The Perfect Leader Continued

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THE ATTRIBUTES OF THE PERFECT LEADER

Integrity

After more than four hundred written case studies, James Kouzes and Barry Posner identified the characteristics most desired in a leader. In virtually every survey, honesty or integrity was identified more frequently than any other trait. Perhaps a good word to describe this trait of integrity is “consistency.” There must be consistency between what is inside and what is outside.

To have integrity is to be sound, complete, integrated. To the extent that a person’s ethics and morality are integrated, that person has integrity.

What a leader does will have a greater impact on those he wishes to lead than what he says. A person may forget 90 percent of what a leader says, but he will never forget how the leader lives.

John Ortberg put it this way, “Disciplined people can do the right thing at the right time in the right way for the right reason.” Just like God. Biblical integrity is not just a matter of doing the right thing; it is a matter of having the right heart and allowing the person on the inside to match the person on the outside.

Because it is impossible for God to lie (Hebrews 6:18; Titus 1:2), He is the ultimately reliable source of hope. His changeless character is the foundation of all of his promises.

Paul advised Timothy, “Give careful attention to your behavior and your belief. Make sure they match. Constantly examine yourself to see whether your walk matches your talk.”

 

Character

Douglas J. Rumford says, “Character is like physical exercise or any form of learning; you cannot ‘cram,’ hoping to do in a day or week what can only be accomplished by months and years of consistent practice.”

When God revealed himself as the compassionate and gracious God who is slow to anger, who abounds in love and faithfulness, who maintains love to thousands, and who forgives wickedness, rebellion and sin, He made it clear that his personal character is the absolute standard by which all of these qualities are defined.

Character is not a matter of outward technique but of inner reality. God is concerned with what we are really like when no one else is looking.

As leaders looking to demonstrate positive character, we should approach the book of Proverbs as our own “Wisdom for Dummies” manual.  Each proverb provides a wealth of wisdom for those who heed its words.  Similarly, in the first twelve chapters of the book of Acts, we see Peter as the prominent leader in the fledgling church. His strength of character and conviction are a source of inspiration, challenge, and encouragement to many.

The choices we make today determine our character. And we will take our characters with us into eternity. Therefore, we must choose wisely!

 

Values

In their seminal work Good to Great, Jim Collins and Jerry Porras observe that all enduring visionary companies have a set of core values that determine the behavior of the group.

Christian Leaders recognize that God is ultimately the source of all values.  God himself is the absolute of truth, beauty, goodness, love, and justice. His perfect character is the essence of what the Bible calls “righteousness.”

Exodus 20:1–17 provides us the clearest summary of God’s values for his people.  In the Ten Commandments, God is actually calling His covenant people to be like Him.

 

Purpose and Passion

For reasons that are incomprehensible to us, God has a passion for intimacy with His people, and we participate in His eternal purposes when we pursue Him with undivided hearts.

Singer-songwriter Michael Card put it in fundamental terms when he sang of God, “Could it be that You would really rather die than live without us?”

 

Three Dimensions of God’s Purpose for Us

1. God’s universal purpose for believers is to know Christ and to make Him known.
2. God’s purpose for believers is to grow in Christ and be “conformed to the likeness of his Son” (Romans 8:29). God’s purpose for each of us is edification (spiritual growth) and evangelism (spiritual reproduction).
3. God has a unique purpose for each of us, relating to our distinctive temperaments, abilities, experiences, spiritual gifts, education, and spheres of influence. Why do we get out of bed in the morning? What is our life purpose?

Brennan Manning, in his book The Lion and the Lamb, writes about two ways of discerning our passion and purpose. First, he advises us to recall what has saddened us recently. Then he asks, “What has gladdened you recently?”

We must be ever watchful to keep our calling (something we do for God) from becoming a career (something that threatens to become god).

 

Humility

Humility is such an elusive virtue. As soon as we think we have it, we don’t. That’s part of the problem: When we finally achieve humility, we get proud of ourselves. Our humility cries out for recognition. Humility is terribly fragile.

The key to humility is to get our eyes off ourselves and onto the One from whom and for whom and through whom all things are (cf. 1 Corinthians 8:6; Colossians 1:16–20).  We make our plans, but it is God who controls the outcome (Proverbs 16:9). We make our plans, but we understand that “if it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that” (James 4:15).

Moses figured this out.  In Numbers 12:3, there is a parenthetical statement that was inserted into the text: “(Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)” Moses was a man of authority and power and charisma, but he manifested this disciplined strength through his utter willingness to be pleasing to the Father.  Moses recognized his desperate need for the grace and mercy of God, as evidenced by four characteristics:

1. He had a teachable spirit.
2. He was willing to seek wise counsel.
3. He was willing to submit to authority.
4. He didn’t have a sense of entitlement.

The supreme biblical example of humility is Jesus Christ: the incarnate God who made Himself known in our world.  Jesus modeled the essence of true humility in these three ways:

1. Jesus didn’t selfishly cling to the outer expression of his divinity. Instead, he took the form of a servant.
2. Jesus demonstrated his humility through obedience to the Father.
3. Jesus waited for his Father to lift him up. He didn’t grab for power; he patiently waited for God to provide the increase in his time.

Richard Foster, in his book Celebration of Discipline, writes, “More than any other single way, the grace of humility is worked in our lives through the discipline of serving.”  Foster recalled how his friend, the late Jamie Buckingham, took this sentiment even further, insisting that you’ll really know you are a true servant when you have a positive reaction toward people when they treat you like one. In other words, the true test of humility comes when we are treated like a servant.

 

Commitment

Godly men and women understand that effective leadership flows from being deeply committed to the right things. As followers of Christ, the single most important commitment of our lives is, obviously, to God. Any lasting success we experience as leaders will flow from that commitment.

Douglas Rumford makes a profound statement in his book Soul Shaping. He writes, “We make our commitments, then our commitments make us. Once they are chosen, many other choices follow as a matter of course.”

God calls us to be people of commitment, first to Him and then to others.  The gods of success, position, and possessions are cruel taskmasters and never deliver the profound satisfaction they promise. God alone is the worthy object of our total commitment, and if we direct our highest commitment to anything else, we commit idolatry.

In the 1991 movie City Slickers, Billy Crystal plays Mitch—a confused, dissatisfied man with a vague sense that life is passing him by. Jack Palance plays the ancient sage Curly—“a saddlebag with eyes.” At a critical moment in the film, Curly asks Mitch if he would like to know the secret of life. “It’s one thing,” Curly replies. “The secret of life is one thing—just one thing.”

Believe it or not, the wise old cowboy is parroting Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, who saw double-mindedness as the primary affliction of modern man. His book Purity of Heart Is to Will One Thing is a meditation on the biblical statement: “Purify your hearts, you double-minded” (James 4:8). The sickness, according to Kierkegaard, is really a failure to achieve an integrated life, a life that is focused on one thing. It is the failure to make an ultimate commitment to “the Good,” to “seeking first the kingdom of God.”

 

THE SKILLS OF THE PERFECT LEADER

Vision Casting

Leonard Sweet wisely reminds us, “It’s not people who are right who change the world. It’s people who can communicate their definition of right to others who change the world.”

There is a time for persuasion and selling the vision, and a time for pushing to get it done.

Dr. Hans Finzel, executive director of a large church-planting organization, writes, “Though much of my job as a CEO is communicating our vision and selling our dream out there among the public constituents, my insiders need to hear from me just as much if not more. In fact, I expend as much energy on internal as on external communications. I never assume anymore that even my closest associates can read my mind—I’ve learned too much watching false information spread.”

Communication involves more than words. It involves logos (words and concepts), ethos (behavior and character), and pathos (passion and sympathy). Clear communication is borne of what we say, what we do, and who we are.

When the Lord told David that the job of building the temple would be given to Solomon, David’s son and successor, notice how David responded:

1. David made it clear that the vision came from God (1 Chronicles 28:2–3).
2. David informed Solomon that his role would be to lead the charge in building the temple (1 Chronicles 28:6–7). Such a task would require total devotion to the Lord and to the work—a halfhearted effort wouldn’t get the job done (1 Chronicles 28:8–10).
3. David assured the people that this enormous task would be accomplished because God would enable Solomon to get the job done (1 Chronicles 28:6).
4. David gave his son sufficient detail about the temple that Solomon could visualize what it would look like (1 Chronicles 28:11–19).
5. Finally, after casting the vision, the king gave his son another dose of encouragement (1 Chronicles 28:20–21).

 

Innovation

There’s an old story has a husband asking his wife, “Honey, why do you cut off the ends of a roast before you cook it?”

“Because my mother did it that way,” she responded with a smile. Curious, the husband called the wife’s mother and asked her the same question. When she gave an identical answer, he called his wife’s grandmother. The moment the elderly matron heard the question she laughed and said, “I don’t know why they cut off the ends of the roast, but I did it that way because a full roast wouldn’t fit in my pan.”

That story illustrates how most practices are initiated to serve a purpose. But over time, even the best practice can lose its usefulness. It takes a wise leader to know when to change something. It takes insight to recognize when it is time for innovation.

Change and innovation are integral components of both biological and spiritual growth. The Scriptures focus more on process than on product, because all believers are in a process (whether we resist it or not) of becoming the people God meant us to be. Without change, growth is impossible.

The change process is not “pain free.” God invites us to do something counterintuitive: to go through the pain and not around it. God often uses the painful experiences of life to shape us and to aid the transformation process.

Change is inherent in leadership. Notice how God led Peter from being an opponent of change to becoming its champion in Acts 10:

1. God started where Peter was. He addressed Peter’s values and convictions (vv. 9–16).
2. God allowed Peter to challenge the idea (vv. 14–15).
3. God gave Peter time to work through his resistance (vv. 16–17).
4. God permitted Peter to observe change in a limited situation before suggesting wholesale change.
5. God saw that the change proposal was well prepared (vv. 1–7, 19–23, 30–33).
6. God didn’t ask Peter to “change”; He invited him to participate in improving what Peter loved. Peter quickly saw the advantage of the new over the old (v. 34).
7. God convinced a key leader and allowed that leader himself to champion the change (Acts 11:1–18).

 

Decision Making

Many bad choices are made simply because we move through the decision-making process too hastily, basing our conclusions on emotions, bad information, or impulses. Particularly on very important matters, it is wise to seek counsel and advice from others who are experienced and godly.

From 1 Chronicles 12:32, we find two key prerequisites for good decision making: “Men of Issachar … understood the times and knew what Israel should do.”  The description of these unique men underscores two essential components of effective decision making: awareness and decisiveness. Good decisions require adequate information and careful analysis of all of the pertinent facts.

Like the men of Issachar, as leaders we need to understand the times and be well aware of the cultural climate in which we live and work, so that we may become transformers rather than conformers.

When faced with a decision, recognize that no decision is a decision to remain in the status quo, to shirk an opportunity for growth, to make ourselves and our image of God a little bit smaller.

While the book of Proverbs isn’t a decision-making textbook, this wisdom-packed book is God’s gift to help us make the best decisions possible.

We should strive to develop the character and conviction to make decisions that are products of our relationship with God.

Nehemiah was faced with a huge challenge. The walls of Jerusalem were in disrepair, and the returned exiles were vulnerable and disheartened. When Nehemiah received this news in exile, he began a four-step process to approach the problem.

1. He carefully studied the situation (Nehemiah 1:2–3).
2. He empathized with those who were hurting (Nehemiah 1:4).
3. He humbled himself before God (Nehemiah 1:4).
4. He prayed (Nehemiah 1:5–11). And what a prayer! Nehemiah adored God (v. 5), confessed his nation’s sin to the Lord (vv. 6–7), and finally petitioned God for help (vv. 8–11).

Ultimately, Nehemiah knew what every great leader knows: All wisdom comes from God, and He wants to help us learn to use His wisdom to make good decisions. Prayer, then, must become a permanent part of our decision-making process, even in the arena of business.

 

Problem Solving

It is common in a variety of religions that human sacrifice something to the gods, but the idea that God Himself would take the initiative and come looking for lost people is unique to Christianity. That God himself would offer the sacrifice for humanity is unheard of in any religion other than biblical Christianity.

The grace of God and His gracious offer of salvation in Christ constitute without a doubt the most creative approach to problem solving ever imagined.

If there are pressing problems needing our action—whether in our business, in our family, or in our personal life—we should know that God is waiting to help us.

Consider these two principles when solving problems:

1. Lasting solutions come from addressing “why” questions—character questions—instead of “how” questions.
2. Great leaders achieve greatness because they solve great problems. Lesser leaders limit their energies to addressing lesser problems.

As leaders, we will face problems. They can’t be avoided. In fact, Dave Anderson—founder and chairman of the Famous Dave’s restaurant chain—suggests that “if you want to get ahead, go to your [people], and say, ‘You got problems? Give me some.’ Instead of running away from problems like most people, go after them…. That’s the way to get ahead, by solving problems.”

The only controllable factor in the face of problems is our response. If we follow Nehemiah’s model and are careful to (1) maintain our focus, (2) confront any false accusations against us immediately and with integrity, and (3) pray to God for strength and wisdom, we will find, as Nehemiah did, that God is ready, willing, and able to help.

 

Team Building

The same principle that brings success in the concert hall holds true in the kitchen as well. A good chef mixes ingredients like flour, eggs, and butter—things that by themselves are unappealing; but properly blended, they become mouthwatering dishes. Likewise, a great leader must know how to bring together diverse elements and create a productive group. Few skills are more important in leadership than the ability to build a team.

“You can’t do it on your own.” That makes a lot of sense! Few, if any, truly outstanding accomplishments can be achieved alone.

One who attempts mighty feats had better be capable of recruiting a mighty team of willing and able participants.

There is much talk about how to build unity among diverse people. Consider how an orchestra tunes itself before the performance. What follows can only be described as a bizarre cacophony at first, as we hear them make that strange sound only an orchestra can make. But once it has calmed down, they are all tuned to one another by tuning to the same instrument.

Jesus Christ is our guiding instrument!

One of the most powerful teams described in the Bible was “David’s Mighty Men.”  Several things stand out as we consider how David pulled his team together:

1. David spent time with his men in battle. We need to stick with our team through “tough stuff.”
2. Knowing that they were willing to make sacrifices for him, David made sure that they knew he was willing to do the same for them.
3. David celebrated victory with his team members.
4. David honored his friends. These men were well known throughout the land as “David’s mighty men,” a phrase that served as a banner to set them apart as extraordinary (2 Samuel 23:8–17; cf. 1 Chronicles 11:10–11).

We live in an individualistic culture, but we are called to be people in relationship. As Greg Johnson has noted, we are not called to be the persons of God, but the people of God.

By choosing a tax collector, Jesus demonstrated two important principles of team building. First, he recruited specific people for specific reasons. Teams are made up of players. Players have positions. They are expected to contribute something they do well—ideally better than anyone else on the team. Second, Jesus recruited an “odd” player. He began with a group of Galileans—working men, mostly fishermen, all with strong Jewish backgrounds. Then he inexplicably added Matthew, a tax collector and hated publican, to the mix.

In addition to Matthew the tax collector, Jesus also recruited Simon the Zealot (Luke 6:15), who was at the opposite end of the political spectrum from Matthew. Jesus taught his team of individuals to understand, appreciate, and love each other. Jesus molded his team into a tightly knit unit. But he recruited each of them on the basis of their individual strengths. He recruited people who would contribute to the other members of the team and to the team’s overall objectives.

According to John R. Katzenbach and Douglas K. Smith, effective leaders “simply need to believe in their purpose and their people.” Katzenbach and Smith contend that the stronger this belief, the more it enables leaders to instinctively strike the right balance between action and patience as they work to build effective teams.

Let’s take a little quiz: If two horses can pull nine thousand pounds, how many pounds can four horses pull? Here’s a hint: it’s not nine thousand pounds. In fact, it’s not eighteen thousand pounds. Believe it or not, four horses can pull more than thirty thousand pounds! If that doesn’t compute, it is because we don’t understand the concept of synergism.

 

THE RELATIONSHIPS OF THE PERFECT LEADER

Communication – Understand to be Understood

In the famous prayer attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, the petitioner asked God to help him to seek first to understand over being understood. This principle is the key to effective interpersonal communication.

Proverbs 18:13 says, “He who answers before listening—that is his folly and his shame.”

Arthur Robertson, founder and president of Effective Communication and Development, Inc., wrote his book The Language of Effective Listening based on the premise that “effective listening is the number one communication skill requisite to success in your professional and personal life.”

God’s Word richly blesses and empowers those who learn from it and follow it. God communicates with us in Scripture not merely to inform us, but also to transform us. As great as the Bible is, God’s highest form of communication is his personal revelation through Jesus Christ.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer spoke of the need to practice “the ministry of holding one’s tongue”.  He explained, “Often we combat our evil thoughts most effectively if we absolutely refuse to allow them to be expressed in words…. It must be a decisive rule of every Christian fellowship that each individual is prohibited from saying much that occurs to him.” Wise leaders think before they speak; in so doing they select words that nurture rather than destroy.

James wrote, “My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires” (James 1:19–20).

The Bible is clear that communication is as much an issue of character as it is a skill. No one can tame the tongue. It will speak out of what fills the heart.  Do you communicate without trying, or do you try without communicating?

 

Encouragement

Humans can survive the loss of almost anything—but not without hope. Hope is what we live on and in. Hope is what gets us from one day to the next.

We need to consider ways we can encourage others. A phone call, a brief note, or a personal word of thanks for what another person has meant to us requires little time but yields positively disproportionate benefits. We should take the time to thank each person who has made an investment in our life.

No other New Testament character illustrates the ability to encourage more strongly than Barnabas, whose name means “Son of Encouragement” (Acts 4:36).  Consider his impact on the apostle Paul.

As a devout Pharisee, Saul had doggedly hunted down and persecuted followers of Jesus; therefore to the wary disciples, the “newfound faith” of Saul’s could be just another one of his tricks. Due to their suspicion, it seemed as if Saul’s ministry would founder before it ever got started. And that might have happened had not Barnabas been willing to “stand in the gap” (Ezekiel 22:30) beside Saul, leading him to the apostles and testifying concerning his conversion and subsequent ministry. Barnabas encouraged the apostles to bless Saul’s ministry, and they responded favorably. Barnabas provided the timely support that Saul needed to launch his ministry.

Suppose for a moment that Barnabas had said nothing on Saul’s behalf. What might have happened? In what ways did his actions demonstrate both love and courage? Think for a moment how we can follow his example, whether with a family member, a co-worker, or a peer. A little bit of encouragement can go a long way toward motivating those around us.

 

Exhortation

Aristotle said, “No one would want to live without friends, even if he possessed every other endowment.”  For Aristotle, the truest friendship is far more than mere companionship, the sharing of mutual hobbies, and a common network of acquaintances. Friends, in the highest sense of the term, are those who make a conscientious effort to take ethics and personal character seriously and inspire each other to be better—in thought, in action, in life.

Because God cares personally about us and our welfare, he warns and urges us to repent and follow his leading while there is still time. He does so through three primary means:

1. God uses the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit.
2. God uses the exhortation of other believers.
3. God also gets our attention with his Word: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16–17).

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “Nothing can be more cruel than the leniency which abandons others to their sin. Nothing can be more compassionate than the severe reprimand which calls another Christian in one’s community back from the path of sin.”

In the front of his preaching Bible, Warren Wiersbe wrote these words: “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle.”  Unfortunately, as Dallas Willard points out, we often confront others in order to “straighten them out.” Done in this way, exhortation becomes just another tool of manipulation and coercion.

Before exhorting anyone, the leader needs to engage in self-examination. People fail, and leaders are often compelled to intervene and deal with the consequences. But, Paul reminded Timothy, gentle restoration handled by spiritual individuals defines the biblical approach to this tough part of leadership.

In his book The Management Methods of Jesus, Bob Briner notes that the word “rebuke” is an archaic term that we don’t often hear today. Surely there are occasions in which an old-fashioned rebuke should be the action of choice. But we need to exercise wisdom so that our words build up others rather than tear them down. Briner notes that not one of the disciples whom Jesus rebuked ever left him.

Effective leaders use a variety of communication techniques to exhort those around them to strive for higher levels of performance.

 

Building Relationships

Stanford Research Institute, Harvard University and the Carnegie Foundation proved that 85 percent of the reason people get a job, keep that job, and move ahead in that job has to do with their people skills and people knowledge.

The Bible is all about relationships.  Our first example would be Jesus. When Jesus was asked to sum up the God-centered life, He said that it was quite simple. Love God and love others (Mark 12:28–31). Later, Augustine, the great theologian of the early church, observed that everything written in Scripture is meant to teach us how to love either God or our neighbor. This truth comes as no surprise when we consider that the triune God is a personal being who exists as a joyous community of humility, servanthood, and mutual submission.

Forgiveness and reconciliation often run counter to the way of the world, but great leaders are well acquainted with forgiveness. The more we grasp the level of our own forgiveness, the easier it will be for us to forgive others.

At times, each of us is called upon by God to seek out, forgive, and restore those who have wronged us. Relationships are the currency of God’s kingdom. The one who wins in life is not the one who has the most toys, but the one who has the best relationships.

 

Servant Leadership

Pat Riley was the second-winningest coach in NBA history and the fastest manager in any of the four major professional sports to reach one thousand wins. In his book The Winner Within, the outstanding NBA coach wrote about the “danger of me”: The most difficult thing for individuals to do when they’re part of the team is to sacrifice. It’s so easy to become selfish in a team environment.

You must give up something in the immediate present—comfort, ease, recognition, quick rewards—to attract something even better in the future.

When there was no servant to carry out the customary task of foot washing for His disciples and Himself, Jesus assumed the role. The Master became the servant. The greatest and highest became the least and the lowest. In one stunning act, Jesus demonstrated that in the kingdom of God, service is not the path to greatness; service is greatness. Here the divine perspective shines through and appears to our disoriented minds to be upside down.

John Calvin was right in saying, “Christ does not enjoin an annual ceremony here, but tells us to be ready, all through our life, to wash the feet of our brethren.”

Far from meaning that we are to wash feet literally, Christ means for us to live a life of love, and of humble and sacrificial service.

More often than not, leadership skills are used in the service of personal gain and career advancement rather than in the service of others. A biblical view of servant leadership makes evident the fact that the service we render to others is really a measure of the service we render to God. And Jesus asks each of us to follow His servant model: “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all” (Mark 10:43–44).

The pages of human history are stained with the disastrous consequences experienced by people who have misused their privileges of power, wealth, exceptional intelligence, strength, or honor.

But Jesus is different. It is absolutely correct to state that no one else has ever influenced the world as Jesus did … and does … and will.

All of us who want to be great leaders must be willing to serve others to the best of our ability. A prolonged and concentrated meditation on Hebrews 2-4 will provide us an excellent starting point for shaping the values needed for genuine service.

May the example of The Perfect Leader serve you well, as you shoot for the stars!