8 Principles of Passionate Leadership

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (1 Timothy 3:15).

I don’t deliver too many secular messages, nor do I often speak to mixed groups. I feel my calling is to women, but on Friday I received a great opportunity to teach both men and women about “Passionate Leadership” at a Texas-wide health care conference, made up of human resources employees. In the spirit of leadership coach, John Maxwell, from my frame of reference, I did my best to provide “Eight Principles of Passionate Leadership,” all with Christian undertones. Here are the first three:

1.   Passionate leader have purpose. Have you ever figured out your purpose? Passionate leaders cast a vision. They are not afraid to go where no one has gone before, and because of that, people will follow. Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger once said, “The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been.” In my lifetime, I spearheaded an effort to start a girls’ basketball team in high school, I became a television sportscaster when it wasn’t cool for women to do that kind of career, and now with the Lord leading the way, it is my sincere goal to help women overcome past or current dysfunction in their lives through Pearls of Promise.

2.   Passionate leaders are positive. Singer Willie Nelson once said, “Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” Are you a complainer? Do you look at the glass half-empty? When I managed the Public Relations Department at San Antonio International Airport, it was during the events of 9-11. I was the “voice” of the airport. I had to be positive, not only to the media, but also to employees. If I had been down-in-the-mouth, and unsure of the safety and future of the airport, the negativity would have been contagious and could have caused a fearful attitude toward flying, or for airport personnel, a fear of coming to work.

3.   Passionate leaders are mentors. The late Fred Smith, an author who had a very successful consulting company took mentoring seriously. He was a mentor to other great mentors like Zig Ziglar and Ken Blanchard. On his tombstone, it says, “He stretched others.” Do you stretch others? Do you look for other women to mentor? As a manager, I used to pray for the Lord to bring me young women whose lives I could speak into. Two of those women know the Lord today through an investment in their spiritual future. One is an adopted daughter, and I know our relationship will span a lifetime, all because I took the time to mentor her. Pray for God to bring women into your life to teach about His ways. “The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped” (Proverbs 11:25).

Look for Part Two of “8 Principles of Passionate Leadership” on Tuesday.