Many take a look at what Bishop T.D. Jakes has done over the span of his life and say he's the definition of successful--not perfect--but successful. Jakes is co-founder of The Potter’s House, a church and humanitarian organization that attracts more than 100,000 members worldwide. The spiritual leader has expanded his brand to produce movies, release Grammy award-winning music, host BET’s Mind, Body & Soul talk show, and selling more than 20 million books (in total), producing $115 million in revenues.
But Jakes has had his fair share of learning to get to this point.
In 1982, Jakes became the pastor of Greater Emanuel Temple of Faith in West Virginia. When he started out he had only 10 members in the congregation.
Yet, the church grew, and kept growing. Leading Jakes to move it several times to accommodate the larger congregation and following.
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Jakes moved his church from West Virginia to Texas in 1996. He also moved 50 families involved in his work and created a campus environment for his congregation, which grew to 14,000 members at the time.
Fortunately for us, he shares some of those life lessons that we can all learn from.
In his book, Instinct, Jakes dedicates a chapter to leading. Here are seven quotes from the book that highlight his philosophy:
1. "Your own metamorphosis doesn't have to be dramatic."
It may simply mean moving from doing other folks' hair in your kitchen to doing it in a salon, or going from owning a health spa to owning a chain of spas. God blesses what you do, not your feigning and going through the motions. Action must be an outgrowth of a faith that is working.
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It was my father's faith that took one mop and one bucket and turned them into a whole janitorial service. It was my mom's faith that led her to put an oil lamp to read by at the bottom of the bed, with 14 brothers and sisters jostling all around her, and work her way through Tuskegee. This is not a faith that simply feeds a hunger for capitalism, making money for money's sake, or amassing material goods. This is not a name-it-and-claim-it, blab-and-grab kind of faith. It's deep-seated. Without it, no one experiences tried-and-true success."
2. "We instinctively know how to lead if we allow ourselves."
...When instincts are ignored, leaders become followers, and followers become unemployed."
3. "Anything that we do for years that doesn't match the inner imprint of our gifting will eventually become monotonous
...and routine, ritualistic and frustrating."
4. "Leadership emerges not only when an individual can capably do what needs doing;
the real test is passed when a person can implement what needs to be done through others."
5. "When you operate independently in the midst of your team, it stunts their growth
...as well as your own. You don't want to lead a task, run a business, direct a philanthropy, or guide a church if your stakeholders assume you...
...don't need their help. If you want to lead by your instincts, then you must create a vision large enough that you cannot achieve it alone. ...Start pushing something that you can't carry and watch how people will come to your aid. But pick up a box you can manage, and people will simply watch you carry the load."
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6. "I prefer leaders who have been in the trenches.
I tend to prefer people who know what it means to rise through the ranks and see the organization from a variety of angles and positions. Because I am admittedly a pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps person who worked his way up, always crawling before walking, I value people who have enjoyed wide and diverse experiences, people who have failed and learned something from what went wrong, people who shrugged it off and kept going."
7. "Many people seem to have trouble identifying their highest passion and gifting.
...I often tell them, 'Your purpose is in your passions—not just what you love but what you passionately hate.' ...If you can't stand to see bad hairdos, maybe you should consider becoming a stylist."
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