You are a leader. Most of us will react to this title by claiming, “I am not a leader,” but a leader is someone that makes decisions, takes action, and can motivate somebody to do something. Few of us make it through the first minute of the day without doing all that. You lead the most important person in your life — you. The Urantia Book calls this “self-mastery.” Then, you lead your family, co-workers, and all those around you by the things you say and do. During our daily life, all of us lead in some things and we are led in others. I found this quote from Peter Drucker on the Internet about leadership: “ No institution can possibly survive if it needs geniuses or supermen to manage it. It must be organized in such a way as to be able to get along under a leadership composed of average human beings.”
The truth is that most people WANT to be led. We don’t like being told what to do but we like it when someone establishes clear goals and objectives, assigns tasks, and encourages us to succeed. When people are given a task and they accomplish that task, the sense of accomplishment builds their confidence, feelings of self-worth, and inspires them to do more. Everyone wants to feel important. Everyone wants to contribute. The best way to make someone feel important is give him or her the opportunity to contribute. People want to be led so don’t be afraid to lead.
Asking someone to do something says, “You have something we need. You are important to what we are doing;” you have value and worth. Wasn’t this Jesus’ attitude toward those he met? We often complain about “nobody doing anything” but the real problem is that most people don’t know what to do or they know what to do and how to do it but need to be asked. They may be perfectly willing and hope to be asked but they won’t step out of their comfort zone unless you ask them directly. Send an email to the UAI list saying, “We need someone to volunteer to help us with something,” and all you hear are crickets chirping. But ask someone directly, who has the skills, and they will usually respond positively. I still remember the day 12 years ago that Dorothy Elder called and asked me to be a teacher for UBIS. Had she just put out the call for teachers I never would have responded but because she took the time to ask me directly I said yes. And, this led to one of the greatest experiences of my life as a teacher/facilitator for UBIS. People want to contribute so don’t be afraid to personally and directly ask them to.
Good leaders expect results. What good is someone who is just a warm body placeholder in any organization or on any team? A leader holds people accountable. That doesn’t mean that you have to be dictatorial or demanding. I think rather it means to communicate and be persistent. I f someone says they will do something and will have it done by next Tuesday, a leader will call them on Wednesday and ask how the project is going. I f there is a delay, ok, what can I do to help? Leaders look for ways to succeed rather than hope for reasons to fail. A leader expects results and finds ways to get them. A leader expects and gets results. A great leader can get results because people want to do good for them. What is it The Urantia Book says about wanting to do good for someone? Can you think of one major accomplishment that was achieved by a leader without a team? Name one leader who never accomplished anything.
Too often, and I am guilty here myself, we are so afraid of conflict that we let things slide. I don’t want to pressure anyone. I don’t want to cause a problem. But avoiding minor problems often festers into major conflicts. Speak up when things are small. Don’t ignore the little things. Little things are important too. Address the little problems while they are still little. And never try to solve a problem through email! Pick up the phone or go see the person. A good leader is patient, supportive, and understanding but a leader also puts the mission and the team ahead of the individual. Arnold Glasow says that, “One of the tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency.” Let me add that they have the courage to deal with a situation before it becomes a crisis.
In one of my leadership training classes the instructor said, “What we ignore we accept. What we accept we encourage.” He gave the example of someone coming in one minute late to work. I f the start time is 8 am but the person comes in at 8:01 am and the boss says nothing then the real start time is 8:01 am. Soon, everyone will be coming in at 8:01 am. But, if the boss just simply asks something like, “I see you were a minute late this morning did you have car trouble?” this sends a gentle message that the boss noticed that you where one minute late. The boss did not ignore it and therefore did not accept it and so did not encourage it. Gentle leadership is usually the most effective and appreciated.
When you do get results never hesitate to show appreciation for a job well done. Everyone wants to feel important and nothing does that better than accomplishing something and getting recognized for it. Leaders are quick to praise; slow to criticize. Leaders praise in public; criticize in private. At our job or business we can motivate people with money or praise but we can also motivate employees with fear of losing their job or losing money. In a volunteer organization, our sources of motivation come from within the volunteer. A volunteer works toward a goal because they believe in the mission or they want to be part of the team. It is these internal values of the individuals that must be fed in order to motivate a volunteer. If we try to use pressure or criticism or fear to motivate a volunteer, they can just walk away. A good leader will find what motivates each person and then use that to reap the benefits of the person’s skills and talents. This only works if you are sincere about your appreciation and praise.
On the other hand, if you want good leaders, please think twice before you send that fire filled email when you disagree. Remember that all of us are volunteers, imperfect mortals, trying to do the best we can. Leaders are people too and have feelings. Most long-time leaders have thick skins (at least publicly) but before you suspect a leader’s motivation you should discover that motivation calmly and in a friendly loving manner. Every time someone blasts a leader in an email or conversation they discourage the future leaders. Why would anyone want to put up with getting blasted by inconsiderate people? I don’t mean that you should agree with everything every leader does but if you want good leaders, take care of the ones we have and remember that your future leaders are watching too. Leaders don’t need to use sarcasm or personal attacks if there is truth in what they are saying.
As with most mortal experiences the things that we think we know well are often the things we most misunderstand. I think we tend to feel that someone with a strong ego is a born leader because they seem to enjoy telling people what to do and when to do it. They have supreme confidence in their actions and opinions. While a quiet team player working in the background without public notice is usually overlooked as a leader. A good leader gets people to follow their lead without them realizing they are being led because the real motivation comes from within the person, not from the actions of the leader. The person will think they did it themselves or that it was their idea.
It is easy to see that someone like UAI President, Gaetan Charland, is a leader because he inspires us to action. We can see the members of the ISB or the national and local governing boards of associations as leaders because they have stepped up to do something. Those who host study groups are certainly leaders. The staff and Trustees of Urantia Foundation have given their personal time, energy, and money for this revelation. They are leaders too. When you talk to others about some concept or teaching from the book, you are a leader. What was it that Jesus said to the Apostles? “Follow me.” Now that is a true leader. He did not push them ahead of himself. He did not gripe at them until they got up and went along. He just offered the invitation “Follow me” and because they loved him they went.
Leaders come in many forms. Some people lead with a vision or dream that inspires people. Others lead by seeing the end of a project from the beginning and all the steps from point A to point B. We just need to be sure we put the dreamers in charge of producing the vision and concepts of whatever we are trying to achieve and put the detail people in charge of organizing and prioritizing. The visionaries and organizers for any project are seen as leaders but the person who quietly sets up the chairs at an event or prints the handouts is a leader too. The key word being “action.” Choosing to serve and taking action is leadership. Choosing to serve without action is not leadership.
Action is often preceded with hesitation, anxiety, and often includes mistakes. As UAI Administrator, I have made my share of mistakes and know whereof I speak about hesitation and anxiety. There is no shortage of people waiting to pounce on those who do take action and choose to lead. Those who are quick to criticize should think about the damage their harsh words do not only to our leaders but also to those who are working up the courage to lead. What makes a leader? The courage and commitment to see something that needs done and then doing it is leadership. Whether the task is large or small, a true leader acts. In this life, we are just beginning to learn to be leaders. Why is that important? Please read to the end of this article.
Some leaders are considered powerful leaders because they may rule through fear and intimidation. Why was Hitler such a powerful leader? Because he assembled a team that used fear and violence to impose Hitler’s will. Hitler was no doubt a powerful leader. He was first considered a great leader but then through evil become merely a powerful leader. Some “leaders” use their personality and bluster to lead. I have seen CEO ’s of big companies use fear and intimidation to lead. “The beatings will continue until morale improves” is not a form of good leadership. A true leader makes people want to work for them and with them.
Not everyone given the opportunity to lead at a certain level can be a leader at that level. In the steel business, I have heard it said that people are promoted to their lowest level of incompetence. Meaning that people rise until they get to a position they cannot handle anymore. My supervisor in the steel mill where I work is very good at what he does but is terrible at people skills. When an environmental or legal issue comes up, he is the guy you want on your side. When a personnel issue comes up he cannot make a decision and when stressed uses fear and intimidation in the form of write-ups and firings to handle the situation. He was promoted because of his technical skills into a position that requires people skills. We need to keep this in mind when building our teams. If we put the wrong person into the wrong position, they will become overwhelmed and fail even though, had they been using their real strengths and talents, they would have been very successful. We need to keep this in mind for ourselves too. Know when to say “no” to an opportunity.
Some people are dreamers and visionaries and some people are organizers and detail oriented. You don’t want a dreamer in charge of organization and you don’t want an engineer in charge of developing a vision. Don’t put a square peg into a round hole. You don’t want to use a screwdriver to hammer a nail. One of the tasks of a leader is to put other leaders into the right slots or just as importantly keep people from volunteering for things that don’t match their abilities. When this happens, the person becomes overwhelmed and usually either fails or quits. This is unfortunate because that person is then wasted or lost. Many times I think in a volunteer organization we are so thrilled when someone does step forward that we don’t assess his or her skills for the task at hand. Then we end up with an unhappy servant or just a warm body filling a position. On the other hand, we need to know ourselves and only volunteer for those things that we are truly capable of doing. Sure, sometimes when we step out of our comfort zone we grow and some opportunities allow for that but we need to know when those opportunities will benefit us without the potential of harm to the project or the team.
My lead man at work is very good at what he knows and he is a hard worker. However, he has little respect among the workers because he doesn’t accomplish anything. This is because he cannot make a decision for fear of offending someone and because he cannot say “no.” When I ask if I should do “this”, he says “yes.” When someone else says, “We should do “that” rather than this”, he says “yes.” When anyone asks him if he can do something for them he says “yes.” The result is that he seems to have no clue what he is doing, cannot make a decision, and he becomes overloaded with other people’s responsibilities. His skills, talents, and leadership is then lost. He becomes frustrated, hates his job, and no doubt will end up quitting.
If we look at leaders who are most respected we find that they are often quiet, humble team players who know how to encourage and inspire people to accomplish a goal. They stay focused on their mission. These leaders often rise to celebrity status more for who they are rather than what they do.
Look at someone like Billy Graham. All through his career he has maintained his humble dependence upon God and being a servant. His work is not about Billy Graham but about what God can do in our lives. I often disagree with some of his message but I greatly admire his leadership. His wife, Ruth, was a great leader too. She led the family so that Billy could stay focused on mission. She was a great woman leader and we need more of those in the Urantia movement — not just supporting the men in their roles but to step up as study group hosts, association governing board members, and teachers and leaders of this revelation. I am sure that you can think of leaders who fit both of these examples. The Governing Board of our Andes association is all women. Susan Owen serves as a leader on our International Service Board and does a grand job for this revelation. Line St-Pierre is a leader that I have personally seen in action. And, there are many others — Cathy, Dorothy, Tamara, Sheila, Betty and on and on. We need more.
Our Father in Paradise is the ultimate leader. He is above all. When we look at what a great leader is, He should be the first on our list of examples. Of course, our best tool for learning from his example is The Urantia Book.
…the Universal Father does not exercise his infinite power and final authority by direct transmittal but rather through his Sons and their subordinate personalities. And God does all this of his own free will. Any and all powers delegated, if occasion should arise, if it should become the choice of the divine mind, could be exercised direct; but, as a rule, such action only takes place as a result of the failure of the delegated personality to fulfill the divine trust. At such times and in the face of such default and within the limits of the reservation of divine power and potential, the Father does act independently and in accordance with the mandates of his own choice; and that choice is always one of unfailing perfection and infinite wisdom. [Paper 3:5, page 50:6]
A great leader is not someone who tries to do everything themselves. They entrust and empower others to do those things that need to be done. But, they are also not afraid to take back the responsibility should the need arise. They believe in those that serve but they also believe in themselves. God only does those things that only God can do unless those that he entrusted with certain decisions fail to live up to that trust. So, a great leader TRUSTS those that they lead.
The Father rules through his Sons; on down through the universe organization there is an unbroken chain of rulers ending with the Planetary Princes, who direct the destinies of the evolutionary spheres of the Father’s vast domains. [Paper 3:5, page 51:1]
We see that the ultimate leader reserves final authority and decision making for Himself. God could make all the decisions but he delegates the decision making to those below him in the org chart of the universe. This puts the problem solving as close to the problems as possible. The CEO of a company doesn’t make decisions about buying pencils for the secretaries — or at least they shouldn’t. The further the decision maker is from the decision that needs to be made, the less information they have to make an informed decision. This is why I like the way UAI is structured. The real work of UAI is done by the members of the local associations. The national level, the Judicial Commission, the International Service Board, and the Representative Council serve to encourage, empower, and support the activities of the local associations and their members.
With divine selflessness, consummate generosity, the Universal Father relinquishes authority and delegates power, but he is still primal; his hand is on the mighty lever of the circumstances of the universal realms; he has reserved all final decisions and unerringly wields the all-powerful veto scepter of his eternal purpose with unchallengeable authority over the welfare and destiny of the outstretched, whirling, and ever-circling creation. [Paper 3:6, page 52:4]
A great leader has no ego problem. They can hand off responsibilities without feeling lessened. They want to share their responsibility, opportunity, and rewards with those on the team. A great leader though also has the courage and strength to step in and speak up when the welfare of the team and those they serve is threatened. A great leader has COURAGE . A great leader has LOVE for his teammates and those they serve.
Therefore, when the Father and the Son unite to personalize a Creator Son, they achieve their purpose; but the Creator Son thus brought into existence is never able to transmit or delegate the prerogatives of creatorship to the various orders of Sons which he may subsequently create,… [Paper 6:5, page 77:7]
A leader must know how and when to delegate and who to delegate tasks to. Not all that a leader is responsible for, however, can or should be delegated to others. A s someone above me delegates tasks to me, I can and should delegate some of those tasks to others but I also must retain responsibility for those things that are best done by me. I must take responsibility for those things that I delegate to others too. A great leader will share the credit but accept the blame even if it isn’t their own.
The Universal Father delegates everything possible to his Eternal Son; likewise does the Eternal Son bestow all possible authority and power upon the Conjoint Creator. [Paper 8:3, page 93:4]
The Eternal Son and the Conjoint Creator have, as partners and through their co-ordinate personalities, planned and fashioned every post-Havona universe which has been brought into existence. The Spirit sustains the same personal relation to the Son in all subsequent creation that the Son sustains to the Father in the first and central creation. There is inherent in the selfless, loving, and lovable nature of the Universal Father something which causes him to reserve to himself the exercise of only those powers and that authority which he apparently finds it impossible to delegate or to bestow. [Paper 8:3, page 93:5]
We see throughout the universes this pattern of delegating those things that we cannot do ourselves and retaining only those things that we can do.
The Universal Father all along has divested himself of every part of himself that was bestowable on any other Creator or creature. He has delegated to his divine Sons and their associated intelligences every power and all authority that could be delegated. He has actually transferred to his Sovereign Sons, in their respective universes, every prerogative of administrative authority that was transferable. In the affairs of a local universe, he has made each Sovereign Creator Son just as perfect, competent, and authoritative as is the Eternal Son in the original and central universe. He has given away, actually bestowed, with the dignity and sanctity of personality possession, all of himself and all of his attributes, everything he possibly could divest himself of, in every way, in every age, in every place, and to every person, and in every universe except that of his central indwelling. [Paper 10:1, page 108:5]
A true leader gives opportunities to serve to others and trusts them to do them. Harvey Firestone once said that, “The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership.” As God has made each Creator Son perfect, competent, and responsible for the tasks given to them, a true leader will also provide for the training and teaching of the leaders and servants below them. A true leader doesn’t just dump their problems on you but gives you the training and tools to help you do them and then the trust and the freedom to do them and learn from them. This is a driving concept behind the UAI 2011 Leadership Symposium. We seek to encourage and empower people to serve this revelation and the readers of The Urantia Book but we realized that the skills and training to do that was often left to the individual. We want to train the teachers and leaders of this revelation to do those things that they are being led to do. If you are a leader, please join us in training future leaders by attending this event. If you are not yet ready to lead at this level, then please support our efforts to train teachers and leaders.
Divine personality is not self-centered; self-distribution and sharing of personality characterize divine freewill selfhood. Creatures crave association with other personal creatures; Creators are moved to share divinity with their universe children; the personality of the Infinite is disclosed as the Universal Father, who shares reality of being and equality of self with two co-ordinate personalities, the Eternal Son and the Conjoint Actor. [Paper 10:1, page 109:1]
I think Paper IV tells us a lot about leadership by revealing God’s relationship to the Universe. From Section 4 of that paper, “4. God’s Relation to a Local Universe.”
Do not entertain the idea that, since the Universal Father has delegated so much of himself and his power to others, he is a silent or inactive member of the Deity partnership. Aside from personality domains and Adjuster bestowal, he is apparently the least active of the Paradise Deities in that he allows his Deity co-ordinates, his Sons, and numerous created intelligences to perform so much in the carrying out of his eternal purpose. He is the silent member of the creative trio only in that he never does aught which any of his co-ordinate or subordinate associates can do. [Paper 32:4, page 362:5]
This tells me that as leaders, we shouldn’t try to do it all ourselves. Perhaps we lead the most by letting others lead and trusting those that we delegate tasks to. Never should we impose on our teammates except for the good of the mission, team, and those we serve. Leaders must be PATIENT. Team members need to grow and kick around ideas that at first may seem weak. But a good leader will give his team time, tools, and space to develop their part of the project until it evolves into the best it can be. A quote from General George Patton says, “Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.”
God has full understanding of the need of every intelligent creature for function and experience, and therefore, in every situation, be it concerned with the destiny of a universe or the welfare of the humblest of his creatures, God retires from activity in favor of the galaxy of creature and Creator personalities who inherently intervene between himself and any given universe situation or creative event. But notwithstanding this retirement, this exhibition of infinite co-ordination, there is on God’s part an actual, literal, and personal participation in these events by and through these ordained agencies and personalities. The Father is working in and through all these channels for the welfare of all his far-flung creation. [Paper 32:4, page 362:6]
A leader lets his team grow and learn. Communication is the most powerful tool — a successful leader of a successful team can communicate the goals and objectives, the tasks that need to be done, who is responsible for doing them, and when they need to be done.
While the Universal Father most certainly rules over his vast creation, he functions in a local universe administration through the person of the Creator Son. The Father does not otherwise personally function in the administrative affairs of a local universe. These matters are intrusted to the Creator Son and to the local universe Mother Spirit and to their manifold children. The plans, policies, and administrative acts of the local universe are formed and executed by this Son, who, in conjunction with his Spirit associate, delegates executive power to Gabriel and jurisdictional authority to the Constellation Fathers, System Sovereigns, and Planetary Princes. [Paper 33:0, page 366:1]
“As in each of your previous bestowals, I would remind you that I am recipient of your universe jurisdiction as brother-trustee. I exercise all authority and wield all power in your name. I function as would our Paradise Father and in accordance with your explicit request that I thus act in your stead. And such being the fact, all this delegated authority is yours again to exercise at any moment you may see fit to requisition its return.” [Paper 120:1, page 1,326:3]
We know that the ascension plan leads us to the Corp of Finality as surviving mortals of the material realms. Paper 31, “The Corps of the Finality,” reveals that as Finaliters we are destined to be leaders.
We have no idea as to the nature of the future organization of this extraordinary group, but the Finaliters are now wholly a self-governing body. They choose their own permanent, periodic, and assignment leaders and directors. No outside in influence can ever be brought to bear upon their policies, and their oath of allegiance is only to the Paradise Trinity. [Paper 31:0, page 345:12]
The Finaliters maintain their own headquarters on Paradise, in the superuniverses, in the local universes, and on all the divisional capitals. They are a separate order of evolutionary creation. We do not directly manage them or control them, and yet they are absolutely loyal and always co-operative with all our plans. They are indeed the accumulating tried and true souls of time and space — the evolutionary salt of the universe — and they are forever proof against evil and secure against sin. [Paper 31:0, page 346:1]
Why should you be a leader? I believe that a Divine Counselor and One without Name and Number tell us why in Paper 31:
We venture the forecast of future and greater outer universes of inhabited worlds, new spheres peopled with new orders of exquisite and unique beings, a material universe sublime in its ultimacy, a vast creation lacking in only one important detail — the presence of actual finite experience in the universal life of ascendant existence. Such a universe will come into being under a tremendous experiential handicap: the deprivation of participation in the evolution of the Almighty Supreme. These outer universes will all enjoy the matchless ministry and supernal overcontrol of the Supreme Being, but the very fact of his active presence precludes their participation in the actualization of the Supreme Deity. [Paper 31:10, page 353:7]
One thing I will never claim to be is a Urantia Book scholar. I am a student of The Urantia Book but let me share what I think this means. Beyond the organized and inhabited Grand Universe are the uninhabited but mobilizing universes of outer space. These are at least seventy thousand physical universes, each of which is greater than any one of the present superuniverses — the current inhabited universes. The Supreme Being is currently evolving into existence as a result of our experiential contributions (the things we experience, the things we do, and the decisions we make) to that evolution. Since the uninhabited universes do not have experience, they do not contribute to the creation of the Supreme Being. Once the Supreme Being has been fully created then those beings coming after that cannot contribute experience or benefit from the experiential evolution of the Supreme Being. This is where you and I come in.
During the present universe age the evolving personalities of the grand universe suffer many difficulties due to the incomplete actualization of the sovereignty of God the Supreme, but we are all sharing the unique experience of his evolution. We evolve in him and he evolves in us. Sometime in the eternal future the evolution of Supreme Deity will become a completed fact of universe history, and the opportunity to participate in this wonderful experience will have passed from the stage of cosmic action. [Paper 31:10, page 353:8]
But those of us who have acquired this unique experience during the youth of the universe will treasure it throughout all future eternity. And many of us speculate that it may be the mission of the gradually accumulating reserves of the ascendant and perfected mortals of the Corps of the Finality, in association with the other six similarly recruiting corps, to administer these outer universes in an effort to compensate their experiential deficiencies in not having participated in the time-space evolution of the Supreme Being. [Paper 31:10, page 353:9]
Once we reach the Corp of Finality and the Supreme Being comes fully into existence, then we will take all that we have learned, all that we have experienced, and all that we are out into this vast universe to LEAD those that will inhabit this vast interstellar creation. Did you get that? Ok, stop, backup, and read that again. Just as spiritual beings come down to minister (teach and lead) us, we will someday do that for those who inhabit the now organizing and uninhabited worlds of the universe of universes.
These deficiencies are inevitable on all levels of universe existence. During the present universe age we of the higher levels of spiritual existences now come down to administer the evolutionary universes and minister to the ascending mortals, thus endeavoring to atone for their deficiencies in the realities of the higher spiritual experience. [Paper 31:10, page 353:10]
It is increasingly the belief of all Uversa that the assembling Corps of the Finality are destined to some future service in the universes of outer space,… [Paper 31:10, page 354:5]
So, don’t just take my word for it.
Evolutionary mortals are born on the planets of space, pass through the morontia worlds, ascend the spirit universes, traverse the Havona spheres, find God, attain Paradise, and are mustered into the primary Corps of the Finality, therein to await the next assignment of universe service. There are six other assembling Finality corps, but Grandfanda, the first mortal ascender, presides as Paradise chief of all orders of finaliters. And as we view this sublime spectacle, we all exclaim: What a glorious destiny for the animal-origin children of time, the material sons of space! [Paper 31:10, page 354:6]
Still think you are not a leader?
In one of my favorite movies, Gladiator, Russell Crowe said, “What we do in this life echoes in eternity.” ( I swear that is in The Urantia Book somewhere too.) If we know that someday we may serve as the leader of our own world, then should we not start practicing today and learning to be a great leader? No doubt that our Father’s ultimate purpose for us will involve leadership. If we truly wish to serve our fellow man and demonstrate our love for God, we should take every opportunity to step up to the level of responsibility, service, and leadership that the Angels and our Thought Adjusters place before us. We should have the courage to lead in whatever capacity we can at whatever level we serve and to so to the best of our ability. We should accept our shortcomings and failures as learning experiences but never fail because we failed to try.
A good leader appeals to the heart of those they lead. A good leader motivates others through the personal relationship they have with them. “How are your kids? Is your son still playing baseball? Is your mom doing better?” Things like that mean a lot to people. They say “I care about you.” and that make people want to be part of your team. Communication builds relationships. The more you communicate the stronger your relationship. When you are young you have a close relationship with your parents because you speak to them every day. Stay in touch with your team. Build close personal relationships and those relationships will build a strong team that accomplishes much.
Don’t quit. A good leader doesn’t quit just because they don’t get their way or because obstacles or misunderstandings pop up. A real leader is the last one off the field at the end of practice. A real leader works to solve problems and is flexible enough to allow others to shine their light on some project. A good leader doesn’t have to control every detail; that is why you have a team. A leader can guide and motivate others to follow the path they are leading everyone down but a leader can also see a better way when it presents itself.
A great leader is creative and can make even the most difficult task fun and interesting. Don’t take yourself too seriously. The work is important but the people are more important. Give those you lead the opportunities to grow and experience leadership too. If you control everything then everyone will let you do everything. Give someone a task and them watch them grow. Water and nurture and add some “sunshine” and watch them grow. A real leader will be more proud of the people involved than what the people accomplished.
Leadership comes in many forms and at many levels. The person who decides to make the coffee or take out the trash is also a leader and we need people like that too. We need leaders to give presentations and lead workshops at our events. We need people of financial means to support our activities for this revelation. Above all else, we need your prayers and guidance as we seek to serve our Father and our fellow mortals of Urantia. Let me in conclusion encourage you and your study group to take up the topic of “Leadership” as we are doing at the UAI 2011 Leadership Symposium. Read what The Urantia Book has to say about personal leadership, spiritual leadership, and organizational leadership.