Convictions are more than just a belief system or persuasions or opinions that we hold dear. Real convictions are like life-compasses which guides and propels us towards fulfilling our leadership assignments and eventually pushes us to our leadership destiny. This is what real conviction truly is. If you read the book of Daniel 1:8-9, the Bible says: “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore, he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. 9 Now God had brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs.”
Listen to Podcast: How to Build Strong Convictions in Leadership as a Leader
Conviction is one of the assets that a leader must possess in his day-to-day execution of his/her leadership assignments. The reason is because leaders with strong convictions about a course of action or what to do create an enabling environment for everyone who follows to thrive and be productive.
The story of the Rechabites in the book of Jeremiah chapter 35 is a great example of what it means to have strong convictions. If you read from verse 1-2, the Bible says: “The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, 2 “Go to the house of the Rechabites, speak to them, and bring them into the house of the Lord, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.”
Then Jeremiah did according to the word of the LORD by inviting the house of the Rechabites for a wine feast, but see what happened in verse 5-6: “Then I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites bowls full of wine, and cups; and I said to them, “Drink wine.” 6 But they said, “We will drink no wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, ‘You shall drink no wine, you nor your sons, forever.” Did we see that? Prophet Jeremiah placed wine in front of the Rechabites but they refused to drink it. Why? They had been commanded by their father not to drink wine and that commandment became strong convictions in their heart that even the prophet Jeremiah couldn’t change it.
As a leader, what are the convictions that propel your leadership? What are the convictions that guide your actions, the way and manner that you go about executing your leadership assignment? Why do you do what you do? A leader without conviction is a leader who would struggle to motivate and inspire others to productivity and effectiveness. How do you then build strong convictions in your leadership as a leader? I believe the following points that I want to share with us would be of great benefit.
#1. Strong Convictions Are Built on The Foundation of Knowledge. In John 6:4-6, the Bible says: “Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. 5 Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” 6 But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.” As a leader, your convictions should be powered by knowledge and not emotions. Many leaders who are always driven by emotions and not knowledge always find it hard to lead effectively. What you do and say as a leader should be based on your knowledge and understanding of what should be done, and not what you feel or think should be done. This does not presuppose that as a leader, you don’t give room for others take on matters, but what that would be done eventually should be a matter of your convictions as a leader.
#2. Be Bold About Your Purpose and Vision. Luke 4:16-22
“So, He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. 17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable years of the Lord.” 20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”
In that passage, we saw the boldness of Jesus in declaring His purpose and vision to the people and the Bible says all those who witnessed the occasion marveled at the words that proceeded from His mouth. If you will ever propel change and effectiveness within your sphere of leadership, then you must be able to communicate purpose and vision with conviction. As many as would follow you in the fulfillment of that vision must be able to see that you are fully persuaded about your purpose and vision, otherwise, they would struggle very hard to be able to follow your leadership. This is very important.
This is where we will call it a day on today’s episode of Leaderview. I believe you have learnt something. Please don’t forget to share this podcast with your friends, drop your comments in the comments section and let me know your thoughts on what we have shared with ourselves today. Till next time on Leaderview, I remain Abiola Obayomi; stay blessed and God bless you.
[Centre for New Dimension Leadership]
