As with Language learning models, where images, ideas, and stories are being abruptly filtered and hyper enhanced, mediocre thoughts, people, or models rarely impress us—nor should any of those ever shape the way that we lead. For in leadership, which is simply influence, the real question is not whether we have models, but whether the models we are following and demonstrating are worthy of the next generation to inherit. Leaders don’t just set goals; they set patterns that others will copy, often without question. Every model we adopt or allow in our teams, homes, churches, and schools insinuates, forming expectations about what “normal” looks like in our ever-evolving diverse culture.
When models are unclear, inconsistent, or half-hearted, we unintentionally disciple people into a version of leadership that keeps the bar low, causing degeneration. Over time, that mediocrity spreads into culture where meetings and mission drift, standards begin to slip, and people assume, “This must be all that’s required.” By contrast, when we choose/ and embody models marked by clarity, courage, and excellence, we give our people something worth imitating—and a pathway to grow way beyond what they once thought was impossible.
Every consumerist culture carries a staggering onslaught of the latest working model of everything. From our social feeds, we can find influencers from every school of thought. Capable of seizing control of what you once previously believed, stealthily providing you with a “you’ve been doing it all wrong, try this” model instead.
Once in a while amidst the chaos, we find a culture of discipline that piques our interest; that the work, the product, the values and beliefs that go into that model are what is termed as “authentic”. True, it’s not enough for us just to say it’s authentic, or to say “we have it” solely for the purposes of selling product or culture. Good ideas, like actual models, aren’t just something nice to look at. Rather, they are something to take notice of. Something to observe. The best models of any type show us what really goes into a great product. That is:
Disciplined people who engage in disciplined thought and activity can be considered as the very principle that transfers the inner beauty into an outer quality.
So, if you’re the type of person who has a ‘starting line’ mentality, because either you’re the thought leader or all the pressure is on you to lead, one who is always striving to get better, and to do better each day. Perhaps the principle featured above reaches a more than average, or mediocre model.
Whatever position in life you’ve become. Let’s say, a church leader, a university president, a nonprofit leader, a hospital CEO, or a school teacher. Does your approach require you to demand results? Must you be the one, who has to make a long lasting or outstanding work? Is it your responsibility to improve the parameters of your schooling or education? To fearlessly lead in a place of uncertainty?
Maybe it’s not your duty or responsibility, but you do have the critical distinction to have to carry the “language of business” today in your home, a place of business, or somewhere in the community. To be a great model requires conscious choice and the discipline to get that idea or a work out there so that others can’t wait to see when it does finally come out on stage.
