A Leader Must be a Master of Manoeuvres

… be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. Matthew 10:16

This advice from Jesus will make you a great leader if you clearly apply it to your circumstances. Snakes are also masters of many manoeuvres! Let us learn how the serpent does this!

Snakes can move in many different ways. They can climb, they can swim, they can stand, they can move forward, they can move sideways and they can even move backwards. A snake can contour its body to ride in the air like the wing of an aeroplane and can even steer its body to a particular landing spot. Flying snakes glide in the air and are able to glide to a distance of 100m.

All snakes can swim quite well. Most snakes can climb trees. Rat Snakes and Pythons are excellent examples of good climbers. The skull of a snake is a highly evolved complex structure that is characterised by mobility and flexibility. Snakes have a greatly reduced weight of the skull that allows greater mobility of the skull.

Most of the bones within the snake skull are not fused, but rather loosely attached by ligaments. This allows the expansion and flexion necessary to engulf prey. In addition to the reduced number of bones within the skull there are also several hinge joints located at various points that allow the movement and slight rotation of certain segments. This enhanced flexibility of a serpent allows it to manoeuvre its way out of tight spots and into tiny corners.

A manoeuvre is an intended and controlled variation from a straight and level flight path. A manoeuvre is an action taken to gain a tactical end. A leader needs many skilful and clever actions to achieve his set goals. To be able to manoeuvre, a leader needs to be flexible and able to take advantage of unplanned events to gain an advantage.

Flexibility and 'manoeuvrability' are important for success. All huge organisations are in danger of becoming so stiff that they cannot change and move around. Without 'manoeuvrability', you lose the ability to quickly respond to the ever-changing scenes of life. Do you know that nothing is ever going to remain the same? What facilitated success five years ago is not likely to work in the same way today.

Building a church today is a little different from building a church a decade ago. You have to use different strategies and different keys. Conducting a crusade some years ago is different from conducting a crusade today. This is because the nature of the population has even changed. Many African cities are filled with aggressive people seeking their fortunes. This is not how these cities were some years ago. Many people have come from the hinterland, having been abandoned by the governments of the day. Your inability to manoeuvre and to change will spell your downfall.

But there are some things that never change! Prayer and the truths of the word of God are unchanging but the way we minister these things will change. The snake is a very wise creature because it does not maintain one form or shape. It can undergo every kind of manoeuvre to get in or out of a place. Can you undergo a major change in your presentation? Can you make a U-turn, a right turn or a left turn right now? To be as wise as a serpent you must be capable of such manoeuvres.

The prodigal son gives us the best example of a 'U'-turn.

I WILL ARISE and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. AND HE AROSE, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

Luke 15:18-20
The above is the popular soliloquy by the prodigal son. A 'U'-turn is a reversal of your former decisions. The prodigal son reversed all his former decisions and humbly returned to his proper place. That is what I call a spiritual 'U'-turn. A spiritual 'U'-turn is a manoeuvre in which you reverse and go back on decisions you have made earlier. If you are not capable of 'U'-turns, you are not capable of repenting from your mistakes.

How is it that you cannot say sorry for what you have done? How come you are inflexible and unchangeable? Your inflexibility can cost you your life! Make yourself malleable and flexible in the hands of the Holy Spirit. A leader capable of U-turns is capable of correcting his errors and doing better. When you notice an error, make a U-turn and ensure you are on a better route. This is also the wisdom of a serpent – being a master of manoeuvres!

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