3 Simple Keys to Cultivating REAL Connections.

I absolutely love to study the leadership style of Jesus. It’s both timeless and perfect. I only wish my attempts to replicate it was as flawless.

I’ve discovered that often times Jesus’ greatest lessons on leadership can be missed, simply because we get so focused on His words that we often miss the incredible value of His actions.

One of the most powerful things that Jesus was accomplishing while He was doing all of that amazing teaching, preaching, and miracle working was cultivating authentic relationships with people. As a leader, if you’re not willing to build real relationships with people than your not ready to lead.

[shareable cite=”@PastorTHall”]As a leader, if you’re not willing to build real relationships with people than your not ready to lead.[/shareable]

If you’re only leading from a position or your title – well, yeah, good luck with that. You might have employees, or coworkers, but you don’t have a team. That being said a leader needs to make cultivating Kingdom relationships a top priority, so if you find yourself “relationally challenged” let’s take a look at 3 Simple Keys to Cultivating Kingdom Relationships.

3 Ways to Cultivate Kingdom Relationships:

1. Make Contact

Your brain sends signals to the rest of your body telling it what to do and where to go. If those signals stop making contact than the result is physical paralysis. Much the same way, if you don’t make contact with the people that God has placed around you than your business, ministry team, or family will become relationally paralyzed and unable to move forward. If you’re a busy leader than you need to build time into your schedule every week to intentionally make contact with people. In some cases it can be as simple as sending a text message, picking up the phone to call and see how somebody is doing, or sending a note in the mail to let someone know that you’re thinking about them. Don’t become so busy with tasks that you alienate people. (Matt 9:36)

2. Build a Genuine Connection

Make a “real” connection with the people that you’re building a relationship with. People can spot a phony a mile away so stop being pretentious and take real interest in other peoples lives. One of the simplest ways to do that is to stop talking about you, and start asking about them. One of my favorite Jesus moments is found in Mark 10:51 where He asked Blind Bartimaeus “What do you want me to do for you?” When is the last time you asked the people that you lead that question? Find out what they like. Ask them to share their dreams with you and find out what they are genuinely passionate about.

3. Make A Commitment to be Consistent

It may take time, but if you’re serious about cultivating a quality relationship then you have to remain consistent in your efforts. Consistency is a discipline and it may take a couple months to get in the habit of establishing the best ways to make contact and build quality connections with others, but it’s well worth it! After all, remember that Jesus didn’t just sit in heaven and wait for us to take interest in His agenda. Jesus left heaven to (1) Make Contact, (2) Build a Genuine Connection between God and man, and (3) He Has been consistent for the past 2,000 years.