Components of Relational Leadership:

• Relationship to the point of instant recognition
• Established relationship built on trust
• Modelled leadership

3 ways to cultivate relationships with others:

• Know them – Jesus "calls His own sheep by name."
• Grow them – They "hear His voice and come to Him."
• Show them – Jesus "walks ahead of them and they follow Him."

Relationship Principles That Make A Difference

• Love and accept yourself. "Love your neighbor as yourself" – Jesus
• Put energy into being likeable. Smile often, listen more than you talk, compliment and affirm
• Remember people’s names. "A person’s name is the sweetest name they hear."
• Show care for others. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
• Focus on their interests. You can make more friends in 2 months by becoming interested in other people than you can in 2 years by trying to get other people interested in you.
• Request the help of other people. Nothing makes a person feel more important than to do something for you that you cannot do for yourself.
• Follow the Golden Rule. Christ gave the perfect rule for human relations, for personal conduct. We call it the Golden Rule, a name it got somewhere around the 17 th Century. Near the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Christ summed up a series of profound thoughts on human conduct by saying, "Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do so for them." – Matthew 7:12

Christ teaches us to do 2 things in developing relationships with others:

• Decide how you want to be treated
• You want others to encourage you.
• You want others to appreciate you.
• You want others to listen to you.
• You want others to forgive you.
• Treat others that way

Observations about forgiveness:

• People who find it hard to forgive do not see themselves correctly.

They are insecure and have a low self-image

• People who do not forgive hurt themselves the most
• People wait too long to forgive
• Be generous with people
• Add value to people – encourage
• Don’t be position-conscious. "A great man shows his greatness by the way he treats little men."– Carlyle

Every worthwhile accomplishment has a price tag in terms of hard work, patience, faith and endurance. "The greater the achievement, the higher the price paid." Luke 9:24. It comes down to: How much are you really willing to pay?