Dr. Myles Munroe, one of the strongest voices on leadership that ever lived, identified 7 powerful leadership lessons that can be learned from the eagle. They are the seven principles of the eagle.
It is important to note that there are two animals in the Bible God the Father compared Himself with. First is the Lion and second is the eagle (Deuteronomy 32:11-13).
Below are the seven principles of the eagle.
7 Leadership Principles From the Eagle by Dr. Myles Munroe
1. Eagles fly alone at high altitudes.
Eagles soar higher above the clouds than any other bird. They don’t stay below the clouds with doves or pigeons. As a leader, you must be willing to be different and stand alone.
You must be willing to sacrifice being popular for the sake of your principles. You must be willing to stand alone for your vision and convictions even if no one supports them.
Every single leader we celebrate today (think of Nelson Mandela) was someone who decided they won’t go in the direction everyone was going or accept the norm. They decided to be different and go against the tide and that was what made them successful leaders.
The second leadership principle of the eagle is the possession of vision. In the first place, leadership is influencing others to join you in the pursuit of a vision for the future. Without vision, there’s no leadership.
But the vision required for effective leadership is not just mere wishes you’d like to see come pass. A strong vision is built from a sense of purpose— a need you strongly want to see met, a problem you strongly want to see solved, or a reality you feel obligated to create.
This desire must then be translated into clear mental pictures that never leave your head or your lips. It is constantly seeing and refining these pictures (vision) that drive you toward the goal.
Here are the 12 Principles of Vision that will help you discover and run with a vision till it succeeds.
3. Eagles do not eat dead things
Eagles always seek their prey, kill them and eat them fresh, unlike vultures that wait for carcasses. As a leader, you shouldn’t be relying on the way things have been done. You must be the thought leader, coming up with novel ideas and new strategies.
You shouldn’t jump on trends but create the trend. You should have a pathfinder, pacesetter, and trailblazer identity. If people are to follow you then there must be something staying around you should provide that isn’t in just any random person next door.
One way to always have fresh value is by taking a personal commitment to self-development through books, courses, seminars, the Word of God, and so on. These articles will help you with this:
Eagles don’t run away from storms. Unlike other birds that hide or get destroyed by storms, eagles stay strong and soar above them. As a leader, difficult times must come but they mustn’t destroy you.
Your faith is only as strong as the test it survives. You might want to know that being a child of God and walking in every one of His ways does not exempt you from crises. In fact, Jesus promised that in this world you will have many troubles. It’s a promise and His promises never fail.
But this is not to discourage you; it is to get you prepared. You rise above storms by building your faith and engaging Biblical wisdom for crisis times. The following posts by Dr. Myles Munroe will help you.
Eagles don’t just soar because they have wings. They soar because they have learned to use the winds to their advantage. They test the direction of the winds and steer with it.
As a leader, you must understand times and seasons. You must understand that not every open door is right for you. You must be savvy to know what, who and where to invest your energy and resources.
You don’t just act based on impulse. Instead, you look at things thoughtfully. Although you must take risks, you shouldn’t only take calculated risks. Your faith must be built on a substance (Hebrews 11:1), not emptiness.
Eagles are very much involved in the training process of their young ones. After some time after they are born, the mother eagle takes them out of the nest and throws them high into the sky, and leaves them to struggle to fly.
If the eaglet wants to fall, the mother catches it and throws it up again until the eagle learns to fly. This is the process of mentorship.
True leaders mentor other leaders. They understand that the success of their leadership is dependent on how successful their succession is. If as a leader your success ends with you, you have failed because continuity is a major backbone of leadership.
The last principle of leadership we can learn from the eagle is that eagles rejuvenate themselves. After flying for a period, the wings of the eagle begin to get weak and the eagle plucks them out and allows new ones to grow.
All leaders must do this to remain relevant. Jesus Christ, the greatest leader of all times continually separated Himself from His disciples to commune with God. This was a form of rejuvenation.
You should embark on personal retreats from time to time and reassess your life and leadership. Are you truly living according to purpose? Are you just being busy or effective? Are your activities following the plans and vision? Are you growing?
These and many more questions you must ask yourself.
There you have the 7 principles of the eagle that can enhance your life and personal leadership as identified by Dr. Myles Munroe.
Because you read this far, I want to give you Lifetime Access to over $1,000 worth of mentorship materials from Dr. Myles Munroe on purpose, leadership, success, wealth, and the Kingdom. Get instant access to all life-changing materials now!
Olusegun Iyejare is a career coach and certified counselor. He helps individuals discover and maximize their potential to live satisfying lives regardless of obvious limitations holding them back.
Thanks so much!
It’s a privilege ❤️
Wow! Thank you for posting this. Am truly grateful
It’s a privilege, Nikki
I am constantly taking information from Olusegun because it is priceless and useful.