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Essentially, there are three parts to our definition of leadership:
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The leader establishes the direction.
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He aligns the people in that direction.
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He motivates and inspires them to move in that direction and
to fulfill the vision.
This is one of the primary roles of leadership.
Good leaders are pioneers. They continually search for new opportunities to do what has never before been done. They are not content merely to maintain the status quo.
Moreover, leaders see the great potential in their constituents, and want them to fulfill it. To do this effectively, the leader must be able to perceive not only the opportunities that are before the organization, but also the obstacles that stand in the way. Failure to do so will result in failed ventures and follies that discredit the leader and discourage his followers.
Thus, leadership is more than just grandiose “visionary” talk. Anyone can “talk big.” Remember the story of the boy who cried “wolf.” After a while, no one believed him anymore. So it is with many leaders who continually cry “vision” when it is not realistic. After a while, no one believes them anymore. Good leaders have a vision that is realistic.
2. The leader aligns the people in that direction.
After perceiving the opportunities, the leader must then translate them into organizational goals and enlist the people in achievement of those goals. The people must clearly understand and personally own the vision. This takes time.
Leaders who have spent months or even years developing their vision should not expect the people to “jump on board” the first time they hear it.
They need time to understand it and to wrestle with its cost.
In addition, the people are usually not as oriented to action and change as the leader is. For any change there will be both risk and a price that needs to be paid. The people must count the cost and be willing to move.
A common error of visionary leaders is that they attempt to jump from establishing the direction to beginning to move toward its achievement. Visionary leaders must be patient with their people! They must effectively align the people first.
After perceiving the opportunities, the leader must then translate them into organizational goals and enlist the people in achievement of those goals. The people must clearly understand and personally own the vision. This takes time.
Leaders who have spent months or even years developing their vision should not expect the people to “jump on board” the first time they hear it.
They need time to understand it and to wrestle with its cost.
In addition, the people are usually not as oriented to action and change as the leader is. For any change there will be both risk and a price that needs to be paid. The people must count the cost and be willing to move.
A common error of visionary leaders is that they attempt to jump from establishing the direction to beginning to move toward its achievement. Visionary leaders must be patient with their people! They must effectively align the people first.
The primary instrument of alignment is communication.
To be effective, communication must be clear, passionate
and credible.
In this process of alignment, the leader must realistically
assess his constituents’ needs and abilities. Moreover, he
must ensure that the vision is personally meaningful
enough to his people to gain their commitment and effort.
As we will see, one primary difference between a good leader and a bad one is this:
As we will see, one primary difference between a good leader and a bad one is this:
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A good leader’s vision serves the people.
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A bad leader’s vision serves the leader himself.3. The leader motivates and inspires the people to implement and achieve the vision.
Once the people genuinely share the vision, they must be led in its implementation and fulfillment. This requires role modeling on the part of the leader (Heb. 13:7). He or she must demonstrate their total dedication to the cause he shares with his followers – even to the point of accepting personal risk and making self-sacrifice for the good of the organization (Phil. 1:29-30).He must also empower the people by giving them genuine responsibility as well as the authority to fulfill that responsibility. Finally, the leader must continually encourage them to keep moving in the right direction (Phil. 1:6; Gal. 6:9).
One Example
Look at the three parts of leadership in Jesus’ Great Commission:
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt. 28:18-20)
Jesus established the direction. He shared a clear and compelling vision with His disciples:
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make disciples of all nations
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teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you
Jesus had already aligned His followers in that direction through what He had already taught them:
Now He aligned them in the specific direction He wanted them
to go and said, “Start moving...”:
• go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you
Finally, Jesus motivated and inspired them to keep moving and
to fulfill the vision:
• surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Another Example
Nehemiah was a mighty leader in the Old Testament who led the children of Israel to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. First, Nehemiah saw the vision. As he was serving King Artaxerxes as cupbearer, Nehemiah heard that the walls of the city of Jerusalem had been broken down and its gates had been burned (Neh. 1:3).
Going before the Lord, Nehemiah wept and interceded for his people (1:4-11), and God gave him a vision to return to Judah and rebuild Jerusalem (2:5).
Now that Nehemiah had the vision, he began aligning the people with it.
The first person who needed to own the vision was King Artaxerxes.
As Nehemiah came before the king, he stated his case clearly and passionately. “If it pleases the king,” he pleaded, “and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it (2:5).
The king granted Nehemiah’s requests, sent letters of recommendation to the governors of the area, and gave him timber from the king’s forest as well as soldiers (2:7-9). King Artaxerxes had caught the vision!
Once Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, he went before the people and shared his vision, explaining the damage to the city and the plan for rebuilding it (2:17-18). When the people heard him, they embraced the vision and began to work (2:18).
The plan was in motion!
Then Nehemiah kept the people moving toward fulfilling the vision. Each family was given a portion to repair and soon the wall was “half its height, for the people worked with all their heart” (4:6).
There were some who sought to attack and destroy the city, but Nehemiah, not deterred, encouraged the people to continue laboring, half of them building and half of them bearing arms (4:15-18, 20; cf. 2:20). Despite setbacks and conspiracies against Nehemiah, he did not give up.
They “continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out” (4:21). Nehemiah’s leadership was effective. After only fifty-two days of work, the wall was completed (6:15) and God was glorified (6:16)!
• surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Another Example
Nehemiah was a mighty leader in the Old Testament who led the children of Israel to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. First, Nehemiah saw the vision. As he was serving King Artaxerxes as cupbearer, Nehemiah heard that the walls of the city of Jerusalem had been broken down and its gates had been burned (Neh. 1:3).
Going before the Lord, Nehemiah wept and interceded for his people (1:4-11), and God gave him a vision to return to Judah and rebuild Jerusalem (2:5).
Now that Nehemiah had the vision, he began aligning the people with it.
The first person who needed to own the vision was King Artaxerxes.
As Nehemiah came before the king, he stated his case clearly and passionately. “If it pleases the king,” he pleaded, “and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it (2:5).
The king granted Nehemiah’s requests, sent letters of recommendation to the governors of the area, and gave him timber from the king’s forest as well as soldiers (2:7-9). King Artaxerxes had caught the vision!
Once Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, he went before the people and shared his vision, explaining the damage to the city and the plan for rebuilding it (2:17-18). When the people heard him, they embraced the vision and began to work (2:18).
The plan was in motion!
Then Nehemiah kept the people moving toward fulfilling the vision. Each family was given a portion to repair and soon the wall was “half its height, for the people worked with all their heart” (4:6).
There were some who sought to attack and destroy the city, but Nehemiah, not deterred, encouraged the people to continue laboring, half of them building and half of them bearing arms (4:15-18, 20; cf. 2:20). Despite setbacks and conspiracies against Nehemiah, he did not give up.
They “continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out” (4:21). Nehemiah’s leadership was effective. After only fifty-two days of work, the wall was completed (6:15) and God was glorified (6:16)!
Other Examples
Moses: in Exodus 3, Moses received the vision from God (part 1).
Then he shared the vision with the people (2).
Finally he led them out of Egypt and through the wilderness, overcoming many obstacles until they finally reached the Promised Land (3).
Joshua: in Joshua 3, Joshua had received the vision of crossing the Jordan and entering Canaan from Moses (1).
Then he aligned the people with that vision in verses 2-4 (2).
Finally he led them across the Jordan into Canaan in verses 5-17 (3).
Jethro: in Exodus 18, Jethro had a vision for a better system of government within Israel (1).
He shared the vision with Moses, aligning him with it in verses 14-23 (2).
Then Moses, motivated by Jethro, implemented the vision in verses 24-26 (3).
David: in 1 Chronicles 17, David received the vision from God to build the temple (1).
He shared this vision with the people so effectively that they willingly brought everything necessary for its construction in 1 Chronicles 29
(2). Then Solomon actually built the temple beginning in 2 Chronicles 3 (3).
Leadership is a Collage
Even though we speak of its three parts, leadership is not a simplistic step-by-step procedure of moving through a series of predictable and successive points. In reality, leadership is a complex collage. It is an experiential collage of diverse people, tasks, responsibilities, pressures, duties, deadlines, opportunities, crises, blessings, sufferings, rejections, successes, mistakes, etc., with no clear way of making sense of it all or of immediately-apparent prioritization or path to accomplishment.
Leadership is hard. It can be complicated. But with God’s help,
you will succeed!
Leadership in Every Context
Our definition of leadership encompasses every context in which leadership occurs.
A leader helps someone move from where he is now to somewhere else.
In church leadership, the leader leads the people God has entrusted to his care (1 Pet. 5:2) into spiritual maturity, and the fulfillment of God’s purposes, in which every member is a minister and the people of God know God, love one another and reach the world for Jesus.
In leadership in the home, the father leads his wife, children and extended family into spiritual maturity, and the fulfillment of God’s purposes so that everyone in the family fulfills his potential – intellectually, academically, socially and spiritually.
In Christian leadership in business, the leader leads others – including the people working for him, his suppliers, customers and competitors, and the surrounding community – into the glory of God so that his business is a wonderful witness to the Lord Jesus, and so it takes care of the people in it, achieves profitability and provides a genuine service for the community.
Leadership in Every Context
Our definition of leadership encompasses every context in which leadership occurs.
A leader helps someone move from where he is now to somewhere else.
In church leadership, the leader leads the people God has entrusted to his care (1 Pet. 5:2) into spiritual maturity, and the fulfillment of God’s purposes, in which every member is a minister and the people of God know God, love one another and reach the world for Jesus.
In leadership in the home, the father leads his wife, children and extended family into spiritual maturity, and the fulfillment of God’s purposes so that everyone in the family fulfills his potential – intellectually, academically, socially and spiritually.
In Christian leadership in business, the leader leads others – including the people working for him, his suppliers, customers and competitors, and the surrounding community – into the glory of God so that his business is a wonderful witness to the Lord Jesus, and so it takes care of the people in it, achieves profitability and provides a genuine service for the community.
Our definition
encompasses
every context in
which
leadership
occurs.
Exercise
Please be as specific and clear as possible as you answer these
questions.
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Think of a good leader you know about.
Who was the leader? _______________________________
Who did he or she lead? ____________________________
Where did he or she lead them to? ____________________ ________________________________________________
What can you learn from this example? ________________ ________________________________________________
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Think of a bad leader you know about.
Who was the leader? _______________________________
Who did he or she lead? ____________________________
Where did he or she lead them to? ____________________ ________________________________________________
What can you learn from this example? ________________ ________________________________________________
- Think of a time in your own life when you were an effective leader to someone.
Who did you lead? _________________________________
Where did you lead them to? _________________________ ________________________________________________
What can you learn from this experience? ______________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
4. Apply this now, either individually or in your leadership team, to your life and/or ministry (focus on your goals and not so much on the process of accomplishing it at this point).
Who are you leading? ______________________________
Where are you leading them to? ______________________ ________________________________________________
How can you do it better? ___________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
Where did you lead them to? _________________________ ________________________________________________
What can you learn from this experience? ______________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
4. Apply this now, either individually or in your leadership team, to your life and/or ministry (focus on your goals and not so much on the process of accomplishing it at this point).
Who are you leading? ______________________________
Where are you leading them to? ______________________ ________________________________________________
How can you do it better? ___________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
(Adapted from Leadership Notes 1999)
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