing everything and always being right.
You’ll become a more effective leader if you let your subordinates speak out their mind from time to time. Encourage them to talk about their struggles in performing their job and ask them for feedback. Through this, you’ll be able to easily create a plan of action on how you can improve things to help your subordinates perform better.
5) Learn to communicate effectively: Relationships that leave out the ability to communicate effectively are doomed to fail. Communication skills however often start with the ability to be open and receptive to the attitudes, ideas and opinions of others as well as the ability to empathize and understand another’s circumstances. When these fundamental building blocks are in place the probability of conflicts, misunderstandings and lowered performance are significantly reduced.
Conclusion:
From the foregoing, the leadership requirements for effective Lay Apostolate work can be summarised as follows:
Be a man or woman of prayer and of integrity – This is the most important quality to your success as a leader. You must learn to live by the highest standard of honesty and integrity. More than anything else, followers want to believe that their leaders are ethical and honest. Avoid corruption and dishonesty.
Have good human relations.
Be disciplined.
Be a good communicator. Effective communication – vertical/horizontal is essential for success. Keep your workers informed. Know how to communicate with not only them, but also seniors and other key people.
Be able to motivate those working with you.
Be ready to make sacrifice – sacrifice of time, talent and treasure.
Be humble – Humility is an important characteristic in the life of a leader.
Be honest with money.
Be a team builder (Don’t do it alone). Learn to involve others and learn to work with others, accommodating their weaknesses. You need to be sensitive to the needs and feelings of your team. You need to support them and be concerned for their well-being. Treat them with dignity.Be dedicated/hardwoking
Give people who work with you encouragement. Show appreciation. Learn to say thank you. Learn to recognise the good others have done. Be willing to give good credit to them.
Be a good role model for those you lead. They must not only hear what they are expected to do, but also see.
Above all, let Paul’s admonition to the Colossians in Col. 3:23-24 be your guide: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as though you were working for the Lord and not for men … for Christ is the real Master you serve”.
Prof Michael Ogunu is International President of the World Apostolate of Fatima
