As I’ve discussed in other articles on this site, the human being (total person) or soul is made up of four parts in a synergistic relationship.
The four relationships
- Heart (Spirit or Will)
- Mind
- Body (Strength)
- Social connectedness
Leadership is something that involves the total person or soul. Leadership starts with the spirit and mind but involves our body (strength and actions) and our social relationships.
When you lead from the heart > Mind > Strength > Social relationships, you involve your whole soul or being into leadership in a way that amplifies your influence and creates a level of integrity and consistency that brings trust.
What are the 4 Powers of Leadership?
There are four powers that we must tap into to effectively lead.
1. The power of the Heart (Spirit/Will)
Character, Passion, Paradigms / Mindsets / Worldviews flow out of our hearts. Faith is a function of the heart as well. Effective leadership starts by perfecting and harnessing the power of the heart to believe and to do good. Faith or trust is the currency of the kingdom. The heart and mind are presented as always interacting with each other. For ease of understanding, the heart may be seen as the unconscious realm while the mind, discussed below, emphasizes the conscious. Yet, as already said, these two are always influencing each other.
Question: Are you developing your heart to create the right worldview for your organization? Are you growing in faith every day so that you can believe a bigger and bolder future for your team?
2. The power of the Mind
For purposes of this discussion, the mind refers to the conscious. The mind interacts with the heart to yield dreams and visions. It is the seat of our thoughts and emotions. Problem-solving, strategic thinking, etc are functions of the mind. Yet, you can’t surgically separate the heart and mind. Even so, we know they are separate. To become the best leaders we can be, we must learn to exploit the power of the mind to its full.
Question: Are you engaging your mind to dream dreams, make effective decisions, solve key problems, and create a cohesive strategy for your team?
3. The power of our Strengths (body)
Natural strengths/talents, physical performance, action, endurance, hard work, execution. Our genes are involved here and endow us with our natural talents and strengths. The power of our strengths allows us to shine as leaders and take steps that produce results and wow those we serve.
Effective leaders have learned to lead with their strengths and delegate their areas of weaknesses.
Question: Are you leading from your strengths? Are you focusing on harnessing the power of your strengths?
4. The power of our Social relationships (Connectedness)
Here emotional intelligence, connecting well with people, and negotiating win-win situations becomes essential for effective leadership. This is where the environment impacts our leadership and also where successful leaders learn to design environments and relationships to enhance their leadership. Our personalities are formed by an interplay between both our genes and our social environments. There is a middle eastern saying that says, “one can chase and defeat a thousand, but two can put ten thousand to flight.” That is the power of social connectedness in leadership that can occur when we start forming synergistic relationships.
Notice that the first three powers focus on an individual person. That’s where they grow in independence. The fourth is connecting with others. That’s where we move from independence to interdependence in our leadership.
Question: Are you creating win-win, synergistic relationships with others to enhance your influence and leadership?
The soul is the totality of all four aspects of the person working together. The 4 powers of leadership, therefore are the power of the kind of leadership that employs the entire human soul to influence people positively. Leading with the soul is leading from the inside out. It is leading from within, from the inner person.
When you understand this, you will start leading from inside-out. You will lead from within, not from without. You will pursue transformation of the heart before you try to impact relationships outside.
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