As a student of leadership…I have more than my fair share of occasions to observe people “leading.” Observer bias notwithstanding, what passes for leadership in many circles is simply…not.
To lead, one must have a sense of where the endpoint is. This could be a bold objective. It may be more incremental. Whether radical or otherwise, as the leader you must know at least the direction if not the destination. This requires a leader to do a great deal of homework and heart work before setting out on the journey. Perhaps one of the most telling biblical examples is found in the Book of Nehemiah where, when he learns of the disrepair and disrepute of the city, sets out to rebuild the wall. Before doing so though…he spent time surveying the work and observing the people. (Nehemiah 1-2). Only then did he lead the people. To shortcut this step is to abdicate the foundational element of leadership…know where you are going. Leadership is not just blending into the cultural chaos or floating along in the lazy river. It is seeing the destination and choosing to put your oar in the water and pull!
Second, leadership is not polling those led to see where they are comfortable going…and simply helping them get there. This approach has a feel of servanthood and helpfulness but lacks leadership. I’ve interviewed a lot of guys in my day for positions of leadership. There is some wisdom in acknowledging the need to “check with the troops.” In fact, a poor leader is one who rushes into battle without listening to the people on the ground to see if victory is even possible (Consider Luke 14:25ff). After inventory of resources and examining moral, the leader must lead people to action. By the way, this always involves change, and the change is determined by the leader as he seeks to bring the followers in alignment with the organization’s objective.
Third, leadership is rarely without resistance. Leadership is always about change. People, generally, dislike change. The art of leading is helping people dislike the status quo more than the potential of change. Or as one President Eisenhower said: Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.[i]
Finally, leadership is, in some sense, unavoidable. That may sound like a contradiction of terms given the title and opening idea but hear me out. Even when we lead ineffectively, we are effectively leading in the wrong direction. We teach people through our approach to discount leadership or to usurp it. We condition people to embrace comfort over change. We reinforce within others the concept that majorities rule and the leader’s vision is no more or less authoritative than their own. Unfortunately, many in our culture today value autonomy over community. It is more desirable for them to go against the grain than to follow a leader. This idea is bred into and reinforced by poor leadership. You’re always leading. The question remains is whether you’re worthy of following.
Remember, leadership is stewardship. Leaders lead others from a wellspring of love and service. We desire for others to experience the very best and to achieve greatness…so we lead them as such. We know that people succeed as they embrace worthy pursuits together.
Leader, don’t lead based on polling. Discover the vision, do the hard work to figure out how to get there and help people to want to go. Happy leading!
[i] https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/dwight_d_eisenhower_101562.
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