The effective leader reminds their team regularly of the mission. Read Mark 13:1-37.

Jesus was in Jerusalem prior to His crucifixion. As He and His disciples were leaving the temple the disciples drew His attention to the beautiful stone work in the temple. This opened the door for Jesus to help His disciples understand more about what would happen in the future to usher in the Kingdom of God. Right in the middle of talking about the birthing pains to establish the Kingdom i.e. wars and rumors of wars and earthquakes, etc., Jesus refocused His disciples on the team’s mission. Verse 10 says, “And the gospel must first be preached to all nations.” In His leadership role Jesus often called attention to the vision of God.

It is a leader’s commitment to a cause that facilitates success. Read Matthew 16:24-26.

The 12 men Jesus picked as His disciples were with Him constantly. He knew the scope of the mission they were part of and as He mentored them He tried to prepare them for what was ahead. Jesus knew the depth of commitment that would be required of these men if they were to have the spiritual and emotional resources to fulfill the mission they had accepted. He knew the assignment they had accepted would not allow room for selfish behavior. Jesus made it clear that unless they committed everything they would lose everything.

Leaders effectively communicate vision when they use terms, examples, and word pictures that their audience can understand. Read Matthew 13:1-52.

Jesus was a master teacher. In His public ministry He often had crowds with varied backgrounds; some educated, some illiterate, some leaders, some laborers, some religious, some agnostic, some who preferred to work with their hands, some who worked with their mind, some honest, and some who did not know what an honest day’s work was. In chapter 13, Jesus uses a style of communication that effectively cast a vision for the Kingdom of Heaven which created a longing in the heart of virtually everyone in the crowd. Jesus’ use of parables and word pictures did not trivialize the profound truths about heaven but captured the imagination and heart and riveted His hearers’ attention on the kingdom He proclaimed.

Every leader has specific motivations that drive their actions. Read Ecclesiastes 4:1-8.

John Maxwell, in The Maxwell Leadership Bible has some very interesting comments on these verses.

An effective leader helps their team to experience the relationship between their contribution and their compensation. Read Proverbs 3:27.

“When it is in your power to act” (v. 27), effective leaders “Do not withhold” “…good from those who deserve it.” These short statements contain three elements that every leader must understand to be effective in their leadership.