7 Inspiring Leaders and the Traits That Made Them Great

John Maxwell says everything rises and falls based on leadership. I agree.

But leadership was not something taught when I went to the University of Florida. I’ve had to learn it the hard way, mostly by trial and error. Here are seven traits of leadership I’ve learned by watching leaders who exhibited them:

1. Vision. This is the ability to see the future. The Bible says without vision, the people perish. I’ve learned to focus on one thing and simply work in that direction when I didn’t have any idea what do. Somehow, a way is found.

A man who exhibits this as well as any I’ve known is Tommy Barnett, who built Phoenix First Assembly of God from a handful of people to one of the greatest churches in America. Tommy’s attitude is, “You can’t think of a ministry we don’t want to include in our church—and by the way, you’re the new leader.” This has resulted in hundreds of leaders and one of the healthiest churches I’ve ever seen. I remember when he had a vision to start a multicultural ministry in Los Angeles. That has developed into the Dream Center that is headed by his son, Matthew, and has spawned others across the country. But the Dream Center began as a vision with Tommy Barnett.