“Let no one despise (look down on your youthfulness), but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine (teaching). Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.” 1 Tim. 4:12-16. The Apostle Paul was saying a lot to Timothy, his disciple, who had taken on leadership responsibilities in the above passage. Amongst other things he is saying to us that we should understand the potentials that lie within us and not to be carried away by externals; to give ourselves to the aspects of life that enable us to generate the right kind of influence (leadership); become single minded in our focus as we give ourselves entirely to these things and finally he warns about the potential dangers in the race we are on. These summarise what we are studying in this article.
Understanding The Potential Principle
Almost everything that God created has the ability to undergo changes that can cause something else to be born. This is because the Creator designed His creation with potentials to reproduce and become the raw material for another. What God speaks to is the source for what He creates and all things have the same components and essence as the sources from which they come. For example in Genesis 1:11, God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth and it was so." The earth here had potentials to produce grass, herbs, fruits and seeds. If you saw the dry land called earth just before God said it should bring all these forth, there is no way you would know it had the ability to produce such. God who created the earth knew what He had built into it (potentials) so He called forth and the hidden abilities of the earth were awakened by the voice of the Creator! The same can be seen of the seas as creatures were brought forth from it too. See Genesis 1:20-25. The earth also brought forth living creatures. All things must be maintained by the sources from which they came.
It is worthy of note to realise that everything that came out of something else depended on the thing it came out of. Grass depends on the earth for its nutrients. The living creatures also depend on the earth for its food. The things that were brought forth also had potentials to reproduce after their kind. God is really omnipotent! Full of potentials! When God was to create mankind He made us out of Himself and in the same way we need to depend on God for our sustenance. Every disconnection from source has the potential to cause death. Since God is a Spirit, when we became disconnected we were termed spiritually dead though physically alive. So we see that every created thing has potentials but man has great and almost unlimited potentials as we were created in the image and likeness of the omnipotent God. The earth produces the grass and herbs according to the Word of the Lord. The herb has fruit and the fruit has seed and the seed has the potentials to repeat the cycle as it enters the earth to reproduce the grass and herb again. The seed of everything is in itself. The potential principle simply states that, given the right conditions and process, the seed can reproduce itself. You have untapped potentials. As you yield yourself to God"s Word and process, you can reproduce your qualities in others. There is more to your life than meets the natural eye. Would you like to develop your potentials? There may be music in you yet to be tapped. Who knows if you carry solutions to many of life"s problems within you? There are untapped abilities within you waiting for your decision to develop them.
Understanding the Role and Need for Leadership
Many believe that leadership has to do with being at the top of an organization. This is not true. Leadership has to start with a simple desire to make life a little better for someone else. It is the ability to influence others for their good and the good of the society at large. You don"t need a title to be a leader. Many problems in the world today are opportunities for leaders to step in and make a difference. Sadly there are not many leaders prepared for the challenges we face. You do not need a title to operate leadership principles. Everyone"s level of leadership will impact the level of success they can enjoy in their lives. Leadership principles are life transforming principles that will enhance your life and the lives of people around you. Everyone needs to be developing in areas like time management, goal setting, and cultivating work ethics that not only work hard but work at the right things. This will enhance efficiency and effectiveness. The personal development industry is full of good stuff that can help us set goals and stay motivated to achieve them. Mark Sanborn"s book titled “You don"t need a title to be a leader” is a good one along these lines. In it he lists out 6 principles of leadership. Another author renowned for leadership development is John Maxwell. The principles are as follows:

1. The power of self-mastery,

2. The power of focus,

3. Power with people,

4. The power of persuasive communication,
5. The power of execution,

6. The power of giving.

You cannot lead others if you do not master yourself by keeping the promises you make to yourself and exercising the necessary discipline over your words thoughts and actions. You don t give what you do not have. To lead is to start by leading yourself to do what you know is right. The more you expose your mind to developmental principles and apply yourself to practise; you will begin to take your life to new levels of fulfilment and achievements. Your life will be focussed and you will have something to pass unto others as you learn to communicate and develop others for their good. Servant leadership will be very fulfilling as you learn to maximise the impact your life is making in the lives of those around you. “Serve wholeheartedly as if you were serving the Lord not men” (Ephesians 6:7) You get the best out of others when you give the best of yourself.
Some Problems and pitfalls in falls in leadership
The foremost problem in any developmental process is the problem of Pride. It is the downfall of many. It acts as a blind spot in many lives. Insecurity, inferiority complexes or superiority complexes are all effects of pride in people"s lives.
Not recognising Other peoples roles and Potentials: Others were designedby God to contribute into your life as well as those that receive from you. When you do not recognise their role in your life you short change yourself. Presumtuousness: When we do not think through on issues either through laziness or carelessness we tend to become presumptuous. Many people fall into this pitfall when they stop listening to constructive criticisms and continue to develop themselves. Life is meant to be lived by keeping our perspectives right, our relationship with God and people healthy and keeping our feet on the ground.
Maximise Your Leadership Potential
Leadership is your God given ability to influence other people for their good. Maximising it starts by recognising that you have it; then you can guard and protect your potentials. The potency of God in you is His wisdom, presence and power in you. How you steward these and make them available to bless others as God helps you is the key to maximising your potentials. Guard this treasure in you from critics and all who may want to make light of your potentials in leadership.
Cultivate and feed your potentials by feeding on good literature that can build leadership principles firmly in you.
Be one who acts on what they learn. Through your lifestyle cultivate an environment that is conducive for your growth. Stay in the place of intimacy with God and live by faith as you seek to be a blessing to others. Seek to serve others with what God has given you.
To maximise you must read, study and have clear goals and objectives that will challenge every potential in you. Through your words and actions based on God"s Word, create an environment conducive for healthy growth. Give yourself to the challenges you face and decide to be a winner not a loser, a victor and not a victim of your circumstances. Your decision and power of choice is your key to turning things around in your life. Christ did not die to give God more failures as children so whatever you are facing in life, with the help of God, stay positive and be victorious.