Brandon W. Jones

One of the best leaders I had while growing up was my youth-group leader.  He was a very kind and loving person.  His position as a leader was not for pay or any other form of monetary gain.  It was a non-profit volunteer position.  One of his greatest qualities was his ability to build strong relationships with those he led.

The way he built strong relationships was that he cared for my peers and me as if we were his own children.  He spent time talking to my peers and me about whatever we wanted to talk about.  He never had his own agenda and never tried to force us to do anything.  On weeknights when we had activities, he would just be “one of the guys” in the sense that as our leader he would never judge us.  He would just be our friend.  Another aspect from being “one of the guys” and our loving leader, was that he was always very concerned about our well-being.  If one of the guys in the group had a rough day or week, he would see their distress and take all the guys out for ice cream.  While getting ice cream, he would take a moment to ask how things were going.  He would show the distressed individual an added measure of love and understanding.

As a leader, he understood his role in helping each individual reach their fullest potential.  His leadership style was to help us set the course, lead by example, and then nudge us in the right direction when necessary to guide us on the correct path.  From his actions, he was able to build strong relationships with each of us.  Once he built strong relationships, he was able to have an impact on how we did things day to day.  His teaching was very powerful because after gaining our trust, we would listen to his guidance and direction, and try to follow him.

From his example, I realized the importance of building strong relationships with those you lead.  Once you build strong relationships, your followers will understand that you have their best interests in mind and will follow you through thick and thin of situations.  The strong relationships act as the glue that holds the team or individuals together.