I first want to dedicate this blog post to my great uncle, Leroy Nash who just recently passed out away last week. He was a great man and fantastic leader.

2020 has been one chaotic year. We have faced more obstacles and crises this year as a country than some decades as a country. Some of us have lost love ones this year due to sicknesses and unexpected tragedies.

In my first blog, “Born for Such a Time as This,” I wrote about how in the midst of chaos, tragedies, and crises, 2020 is still your year of vision. I concluded we are born for such a time as this. We were born to live in this moment in history. Why? Because we have vision. Vision is not what we see right now, but it is what we want the world to be. We are the solution to what the world needs. I stated, “when a problem arises a solution is nearby.” We have to come to the conclusion that we are the solution and not wait for someone else to fix our problems. Thus, I am not going to further highlight the problems. What I want to focus on now, is highlighting how you can be the solution.

Whenever there is chaos, there is a lack of order, when there is a lack of order, there is a lack of leadership. Thus, in order to fix chaos, you have to look at it from the opposite way. Whenever there is leadership, there will be order, and if there will be order, there will be no chaos. Crisis breeds creativity. So if we want to be a part of the solution and not the problem during these times, we must figure out how to be effective leaders.

Effective leadership is what makes any organization, team, family, and group thrive no matter what the circumstances may be. Crisis breeds creativity. A great leader knows how to be creative even during a crisis to get the job done. When you have a great leader on your team, you have a winning team. In this blog, I am going to show you what it means to be a leader, how to be an effective leader, and how to be an effective leader in the midst of chaos, tragedies, and crises.

So what is leadership? How do you have effective leadership?

John Maxwell defines leadership as “influence, nothing more, nothing less. Everything rises and falls upon leadership.” To further, John Maxwell’s definition of leadership, leadership is influencing others toward a goal and purpose. Based on this definition you can easily conclude, if you are a leader. You have to ask yourself, am I influencing myself and others? If so, you are a leader. Are you achieving results toward your goal or purpose? If so, then you are an effective leader.

In order to become an effective leader, you have to decide that you will be a leader. You have to decide that you will not be silent as your country and city goes array. You have to make a decision that you will be the solution and do something to move the country forward toward the common goal.

Effective leaders can’t be silent in the middle of crisis and chaos. Here is a quote from one of my favorite leaders, Bishop T.D. Jakes, “A child being abused is not only mad at the abuser but mad at the parent who stood silent in the midst of the abuse. In this case, Silence is abuse.The moment we accept that things can’t change it, things won’t get changed.”

History shows us that change can happen, and change will happen if we have effective leadership. Leaders are results driven, not fear living. Leaders offer solutions, not just problems.

After deciding to become a leader you need to exercise three core elements to be an effective leader.

Every effective leader needs three core elements:

1. Confidence
2. Vision
3. Direction

Confidence

After you decide on becoming a leader, you must have confidence in yourself that you can lead. Confidence is believing in yourself and in your potential to accomplish whatever you put your mind to do. People don’t want to follow unconfident people. People will follow people with bad ideas, as long as they are confident. Thus, it is important that if you truly believe your idea will help solve a problem, do whatever it takes to make yourself confident that your idea will work. Trust that even if your ideas don’t work, you will make the right adjustments to figure it out.

Vision

Next, on becoming an effective leader, you need vision. A leaders’ vision is always bigger than themselves. As stated above, vision is seeing what you want to see, not what you currently see. 2020 is still the year of vision, because there are so many problems, we can clearly see how we want the world to be, not what it is. Leaders have to show people where they are going. People want to follow those who have a clear vision about where they want to be and if they are in agreement with your vision, they will follow you wholeheartedly.

Direction

Lastly, on becoming an effective leader, you need direction. Here is a quote, “Leaders’ decisions determine our direction.” Yes, you have to make a decision to be a leader, have confidence, and vision, but if you can’t give me direction for what is the next step toward that vision we can’t follow you. Direction is showing me what is the next step toward our goal. Leaders may change directions many times, but if they are clear on what the next step should be, they will be an effective leader.

Therefore, the ways to become an effective leader is confidence, vision, and direction. Evaluate yourself, are you operating in these three elements. Which part of the elements do you need to work on the most so you can be an effective leader? There are so many more things to add to this list, but these are the three foundational principles to becoming an effective leader.

Now we must answer, how do we become an effective leader in the midst of chaos, tragedies, and crises in greater detail?

You can become an effective leader in the midst of chaos, tragedies, and crises by

1. Focus
2. Knowledge
3. Compromise and provide empathy
4. Offer hope and inspiration,
5. Being about the people, not your personal agenda, and
6. Fighting through criticism.

Focus

Do not focus on too many big issues at once. Take it one step at a time. Prioritize what are the most important needs, who needs the most help, what is good for the majority of society, and focus on people who believe in your vision. Think regionally and locally, not nationally or globally if you can. Be specific as you can to help you identify the problem of the needs of that particular community. Everyone’s issues are different. Once you can identify who you are trying to lead, focus on one area at a time to help you become more effective as a leader. Once you achieve your goal in one area of focus, you can move on to other areas and expand.

Knowledge

Do your research, know what you are talking about. Ignorance can be passed down from generation to generation, and so education is essential to making sure you are leading effectively. The worst kind of leader in the midst of chaos is an ignorant leader. As a leader, you must properly identify the problem, therefore, you can focus on identifying the right solution. If you are unclear about the problem, you won’t have the right solution, which will keep the world in chaos.

Compromise and provide empathy

Every good leader knows no matter how good your vision is you may not get everything you want. Thus, you must look at things from all angles and figure out what is the best solution. We have good and bad people on both sides of every argument. Your ally may not look like you. You have to be willing to step out of your comfort zone, put yourself in the shoes of others to help you reach your vision. One the greatest gifts a leader can offer is empathy. Before you can change people, you have to show you care about people and their needs.

Building bridges means building relationships with people who don’t agree with you.You have to figure out how to meet on a common ground. You don’t have to change who you are and your goal to work with people who are different from you. There are certain things you should never compromise as a leader, such as your identity and vision. However, you need to be clear on what you will not compromise and what are things you will.

Build relationships with people who are different from you while maintaining who you are. One interaction from one person from a different color can drastically change a person’s entire opinion of people from that group. Every effective leader knows how to provide empathy and compromise when necessary.

Offer hope and inspiration.

I don’t care how logical your vision and direction may be, if people don’t have hope things will get better, they will not follow your leadership. The best way to influence is not through force, but inspiration. In every argument, speech, and decision, make sure you are leading your people with vision filled with hope and inspiration, not filled with doom and destruction. When there is chaos, people need to change their hearts and minds from fear. No matter how bad the chaos, crisis, or the tragedy, always, always, and ALWAYS, offer hope and inspire them to a better future. If you do this, you are becoming an effective leader in the midst of chaos, tragedies, and crises.

Be about the people, not your personal agenda.

As people begin to follow these steps given above, people will follow you. However, you have to stay consistent in your message and solution. Don’t let leadership fill your ego, but fill your passion for the solution. It is not just about you. We need you to be an effective leader so that your entire generation, the next generation, and the next generation can be greatly impacted by your leadership. The world is the way it is now because of effective leaders. We are benefiting from their leadership. Thus, it is our duty and responsibility to not abuse our leadership, but keep it tailored toward our goal so we can eventually affect the world.

Fight through criticism

You can’t win everyone and help everybody issues. You can’t wait for everyone to agree with your decisions as a leader. Jesus threatened a power structure, by making controversial statements, and they killed him. However, over 2,000 years later Jesus’ impact is still running rapidly across the world with committed followers. Every leader gets criticized. Every leader will face some sort of persecution. As soon as you make a decision to be a leader, you will have negative feedback. However, because leaders believe in themselves, their vision, and the direction that everyone should take, they stand firm in their decisions. Leaders push through hurt, pain, and criticism, because they care more about the people and the results than their personal struggles.

In this blog, I showed you the solution to this world’s need right now is effective leadership. I explained what leadership means, how to achieve effective leadership by three core elements, and how to obtain effective leadership in the midst of chaos, crisis, and tragedies by six principles. There are no perfect leaders, but it is always the perfect time for leadership.