Courage: An Indispensable Attribute of a Leader

Welcome to Leadership Talk. Today we are conversing on courage as an indispensable attribute that every leader should have and that courage is born from our identity.

Transcript:

Pastor Jojo: Welcome to Leadership Talk podcast. My name is Jojo Gonsalves and I’m going to be your host for this podcast for this year. This is the place where we understand about leadership, the traits of a leader and also a place where we help you grow as a leader.

Apostle Priji: Thank you Jo. Its an honour to be here and I’m sure this podcast will help people to be better leaders at home, secular places, workplaces and Christian environment.

Pastor Jojo: Everybody is a leader. There is an element of leadership that we all have to portray wherever we are. What is that one indispensable character that a leader should have?

Apostle Priji: One of the things that I feel the Lord has been teaching me personally is the importance of courage. Every leader should have courage. You cannot have a leader who is timid, fearful and driven by all the problems and the need surrounding them. Courage is not born because you are able or capable. Courage is born because of your identity. Knowing who you are and what you are made off. If you don’t have your identity in the right place then you will not be able to function in courage. Courage is one of those things that every leader needs to have; if you don’t take risk, how would you inspire people to do things differently. Leaders are the one who are constantly inventing, discovering and in that process, they do things which is a role model for others.

Pastor Jojo: Absolutely. What should be the source that someone should ideally look for in the area of courage?

Apostle Priji: If we have our identity in the right place, then it is easy to be courageous and stay focused and function in that courage. However, our identity cannot be in ourselves! If our identity is on what the Lord has spoken to us then that becomes the source of our courage. If your ultimate courage is from the voice that is greater than you, that is the best source of courage. If you don’t have courage you are bound to fail; you are bound to run back when you are faced with opposition!

Pastor Jojo: There is a lack of risk-taking ability in this current generation; how can we encourage people to take risk?

Apostle Priji: The courage we are talking about is not just about boldness; it is bigger than boldness. It is something spiritual; it has to come from a place a source that is greater than you. Peter took a big risk to walk on the water; Peter saw the source Jesus who was above him and believed that if Jesus can walk on the water then he will also be able to do the same; but the second thing was that Peter asked Jesus, if Jesus would speak a word and say come; then Peter will also get off the boat and walk. There were other disciples who were sitting comfortably, and there was only one guy who took the risk.

Two things we can learn from this is: First: have the right example, a right model; people who you would imitate. Second: the need for the blessing/ a need to have the voice of God/ voice of a leader.

Pastor Jojo: Isn’t there a thin line between being courageous and being foolish?

Apostle Priji: I think the place where we become foolish is when we see Peter doing it and we get excited and we also jump out of the boat without having our eyes on Jesus, without having heard the word “come”. Peter heard the word “come”, that was his revelation. He asked for it, he demanded for it, he received it and then he walked.

The question is, “Is your courage coming from the right source?”

Pastor Jojo: You rightly said that we need to be inspired, we need to have heard the voice of God. Can this be a contagious thing? Is courage contagious?

Apostle Priji: Courage is contagious and so is fear. Courage is something that can inspire people and so can fear. The bible says that how when David went for battle, everyone else were hiding, scared of Goliath. But the moment David brought down Goliath, immediately the entire army charged at the Philistine. One act of David inspired so many others and they immediately became courageous.

Pastor Jojo: We have the capacity to inspire a generation.

Apostle Priji: We are coming out of pandemic where fear was infused from every direction. The more we emphasize how big the problem is, the more it will have authority and stop us from fulfilling what the Lord has called us to do.

Pastor Jojo: How do approach a situation and help someone who has taken a courageous decision but down the line have found themselves to be at a place where they are seeing failure?

Apostle Priji: There are two aspects to making decisions. One is passion and the other is the plan. Courage falls under the passion part; people need the risk factor. Some of us have it but we lack the plan. We lack the part where we are sitting down to strategize. On the other hand, we are strategizing so much that we fail to take the risk. Both sides of the coin are dangerous.

Do not stop taking risk. One of the biggest reasons for courage to be drained out of our lives is past failures. If someone has failed in business, they will never want to venture into business again. Sometimes the areas where we are hurt, where we have observed challenges, its very hard to take a risk in those same field.

I really feel that if you want to be a leader then courage has to be a part and parcel of every decision you take. You have to step into zones where other people have not stepped into.

Pastor Jojo: I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation.

Apostle Priji: We are having a video format also and I hope it will bless people.

Pastor Jojo: I hope everyone who is listening is blessed by this conversation. If you have any question on this topic or any topic that you would want to be discussed, do send it at [email protected]; Also if you feel like being mentored by Apostle Priji, then do write to us, we can help you find a mentor in your location itself.

Apostle Priji: We are excited to hear from you and hoping that you would subscribe to this podcast and share it to your friends.

Pastor Jojo: Thank you Apostle. God bless you everyone.