Family as defined by Merriam Webster dictionary, is a group of people who are related to each other.
This can mean a group consisting of husband and wife, with a child or children living together in a household. And they may also be living in different parts of the nation or world but remain a family.
It can also mean people who are important to you or parents with adopted children.
Leadership determines what you make of the health of your family. This means that the health or the well being of your family depends on the Leadership of that family. You can have heaven on earth depending on your leadership. It is also possible to have hell on earth depending on your leadership.
Leadership is very crucial to the overall state of the mind or body. The state or condition of your body includes physical, spiritual, emotional, financial, material, educational needs.
The authority figure in the home must be careful to lead meekness or humility but firmly. Firmness does not mean wickedness. You can disagree to agree in humility and submission to another for the general good of the home. Submission to one another for good deeds genders great peace. The leader in the home should address issues in love and meekness.
Honour in the home is very important. Honour each other. A father should honour his wife, children as well as the domestic staff. Don’t just expect honour from everybody while giving honour to nobody because of your STATUS as the head. Inculcate the culture of honour in your home. Honouring someone is different from worshipping someone. Shouting on your wife is not honouring her and may not provoke submission. If you are the head and your wife is the neck, then why are you shouting at your own neck? Likewise shouting on your husband is not honouring him. If he is your head, the why are you shouting at your own head?
Apply gentle talks to every member of your family especially the children. This helps to bring the best out of them.
Love on your family, nourish, nurture, protect and provide for them. Give or create time to spend together. When you give love, you become their superhero. Sarah got a lot of love Abraham to the point of calling him lord. This is what happens when the leader leads well. When you care, the family members will make you feel like a king. When you show love, they see GOD in you. So imagine what they see when you can’t or you don’t show love. What is your family seeing when they see you or think of you, or hear about you? It is difficult to lead out of love. Shepherds show a lot of love to the flock.
Financial status of each family member should be familiar to the leader of the family. The leader needs to be sensitive to every member’s needs, spiritual growth, and educational requirements. The family should pray together and for each other.
Delegation in the home requires balance. Delegate duties that can build them up, but be careful what you delegate. Fatherhood should not be delegated and motherhood should not be delegated. If you delegate everything you can become obsolete. The results of e-fathers and e-mothers are not the same as the physical ones. You are to shepherd the family as your own flock. You will know a good shepherd when you look at the flock.
Freedom is good, so allow some healthy freedom but bear in mind that freedom cannot be total. There is freedom that can lead to destruction. There is need for checks and boundaries. The leader of the home should monitor the friends that hang around the family members to be sure that are good ones. Not complainers who walk after flesh with no regard for spiritual values. Such people can cause divisions in the homes.
Practice hospitality with your family with occasional treats of what you know that they love. The leaders in the home should act like the host or hostess.
What are you impacting to your wife and children? What are you impacting to that family? What are your family values? Give high moral standards to your family. Family leaders are to mentor their families. They are to raise future leaders by being examples of great and responsible leaders. When everyone is raised to be a good leader, it has a ripple effect on where they school, work, their societies and the world as a whole.
It is the responsibility of the leader in the home to teach integrity, character, showing respect and care for others. Model what you want to see in your family to members of your family. What does your presence in the home generate? Is it harshness, fear and depression? Or is it life, goodness and love?
Communication in the home is of great importance. Are you listening when they talk? Do you talk to them to transform them, or do you just shout on them? When your opinion is too loud, you can’t hear what others are saying in the family.
Your family health depends largely on your leadership, so home leaders should lead right and lead well. For when you do well, your joy will be full.
Remember that when you are old, these members of your family are going to take the mantle of leadership and lead you. So you might want to take it easy with them but not spoil them. Only deal with them in love and wisdom.
This is not an easy task. It requires the help of GOD and a lot of determination.
Kemi Olorunfemi Leadership Fort 