Leadership

Leadership is essential. It impacts every facet of life, including home, work, church—even self. To some degree everyone leads. Anyone desiring to help build a better life for themselves or others are providing leadership. A leader is a person who influences others to achieve a purpose. Influence can be good or bad. To be a leader worth following requires trust and credibility. Psalms 78:72 reads, “And David shepherded them with integrity of heart, with skillful hands he led them.” David led with credibility from his integrity of heart (his character), skillful hands (his competence), and with a shepherd’s passion (connecting with others). Leadership materials on this site are designed to address these key components that cultivate credible leadership.

Below is a series on leadership titled, “It’s All About Leadership: Being a Leader Worth Following” by Dr. Jimmy Knott. The playlist contains 12 lessons, 20-30 minutes in length. In this series, he discusses the essentials of being a leader worth following. Below each video are questions that accompany the corresponding video.

Part 1: Becoming a Leader Worth Following

Session One: Introduction

Session One Questions PDF

1. What distinguishes a leader who has a following because of title or position from a leader who is worth following, regardless of title or position?

2. How would you describe the general condition of leadership in America?

3. What makes leadership important?

4. Do you agree that in some way and to some degree everyone is a leader?

5. How do you respond to the principle: Your ability to lead dramatically impacts your influence, success and effectiveness?

6. Do you know someone who has no official title or position, but who you consider to be worth following? In contrast, do you know someone who has a title or position of leadership, but you would not follow if didn’t have to? Please elaborate.

7. What was your best learning from this lesson and how can you apply it today?

 

SESSION TWO: UNDERSTANDING LEADERSHIP

Session Two Questions PDF

1. hat are your thoughts on the unending debate over whether leaders are born or made?

2. What is your definition of a leader?

3. What do you think about Jimmy’s simple definition of leadership drawn from Mark 3:14, “A leader is a person who influences people to achieve a purpose?”

4. Would you agree that leadership is largely about earning and exerting influence on people?

5. What do you think about Jesus describing a leader worth following as a servant (Luke 22:24-27)?

6. How would life be different if we all modeled servant leadership?

7. What was your best learning from this lesson and how can you apply it today?

 

SESSION THIRD: DEVELOPING LEADERS WORTH FOLLOWING

Session Three Questions PDF

1. What attitudes and behaviors generate credibility that open the door to have influence on people?

2. Why should anyone let you have influence and lead them?

3. Can you think of people you have permitted to gain influence in your life? Why did you extend them this special privilege?

4. How do you feel about Gallup’s research indicating why we allow people to have influence in our lives (trust, compassion, stability and hope)?

5. Generally speaking, do you agree that authentic character, exceptional competency and relational connection are key components to being a leader worth following? Are there other key components to consider?

6. What was your best learning from this lesson and how can you apply it today?

 

SESSION FOUR: CHARACTER (PART 1)

Session Four Questions PDF

1. How essential is character to leadership?

2. When a person has character exactly what is it that they have?

3. What makes character important?

4. How do you respond to the quotes by Billy Graham and Andy Stanley?

5. When you think of someone you know who has character, who comes to mind and why?

6. What was your best learning from this lesson and how can you apply it today?

 

SESSION FIVE: CHARACTER (PART 2)

Session Five Questions PDF

1. What are your greatest character strengths and weaknesses?

2. What are your thoughts on Jimmy’s character formation cycle?

3. What are your core values?

4. What character flaws need your attention?

5. What did you learn from Jimmy’s ring story?

6. What was your best learning from this lesson and how can you apply it today?

 

SESSION SIX: COMPETENCY (PART 1)

Session Six Questions PDF

1. Who are some exceptionally competent people that inspire you and why?

2. How does greater competency open the door for greater influence?

3. What did you learn from Jimmy’s teaching on Psalm 139:13-16?

4. Can you name your greatest abilities and deepest passions?

5. Why will developing your strengths, rather than improving your weaknesses, give you greater competence?

6. What was your best learning from this lesson and how can you apply it today?

 

SESSION SEVEN: COMPETENCY (PART 2)

Session Seven Questions PDF

1. What percentage of your work allows you to do what you do best and enjoy most?

2. Which of Jimmy’s ten suggestions most challenge you?

3. What are some specific actions you could take to increase your knowledge, skills, and abilities to increase your overall competency?

4. Is Proverbs 22:29 proving true in your life?

5. What was your best learning from this lesson and how can you apply it today?

 

SESSION EIGHT: RELATIONAL CONNECTION (PART 1)

Session Eight Questions PDF

1. What is your response to Jimmy’s statement: Relationships define who we are and what we become.

2. According to Jimmy’s definition of a leader based on Mark 3:14, do you agree that leadership is both directional and relational?

3. If you improved your relationships, do you think it could enhance your influence?

4. How has social media and technology impacted our ability to build meaningful relationships and connections?

5. Which of Steve Saccone’s “Top Ten Relational Sins” are most true in your life?

6. If you honestly examined your closest relationships, are they built more on transactions than meaningful connections?


7. What was your best learning from this lesson and how can you apply it today?

 

SESSION NINE: RELATIONAL CONNECTION (PART 2)

Session Nine Questions PDF

1. In lessons eight and nine, Jimmy offered ten tips for building better connections. Which ones need your attention?

2. How do you feel about Jimmy’s sequence for building better relational connections?

3. What was your best learning from this lesson and how can you apply it today?

 

SESSION TEN: SERVANT LEADERSHIP

Session Ten Questions PDF

1. What are the differences between a servant leader and a self-serving leader?

2. Outside the Bible, who are some servant leaders who influenced you and how so?

3. Jimmy defined a servant leader as someone who willingly, humbly, sacrificially and intentionally serves others. Is anything missing from his definition?

4. How do you respond to Jimmy’s assertion, “Serving defines both the why (our motivation) and the how (methodology) we should have”?


5. In John 13, Jesus models servant leadership by washing the disciple’s feet. Jimmy identified five marks of a servant leader: others first (vv. 1-5), loving heart (v. 1), a secure self (v. 3), impartially serves everyone (vv. 2, 10, 11) and takes action (vv. 13-17). How do you feel about these and are there others he did not mention? Which mark do you need to improve?


6. Earlier asked you to think of a life example of servanthood. What are the chances someone thought of you?


7. If asked those who know you best to describe you, would they include “servant?”


8. When was the last time you asked someone, “How could I help (serve) you?”


9. What would be on your resume if you could only include the accomplishments other say you enabled them to attain because you served them?


10. If paid $10, but only paid when served others, how well would you do?


11. How do you feel about Jimmy’s comment, “We are never more like Jesus than when we are serving”?


12. What was your best learning from this lesson and how can you apply it today?

 

SESSION ELEVEN: YOUR TOUGHEST LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE

Session Eleven Questions PDF

1. Jimmy stated, “Your toughest leadership challenge is YOU.” Do you agree and how does that make you feel?


2. Is it fair to declare, “If you can’t lead you, then why should anyone let you lead them?”


3. Do you agree that self-leadership precedes successful leadership?


4. How do you react to Dee Hock’s (Founder of VISA) percentages of what direction we should lead (down-15%, across-15%, up-30% and self-40%)?


5. How did the passages from the Bible on self-leadership speak to you?


6. What can you add to Jimmy’s suggestions on how to develop better self-leadership?


7. Where do you need to do a better job at leading yourself?


8. What was your best learning from this lesson and how can you apply it today?

 

SESSION TWELVE: EXEMPLARY LEADERSHIP

Session Twelve Questions PDF

1. Being the right kind of example is one of a leader-worth-following’s most powerful tools for influence. Agree or disagree?


2. Paul, humbly but boldly, challenged people to follow him as he followed Christ. Are you comfortable issuing that same challenge?


3. From the narrative of Paul’s journey to Rome (Acts 27), Jimmy mentioned ten marks of a leader worth following: credibility, initiative, sound judgment, confidence, strengthens others, instills hope, lives convictions, displays courage and perseverance, and motivates and gets results. Which of these are your strengths and weaknesses? Are there other marks that were overlooked?


4. Where can you improve to become more of a leader worth following?


5. What was your best learning from our study together?

 

Part 2: Developing Skills a Leader Worth Following Must Posses…

SESSION ONE: BUILDING TRUST

PART TWO – SESSION ONE QUESTIONS PDF

1. In 2010, a group did a study of the top characteristics of the most admired leaders.


• 85 percent said trustworthy
• 70 percent said visionary
• 69 percent said inspiring or motivating
• 64 percent said competent
Do you agree with this assessment? Why or why not?

2. From reading the scriptures earlier in the chapter, use a few sentences to summarize what God has said in Scripture about trust.


______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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3. We all want to make a difference. We all want to matter. This chapter taught us if we’re going to make a difference in the lives of folks, it’s built on ______________________.


• What do you need to do to build and earn the trust of those who know and love you the most?
• What was your best learning from our study together?

 

SESSION TWO: HELPING OTHERS MOTIVATE THEMSELVES

PART TWO – SESSION TWO QUESTIONS PDF

1. There are some essential triggers that motivate every one of us. Many of these triggers have to do with competency, being able to get things done, and being able to have freedom and autonomy to decide what to do and how to do it. There are basically two types of triggers that motivate us.
• What are your specific Extrinsic Motivators?
• What are your specific Intrinsic Motivators?

2. Do you know who, what, when, and where best energizes and drains you? List each one here.

3. Do you protect your personal margin? Do you rest, exercise, and eat well? Do you stay connected with God? Do you associate with motivated people?

4. If you answered no to any of these questions, what are you going to do to change that so you can help motivate others?

5. Following are seven questions we addressed that you ought to ask ourselves at least once a week concerning the people we are spending most of our time with. Use this as your own personal check list.
• Who will I really care about this week?
• Who will I challenge to grow and achieve this week?
• Who will I recognize and affirm this week?
• How will I connect with someone and explain the larger purpose of what they do in our organization or family?
• Who will I help to have more freedom to do what they do well this week?
• What do I need to do to model for others?
• What can I do to inject some fun and enjoyment this week at home or in the office?

6. What was your best learning from this chapter?

 

SESSION THREE: LIVING AND LEADING WITH GREATER WISDOM

PART TWO – SESSION THREE QUESTIONS PDF

1. How do you avoid making unwise decisions and begin to live and lead with greater wisdom?
2. James 3:13-16 draws a comparison between godly wisdom and ungodly wisdom or the world’s wisdom. What did you learn from this comparison?
3. Wisdom is the application of knowledge combined with _____________, _____________,
_______________, _____________, ____________, ___________, and _________________. Do you use them all to help you make wise decisions? Do you practically apply what you have learned so that you can live the kind of life that’s pleasing to God?
4. Ultimately, we can’t separate godly wisdom and godly character. Godly character shaped by the fruit of the Spirit is what produces wisdom in our lives and what leads us to please God. Where do you find this godly wisdom?
5. Wisdom is available. God wants us to have it. What did you discover that causes you to miss it and make bad or unwise decisions?
6. Develop a habit of asking one of life’s greatest questions. What is that question?
7. Jimmy said: “It’s not just finding wisdom; it’s also having __________.”
8. What was your best learning from this chapter?

 

SESSION FOUR: BUILDING HEALTHY TEAMS

PART TWO – SESSION FOUR QUESTIONS PDF

1. Teams can be some of the greatest and most exhilarating experiences of your life or they can be horrible memories. Which was it for you?


2. No matter how smart, how competent, how capable, how talented, how intelligent, how trained, how experienced each person on the team is individually, you are better in all of those ways as a team. Do you agree or disagree? Explain your answer.


3. What makes a team unhealthy? Are you doing or allowing any of these things within your team?


4. What makes a team healthy? Which ones do you need to start doing for your team?


5. As a team leader, ask yourself if you can honestly say:


Follow my values.
Follow my integrity.
Follow my work ethics.
Follow my commitment.
Follow my communication patterns.
Fight as I fight.
Focus as I focus.
Sacrifice as I sacrifice.
Love as I love.
Admit when you are wrong as I admit when I am wrong.
Endure hardship as I endure hardship.

Which ones do you need to work on?

6. Ask yourself:

Would the men and women on my team willingly follow me if I did not have the power to reward or discipline them?
Do I truly rejoice in their successes and encourage them in their struggles?
Do I share credit for wins and take blame for losses?
Am I doing my best to develop a healthy team?

7. What was your best learning from this chapter?

 

SESSION FIVE: SUCCESS GOD'S WAY

PART TWO – SESSION FIVE QUESTIONS PDF

1. Every facet of our lives is impacted by how we view success, yet it’s something we rarely talk about.


How do you view success?
How do you define it?
How do you think it ought to be measured?

2. How does the world define success?


3. How does God’s value system differ from the world’s value system?


4. How does God measure success?


5. What changes do you need to make to become more dependent, more obedient, and more of a servant to God now that you know what wall to lean your ladder of success against? I asked this question at the end of the chapter. Now write out an answer…


6. What was your best learning from this chapter?

 

Available Feb 22, 2019

Lord, Teach Us to Pray

Non-Fiction

Why should I pray? How should I pray? Many Christians like me wrestle with questions like these, and we aren’t alone in the struggle. This book details my journey of how Jesus answered that request in my own life. From answers to big questions like “what is prayer?”, to practical steps to guide you in your personal prayer time, you will find helpful tools to develop a more consistent and meaningful connection with God in prayer.