I’ve been working on this post for awhile and I wanted to post the “True Mark of a Leader” first so you would have a reference to who the real “Leader” is as that sets the context for this post. If you haven’t read that first, go read it now. In this post I’d like to introduce you to a leadership concept most people haven’t heard of before and that is the concept of being a “Lens” rather than a “Leader”. Leaders are great but great leaders are “Lenses”! So what’s a Lens compared to a Leader? A Lens is basically a transparent optical device used to focus and/or magnify an object at a distance. Eyeglasses, Microscopes, Telescopes, Camera lenses are all examples of a Lens with Eyeglasses probably being the most common so that’s what I will use to illustrate my point. Glasses help people with degraded or limited vision “see better”. They help us get to where we want to go quicker, more easily, and safer by allowing us to focus clearly on the destination. A Leader performs a similar task by teaching us, guiding us, and helping us find a particular destination. We follow them and trust they know where they are going. But our eyes are often inadvertently on them rather than the destination itself and this is where the danger lies and things get muddy so to speak.
Allow me to elaborate. When I look through my glasses I see and find what it is I’m looking for and I rarely notice the glasses themselves. If I do notice them it’s because they’ve become dirty or scratched. Being a Lens to someone means you care more about helping someone clearly see the Truth they are seeking than you do them noticing you. You’re work as a Lens is to remain clean and transparent, gather as much Light (Truth and Knowledge) as possible and put that into focus for the person you are serving. Being a Lens is about developing an attitude of humility and a desire to serve in the most humble and honest way possible. It’s not about you, but about helping the other person to see more clearly. As a Lens you do everything you can to give the person you are assisting the best and most honest view possible with the ultimate goal of going completely unnoticed if possible during that process. It serves a natural defense against Pride and keeps the focus on where it should be: living the life of a Disciple and proclaiming the Truth of God and His Creation (see 1 John 2:6).
Seeing ourselves as merely leaders allows for our pride and ego to sometimes get in the way. We can easily fall victim to thinking we’re the focus and what we do and say is what matters most. It can become more about what it is you know, how much you know, and how well you can articulate that knowledge and lead others to it. Those things are just as important to being a good Lens, but the focus (pun intended) and motive behind developing proficiency in those areas is much different. Being a leader also puts a tremendous amount of pressure on you to live up to the person you’re leading and their expectations of you to get them where they want to go. Being a Lens removes that pressure and puts the onus on them to decide their own path and whether or not to accept the Truth you are showing them.
Don’t just be a leader. Be a Lens and be the best Lens you can be! Polish yourself by improving your level of knowledge and wisdom. Enhance your ability to focus others by increasing your ability to articulate through language skills both written and spoken. Remain transparent in your life so that others may see Christ through you because a Lens works both ways. As you help others to see more clearly, God’s Truth and His Love will shine more brightly through you to them. You don’t even need to be in a leadership position to be a Lens to others. It’s a mindset, not an ability, so anyone can do it. Even you!
Posted by Matthew Skaj 
