Leadership Gift - Mercy

“We have different gifts, according to the grace given us…if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.” Romans 12:6, 8

A leader who possesses the gift of mercy is a powerful leader that attracts many followers to his/her cause. This leader is understanding and compassionate; he/she relates to others with patience and grace; this boss takes time to get to know his/her employees and allows the follower to make mistakes within the context of forgiveness. This type of leader creates a work environment that promotes creativity and freedom – even the freedom to fail. The mercy-leader desires physical closeness and quality time with others which results in deep and loyal relationships.

The mercy-leader reflects empathy toward his/her followers and has the ability to sense an overall atmosphere of either joy or distress. The mercy-leader can often discern this atmosphere in the life of the individual or in the dynamics of a larger group. This leader makes a wonderful team member who can always gage the health of the group’s interaction. This leader possesses a sensitivity to both words and actions that have the potential to deeply hurt others. Along with this sensitivity, the mercy-leader has an ability to discern sincere (and insincere) motives; the leader has a keen appreciation for genuine love and has little tolerance for hypocrisy and a false expression of commitment.

The mercy-leader experiences a great concern for those who are hurting. Compassion overflows toward those who are injured physically; but even greater is the empathy experienced for those with mental and emotional wounds. This leader is highly motivated to remove hurts and to bring healing to people’s lives.

This leader genuinely loves peace and desires harmony among followers. Although willing to forgive others and always desiring to see repentance for wrong doing, the mercy-leader tends to react harshly to others when his/her friends are rejected. It is easy for this leader to take up the banner for his/her friend, to go to battle over the honor of a co-worker, and to fight the war for the offended in the organization.

As the leader of second chances, this individual is driven by restoration. As a result, he/she might try to avoid difficult decisions resulting in a punitive consequence for others. On the other hand, the mercy-leader can be firm, if he/she sees the benefit of the consequence for the individual’s good. The leader sees the balance between mercy and justice, but if the leader is to error, he/she would wish to error on the side of mercy.

Notice Paul’s exhortation to the leader who has been given this gift, “if it is showing mercy…let him do it cheerfully.” I find this most interesting. Is it that mercy-leaders have a tendency to become depressed when faced with the hurts of others? Does the ability to empathize result in sadness? Does this leader so identify with the distressed that he/she battles with discouragement? I am not sure of the answers, but I do take note of the need for cheerfulness in the life of such a leader. Mercy needs to be administered with a positive spirit of optimism. The mercy-leader must possess a supernatural ability to laugh and smile and bring perspective on difficult times.

This powerful leader has a few dangerous curves to avoid. Let me quickly mention three. One, mercy wants to side-step difficult choices that impact others – thus, this leader can appear to be weak and indecisive. Two, a reluctance to administer punitive consequences makes it difficult for this leader to hold others accountable and to confront mistakes or wrong behavior in followers. Three, the mercy-leader finds guidance and comfort from an emotional perspective. However, decisions based on emotion rather than on logic can often lead to foolishness, regret, and even disaster.

A workplace of openness, forgiveness, understanding, and compassion….what a powerful culture to create! The mercy-leader is one that thrives in such an environment. Words of comfort, encouragement, and edification flow in this leader’s vocabulary. If this is you, lead with great cheerfulness and let your mercy run like a never-ending stream.