This is the first in a three-part series to help you as a leader “fine-tune” some leadership skills that will make you a more effective leader. Regardless of what leadership role you have, the answers to three questions hopefully will generate a stronger desire to become the leader God has called you to be.

The first question is, “Do you have a leader’s heart?” Next, “Do you prepare to lead?” will help you focus on the amount of effort you must expend to reach your leadership potential. Last, “Do you lead with a positive attitude?” addresses how important our attitude is when we attempt to lead others to action.

If you are a leader in the workplace or in your community, your leadership heart must be one that seeks to affect change, motivate others to action, and strive to meet the prerequisites set by the organization. If your leadership role is in Christian ministry, having a servant’s heart is the foundation of your approach to leading. When God asks for our hearts, it means He asks that we are involved in His work to the very core of our being.

A good, general definition of “heart” from Old and New Testament references demonstrates that a person’s mind, body and soul involve one’s personality, character and spirit. When God asks us to lead, He is asking for every area of our lives. The heart as a physical organ is necessary for life itself. If it stops beating, physical life ends. If our leadership hearts don’t beat to God’s purpose, our effectiveness as leaders will be minimal.

We must guard our hearts against becoming hardened to the needs of others. Leading out of our humanity opens us up to perversions of truth and can lead to questions about purpose. Evaluating our heart’s motives for leading can be helpful in discovering areas that need our attention so we can be the kind of leaders who glorify God. The following heart qualities have been matched to a scripture passage that will help you understand what God wants you as a leader to be. Read the verses and determine which area of a servant’s heart needs your attention.

• Willing heart: Exodus 25:2
• Wise heart: Exodus 35:35
• Tender heart: II Chronicles 34:27
• Faithful heart: Nehemiah 9:8
• Upright heart: Job 33:3
• Communicating heart: Psalm 4:4
• Pure heart: Psalm 24:4
• Broken heart: Psalm 34:18
• Understanding heart: Proverbs 2:2
• Merry heart: Proverbs 17:22
• Forgiving heart: Matthew 18:35
• Sanctified heart: 1 Peter 1:22
• Obedient heart: Romans 6:17
• Believing heart: Romans 10:9, 10
• Steadfast heart: 1 Corinthians 7:37
• Caring heart: 1 Corinthians 8:16
• Singing heart: Ephesians 5:19

Our heart condition says a lot about our commitment to fulfilling God’s call on our lives! We must be willing to give him all of our hearts, not just a portion of them. When we surrender our hearts to Him, our leadership lives will be living illustrations of what it means to be willing, upright, pure, joyful, forgiving and obedient.

If we will search our hearts and strive to grow in the knowledge of God’s purpose, we will have a greater understanding of how to serve and lead with a healthy attitude.

This article is part of a three-part series: part one, part two, part three.