You Are a Steward, Not an Owner: The Meaning of Leadership

What is the meaning of leadership? Sometimes, our leaders operate on an outdated definition of leadership. They create a dangerous cult of personality, and we put them on pedestals. When we mistakenly associate leadership with control, we risk looking at followers as a means to an end and money as the ultimate goal.

In this episode, Tim encourages you to rethink the meaning of leadership. Think of it in terms of stewardship. The moment we embrace this mindset, the more we can take care of the people and resources we have been given. As stewards of God, we look at people as unique individuals to serve and approach financial resources as gifts.

Listen to the full episode to find out how you can step into your role as a steward-leader. 

3 Reasons to Listen:

1. Know the meaning of leadership as it relates to being a steward.
2. Learn how to show love, compassion, and understanding to people.
3. Discover and apply the storehouse principle for your financial blessings.

Resources

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• Episode Details

Episode Highlights

[03:53] The Meaning of Leadership

• When we talk about leadership, we tend to focus on the hard skills that it takes to lead and, more recently, servant leadership. 
• However, what is missing in this conversation is stewardship.   
• A leader is a steward, caretaker, and overseer. They should treat the people under their wing and the resources under their management as gifts. 
• All our material possessions and relationships are not ours. We are only caretakers and stewards of these blessings.   
• Having a steward’s mindset sets you up to become a Godly and ultimate leader.  

[07:14] “A leader is a steward, or a caretaker, or an overseer of all that they had been gifted with. . . It’s people, it’s resources, it’s things, it’s possessions — all of the things that you have been blessed with. You are a steward over those things. And that, to me, is what leadership is all about. It's not ownership. It's not that you control or you have total lordship over things. You have been given a gift.”- Click Here to Tweet This

[10:20] Everyone Is a Leader

• We are all called to do great things on this earth. 
• Even if you don’t consider yourself a leader or you don’t see yourself embodying the meaning of leadership.
• However, you’ve been entrusted with several gifts and blessings that you may be unknowingly taking care of.   
• It may also be the case that you’re being groomed to take on leadership roles in the future. 

[12:41] On Better Leaders

• We tend to rank leaders based on their influence or visibility. But being in the limelight doesn’t automatically mean you’re an effective leader.
• If you embrace a steward’s mindset, you can still be a good leader even if you do good deeds without anyone seeing. 
• In the Kingdom of God, the first shall be the last, and the last shall be the first.
• A true leader has a mindset based on stewardship, not ownership. 

[15:06] The Cult of Leadership

• Sometimes,