By Bo Prosser and Charles Qualls

Leaders are not born! Leaders develop through struggles and personal growth. Leaders develop as they come to terms with who they are and who they want to be. Leaders emerge!

The thoughts that follow are written to help "emerging" leaders. We don’t mean to imply that we are experts or have life figured out. After all, experts simply know more and more about less and less! These thoughts simply act as snapshots of where we have been at particular moments as career ministers. We are emerging leaders, too!

Many of these words have come from our mentors. Some have come from life experiences. But most have been learned the hard way—through our own failures and from the failures of others. And, these lessons are still being learned. These words have -per-sonal meaning to us and have helped us in our leadership development.

We feel very deeply that lessons from church life should actually translate to broader fields, which is the way it should be. Business and industry have -discovered that healthy organizations are built on healthy relationships. This is a sound plan for life. While the consistent, considerate approach to human relationships may sound old-fashioned or inefficient, this path does produce quality results. Healthy relationships rarely just happen. They take work and effort, but the journey is worth the investment.

These thoughts and philosophies may seem to con-tra-dict each other at times. They may sound back-ward. Our attempt is not to be overly spiritual or hyperbiblical. In fact, some will be disappointed that this work is not more like a Bible study—we’ll let some-one else tackle that. We don’t intend to preach. We prefer to motivate positive relationships between the reader and co-workers, family members, and -others.

Regardless of how many of these thoughts may follow, countless thousands can be added. We’ve even left some pages blank so you can add some of your own ideas to our collection. Enjoy these words of wisdom. Search for others. Share them. Live with them and by them. You will become more motivated. Your life will change. The choice is yours! Emerge!

#2 Find 1,000 ways to affirm, praise, and appreciate people.
#27 People go where they know, have been prepared for, and are cared for.
#30 Don’t be a manipulator; be a motivator.
#31 There are two kinds of people in life: givers and takers. Be a giver, not a taker. Takers get more than they wanted in the end, including the ire of people around them.
#32 Someone thinks you come on too strongly. Someone thinks you are too meek. Someone thinks you are God’s gift to the organization. Someone will be glad when you are gone.
#41 Listen more than you talk.
#42 When in doubt, ask questions. When questioning, don’t appear to be in doubt.
#57 Be real with people. Laugh with them. Cry with them.
#67 Run no farther ahead of your people than their vision and stamina can allow them to work. Bringing them along slowly beats working without them.
#78 You will be the first to hear some things. Give great care to what you do with what you hear. You will be the last to hear many things. React with grace.
#83 Find a mentor or two. Be a mentor to somebody someday.
#91 Be a lifelong learner..
#100 Meet people where they are. Take people where they need to go.
#104 Assume that your people are wondering, "So what?" They are.
#114 Days filled on your calendar are not the same as fulfilled days on your calendar.
#151 Tell me; I will forget. Show me; I will remember. Involve me; I will understand.
#162 Today is the tomorrow that worried you yesterday. . . . And all is well.
#168 Develop a personal mission statement that is no more than ten words in length and defines what you do.
#169 Develop a logo that is a visual representation of your mission.
#177 Keep a pen and notecards close. You’ll write more relational notes to people who "pop" into your mind if these are handy.

—From Lessons From the Cloth: 501 One-Minute Motivators for Leaders by Bo Prosser & Charles Qualls