We began last week talking about the 4 quadrants or pillars of Leadership.

• Personal leadership
• Family leadership
• Community and civic leadership
• Vocational leadership or influence

In this episode, we look at the importance and power of community involvement, and how your JOB/CAREER positions you for significant influence in the marketplace.

What does it look like for a man, for a woman, for a young person to be engaged in impacting the culture around them? What does it mean to exercise leadership and influence in culture, government, neighborhoods, and the business arena? Let’s explore this together.

I was raised in a very strong Christian church type environment. One of the things that we were taught maybe indirectly but still it was there was that when you become a Christian, when you become a church person, you sort of abandon all the other elements of culture.

Entertainment … not your concern.

Hollywood … not your concern.

Business … not your concern.

Government … not your concern.

In a sense, the people that should be administering high levels of influence in these various spheres of culture have abdicated their responsibility and just isolated themselves just doing the deal over here as good Christians.

I want to challenge you today to think about something. The world is going to look exactly like the influence you give it. If you disengage or choose not to be the leader in your community, civic organization, government, or whatever sphere you’re called to administer influence in, what happens? If you choose just to say, “No, that’s not my deal … I’m not going to worry about that,” then you abdicate your responsibility, and we give that over to other powers and other ideas and other special interest groups, and they’re going to influence that sphere, and it might not be the way you like it.

Here’s the piece. You can’t complain about policies and laws being passed in Washington, D.C. if you’re not involved in the process. You can’t complain about what’s happening at your son’s high school or your daughter’s high school if you’re involved in the school board or if you’re not inserting yourself into the mix, if you’re not letting your voice be heard. You cannot complain about what’s happening around you in culture or on TV or in Hollywood or in the movies and all of those things, you can’t complain about those things if you’ve chosen to remove yourself from the game.

I talk a lot in my work about the seven spheres of cultural influence. Very simply, they are religion, the family, arts and entertainment, business and finance, communications, government, and education. These areas are the foundation; the epicenters of where everything happens in culture. Nations are built around those seven cornerstones.

Somebody is influencing the thinking. Someone is leading in those spheres. Someone is setting the agenda for where those parts of culture are going to head. Why not you? If we’re going to have the life we want, the future we want, if we want our grandchildren to be guaranteed and assured a wonderful nation, a wonderful future wherever you are in the world, I’m telling you it’s time for you and I to accept our responsibility and re-engage these areas and become leaders in our communities, leaders in our nations.

We must take on the responsibility in order to see the change we desire to have happen.

LET’S TALK ABOUT VOCATION

The prevailing mindset for 100 years has been … Go to high school, get your diploma, go to college, get your degree, get a good job, pick a career, and just stick with that the rest of your life. If one looks at the evidence, it would seem that way of thinking has not produced great results in this world, whether individually or culturally.

I tend to subscribe to the idea that you identify your passions, your dreams, the things that really get you excited, and those things drive the direction you go. But here’s the thing. That passion, that drive, that interest most often is going to be related to a certain people group.

When I talk about your vocational leadership, what I’m really asking is: What people group are you called to serve? In my case, I’m really drawn to serving entrepreneurs and leaders; anyone who is aspiring to be an influencer. I really feel like God’s equipped me to come alongside of them in various seasons of their life and pour into them and help them to become bigger, to grow into a greater capacity, to be launched into a different place of influence. That’s what I do, and that’s what I love doing.

What people group am I called to serve?” My vocational leadership emphasis is always applied to those leaders that need what I have. As yourself these questions:

1. What do you have to offer?
2. What people group do you feel as though you’re called to serve?
3. In your past experiences, where do you see the highest and best results?

If you think about the people you’ve served and helped along the way, what are some of the big testimonials that rise to the level of, “Okay, man, when I did that thing, that worked. It made a difference”. I want you to be thinking about your vocational leadership in the context of those three questions because it is a combination of the passions, the gifts, the talents, the skills, the dreams you have with the people you seem to be drawn to the most. Put that together, and you’ll begin to understand more about your leadership as it relates to vocational leadership.

I hope this series has helped you. Here’s what I want you to know. There are four pillars to leadership. Don’t focus just on one. You have to look at the entire picture.

• Deal with you first.
• Lead your family. Serve them well.
• Be involved in your community, in your nation, and in the broad scheme of things culturally.
• Then look especially at what people group am I called to serve and how can I best serve them.

Here’s the deal. The world needs you. You are a leader.

You say, “Brian, I’m not a leader.” No, you are a leader. There is someone you’re called to serve, and you’ll do it well.

NEXT WEEK:

Next week, I will be sharing the power of community and vocational leadership!

Next Steps:

1. Subscribe to our weekly email update on brianholmes.com
2. Continue this conversation on Facebook!

Subscribe to the Podcast

If you have enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe:

Subscribe to our updates at www.BrianHolmes.com

Subscribe to the podcast via iTunes, Stitcher, Blackberry, Zune, or other services.

Share the Love

I’d also be grateful if you would RATE OUR PODCAST ON iTunes. That helps tremendously with making my podcast visible, so people who have never heard it can discover it. I’m grateful. Share this with your friends and associates on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, etc.

Until next time, remember … You were made in His image, designed for a purpose, and are destined for greatness. The world is waiting for the REAL YOU to show up.  God Bless!

The post #380: How To Lead In The Marketplace and In Your Community appeared first on Brian Holmes.