Leading - Back to Basics
"When it comes to the future, there are only three kinds of
people: those who let it happen, those who make it happen, and those who wonder
what happened." -John M. Richardson, Jr.
In today's fast-paced environment, leaders are faced with challenges that
stretch their abilities and skills. Rapid technological and cultural change and
increasing complexity cause many leaders to struggle to move their ministries in
the right direction. Now, there is increased uncertainty, more complexity, and
more chaos. What do you as a leader need to know?
Everyone is affected by these forces. Fear and doubt are more commonplace now
than in the past. Christian leaders are no longer dealing with a stable,
agrarian culture with strong family units and moral values. These new
uncertainties sap our energy and, unless acknowledged and addressed, can put us
into a tailspin of negativity and helplessness.
An effective leader replaces uncertainty, fear and doubt with purpose, courage
and trust. Purpose provides clear direction in the face of uncertainty. It is
the energetic "magnet" that pulls people together and points them in a similar
direction. Courage provides strength and commitment in the face of fear. Trust
in one's purpose overcomes doubt.
To move forward, one must look back to the lessons of successful leaders of the
past, and in particular, get back to basics. Tactics may change with time to
accommodate cultural and technological changes, but the Biblical principles of
leadership never change.
According to Warren Bennis, there are some 850 definitions of leadership. They
range from the inspirational to the operational. Leadership still remains an
enigma, or like Bennis says, "it's like art, you can't define what it is, but
you know it when you see it."
Leaders often find themselves painfully lacking in knowledge and skill, perhaps
even paralyzed with guilt, anxiety, sadness or rage and unable to devise a
strategy and set of behaviors that will work in these complicated times.
Even in this 21st century, the framework of organizations is still rooted in
division of labor, hierarchy, leadership and follower-ship. The job of the
leader is to get results. A leader must carve the problems into manageable tasks
that can be clearly articulated and measured, and maintain a relentless focus on
achieving results through the implementation process.
Management is about coping with complexity: it brings order and predictability
to a situation. However, that's no longer enough. To succeed, ministries have to
adapt to change. Leadership, then, is about learning how to cope with rapid
change.
What are these changes? Well, they are wide ranging and numerous. Today, the
largest portion of our population is aging, more families are single parent
homes, morality and patriotism are no longer taught in our schools, and the vast
majority of Americans know very little about the Bible. Homosexuality is now an
alternative lifestyle and many people believe there are no absolute moral laws.
Technology has also changed. Now the world is connected via the internet.
Everyone has a cell phone. It is smarter to advertise your ministry on a web
page than in the phone book. Pornography is only a click away in most homes.
To deal with these changes one must distinguish the difference between
leadership and management. This article deals with leadership, not management.
Let's look at a few differences so that you will know what I'm talking about.
Leading or Managing?
- Management involves planning and budgeting. Leadership
involves setting direction.
- Management involves organizing and staffing. Leadership involves aligning
people.
- Management provides control and solves problems. Leadership stimulates
motivation and innovation.
- Management administrates. Leadership innovates.
- Management focuses on systems and structure. Leadership focuses on people.
- Management has his eyes always on the bottom line. Leadership has his eyes
on the horizon.
Warren Bennis provides some basic tenants of good leadership
in his classic book, On Becoming a Leader (1994). The first basic
ingredient of leadership is a guiding vision. The leader has to be clear about
what he wants to do and must show that he has the strength to persist in the
face of setbacks and failures.
The second basic ingredient of leadership is passion: the passion for the
promises of the Bible, combined with passion for a calling, a profession, a
course of action. The leader who communicates passion gives hope and inspiration
to other people.
"A leader is a dealer in hope." - Napoleon Bonaparte
The next basic ingredient of leadership is integrity, keeping commitments, doing
what you say. It is the basis of trust. You can't have trust without integrity,
and it cannot be acquired, but must be earned.
Two more basic ingredients are curiosity and daring (courage). The leader
wonders about everything, wants to learn as much as he can, is willing to take
risks, experiment, try new things. He does not worry about failure, but embraces
errors, knowing he will learn from them.
Six Leadership Styles
Here are the basic leadership styles from the Harvard Business Review
article of Goleman (March 2000):
Coercive: demands immediate compliance
Authoritative: mobilizes people toward a vision
Affiliative: creates harmony and builds emotional bonds
Democratic: forges consensus through participation
Pacesetting: sets high standards for performance
Coaching: develops people for the future
Many studies have shown that the more styles a leader exhibits, the better.
Goleman says that those who master four or more styles create the best climates
and performance. He identifies authoritative, democratic, affiliative and
coaching as the four styles in combination as most able to influence
organizational climate and performance positively. The most effective leaders
switch flexibly among the styles as needed. They are sensitive to the impact
they are having on others and adjust their style to get the best results.
Leaders who don't have all the styles available at their command can augment
their styles by working with others whose styles are complementary, as with
leadership teams.
Leaders apply the style that best suits the challenges of the present moment.
Not unlike Blanchard and Hersey's Situational Leadership, Goleman says that
leaders have to take into account the needs of the people being led, as well as
the situation at hand.
Restructuring a ministry will not necessarily produce the results needed. It
takes innovation. It means getting the best out of people by empowering them,
supporting them and getting out of their way. Attracting and retaining talent
doesn't happen under bureaucratic or command and control leadership. Intelligent
leadership aims to release the brain power, spiritual gifts, and energy of their
people.
Leaders need to know who they are, what their strengths and weaknesses are, and
how to fully deploy their strengths and compensate for their weaknesses. They
also know what they want, why they want it, and how to communicate what they
want to others, in order to gain their cooperation and support. They know how to
achieve their goals.
Most research indicates:
- Leaders are made, not born, and made more by the desire of the leader than by
any external means.
- Leaders are all lifelong learners and have taken charge of their learning.
They are all concerned with a guiding purpose, an overarching vision.
"Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other."-John F.
Kennedy, from the speech prepared for delivery in Dallas on the day of his
assassination, Nov. 22, 1963.
Behavior change in an organization occurs when the following are present:
-
Awareness and ownership of the need for change
- Action taken to effect change
- Repeated action and practice in real-world situations
- Feedback that is trusted and accurate (from peers as well as coach)
- Time for new habits to develop
Essentially, our job is to lead. We should throw ourselves into learning all we
can about Biblical leadership and put in place strategies that ensure we
continue learning. It has been said that when you are through learning you are
through. You will never achieve what God intends until you learn to lead His
people the way He wants them to be led.
King Solomon was of this mind. "And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy
servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not
how to go out or come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which
thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for
multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy
people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this
thy so great a people? And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked
this thing." 1 Kings 3:7-10
Jeff Wade, DBS
BibleLeader.com
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