It seems like many people don’t think of themselves as a leader because they don’t hold a position that identifies them as a leader. So, when they hear messages on how to be a better leader, they figure it doesn’t apply to them. But you know, the truth is we are all leaders in some way or another. Some of us are the up-front obvious types who lead groups of people. Others are quiet leaders, who influence and persuade others behind the scenes. And believe me, there is someone in your life right now who looks at you as a leader. So, whatever form of leadership you may have, this message on the leadership qualities of our Lord will apply to you.

Why was Jesus such a great leader? Here are some reasons:

Jesus was a great leader because he fulfilled his boss’s expectations.

Jesus kept in close contact with his Father. He said again and again that he always did what pleased his Father and spoke what the Father taught him. In John 7:18 , Jesus said, Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.

When is the last time you checked with your boss to see if you’re working to his or her satisfaction? Do you spend enough time with your boss to understand his or her priorities, so you are doing things that please your boss? It really is your job to make sure you’ve got the marching orders right. And besides, it is simply smart to take initiative of letting your boss know you need and appreciate his or her feedback.

Maybe you’re thinking: You don’t know my boss, Mary. It’s impossible to communicate with him or her. Well, that may or may not be true, but you should do everything you can to improve that communication. Many times, we excuse our own lack of effort by saying “He never listens to me” or “I can’t get any feedback from her,” or “This company doesn’t care what I think!” Pray about it and ask God to give you some creative ways to improve communication with your boss. That’s the mark of a good worker and a good leader; certainly, Jesus was careful to stay in close contact with the One who had sent him.

In any business or organization, the ultimate boss is the customer. Ed Koch was a mayor of New York famous for walking the streets of his city, stopping people, and asking them, “How am I doing?” He recognized he reported to the people who had elected him, and he wanted to please them if possible.

Who is your customer? You may think I don’t have customers; my company does. Or I don’t have customers; I work at home. But I would ask you to re-think that response. Everybody has customers! Here’s why:

Your customer is the person who creates the need for your job. If they didn’t exist or didn’t have certain needs, your job would be unnecessary.

Think about it and clearly identify your own personal customers. Those are the people you need to please. Your customer probably falls into several categories—internal and external, above and below you, business and personal. People outside and inside your organization who depend on you for help, information, service, etc. Even those who are not employed have customers. For moms your customers are your family members; they certainly create the need for your job.

So, in a real sense, we all work for our customers. Therefore, we should be very attentive to their needs and requests, since they are critical people in our lives and livelihood. But more importantly, we should want to please them out of a desire to do things right, just as Jesus wanted to please his Father. So, Jesus was a great leader because he gave careful attention to his boss, the Father, and did what the Father wanted him to do.

Another reason Jesus was such an outstanding leader is he knew what his mission was, he stayed focused, and he didn’t try to jump through the expectation hoops of others.

Do you remember when the disciples told Jesus the whole town was waiting to hear him speak, and Jesus said he had other plans for the day. His mission was to go to other towns. He didn’t let anyone take him off his mission. One man asked him to settle an argument between him and his brother, and Jesus answered, “Who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” (Luke 12:14 ). That wasn’t what he had come to do, and he didn’t get sidetracked.

We can apply this in many ways in our everyday lives. Do you find you can easily get sidetracked on your job, and you never seem to accomplish things like you planned? One great time-management technique is to refuse to be sidetracked and stay with the job until it’s done. Do you have difficulty staying on task? That might be something you need to pray about and change.

Then, Jesus knew what his mission was. Are you clear about your own mission—in your job, in your home, in your church, in your own life? I would encourage you to write your own life’s mission in just a sentence or two and then make sure everything you do contributes to that mission. Ask yourself, “What is it I need to do on my job above all else?” and then make certain what you’re doing on a day-to-day basis contributes to that mission. You may be very busy doing things that really don’t matter!

Do you find yourself frequently trying to please everyone? Certainly, we shouldn’t try to displease everyone, but when you need to have everyone’s approval, you will be easily distracted and manipulated. Jesus knew sometimes you must disappoint people to stay on track and do what you should do. Have you learned this lesson?

You know, the best way to please most people is to focus on pleasing the Lord. In Proverbs 16:7 we read: When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him. When we please the Lord, we’ll have our best shot at pleasing other people. However, we’ll never be able to please everyone, and to try to do this is to invite disaster.

Remember one great leadership quality which our Lord demonstrated was knowing what the goal was and staying focused on it.

Here’s another evidence of Jesus’ great leadership skills—and this may surprise you a bit. Jesus was always ready to celebrate. I think it is one reason people loved to be with him. His first miracle was to turn water into wine at a wedding celebration, thereby putting his stamp of approval on what some might call a frivolous waste of time and money—a big wedding party. We see he often went to people’s homes for dinner. He wasn’t too busy to take time for these personal times of celebrations.

He didn’t want the crowds who came to hear him speak to leave with an empty stomach, so he turned a boy’s lunch into food for thousands—a regular party. Two of his most famous parables are about a king who arranged a banquet and got angry when nobody came, and a father throwing a lavish party when his wayward son returned home.

How much and how often do you celebrate in your life—on your job, in your home? We should look for reasons to celebrate. We can get so serious and focused we forget to say, “Hey, you’ve done a great job; let’s bring in pizza this afternoon and celebrate.” Or “You’ve been working so hard, you deserve a treat; the ice cream is on me; let’s go celebrate.”

From small to big events, we can add so much vitality and joy to our lives and to others by taking time to celebrate. Look for excuses to celebrate for yourself and for your coworkers or staff, as well as your family and friends.

Now you may think this doesn’t sound terribly important or spiritual but celebrating should be a part of our daily routines. It encourages and motivates people, it lightens their loads, it focuses on positive rather than negative things—there are lots of good, spiritual reasons to be a celebrating type of person. Jesus was.

As you go through your day, look for a reason to celebrate. Maybe your child gets a good grade at school; celebrate it. Perhaps your coworker gets a promotion; celebrate it. Did a staff member complete a difficult assignment with excellence? Celebrate it. Maybe it’s a friend’s birthday; celebrate it.

Celebrations don’t have to cost a great deal of money or any money at all. A celebration can be something as simple as complimentary words spoken, or a card or a note in the mail, or cake and cookies, or a full-blown party. There are so many creative ways to celebrate, and Jesus was always ready to do so because he knew the value of celebrations. That’s another reason he was such a great leader.

Also, Jesus was a great leader because he always had time for little people. On one occasion, his disciples wanted him to speak to a great crowd, but he said he had planned to preach in the nearby villages. He took time from a hectic schedule to walk a long way and heal Jairus’s little daughter. He stopped in a crowd to find one woman who had touched him and heal her blood disease. He saw a short little man in a tree and asked to have dinner with him. Jesus focused on individuals, and it didn’t matter who they were. They were all important to him.

Sometimes we get caught up in the “star” mentality. Or we only want to be involved in something with lots of people and big numbers. I have often said of all the wonderful opportunities God has given me to minister, my favorite was Sunday mornings with my small class of women, Sisters in Christ, who became such a wonderful support group for me. It can become an ego trip to focus only on the numbers in the crowd; often the greatest blessing comes in the small groups.

The same principle holds true in our jobs. A successful salesperson is one who spends time with the small clients as well as the large ones. Those small sales can grow into big ones later, and they’ll stay with you i