Writings on Christian leadership and leader development by Malcolm Webber
How accurately do you estimate your ability as a leader? Do you think too highly of yourself, not highly enough, or about right? Recently I came across the concept of “illusory superiority.” Illusory superiority is “a cognitive bias that causes people to overestimate their positive qualities and abilities and to underestimate their [...]
Malcolm Webber
An effective leader possesses a blend of three special elements: Vision. In Christian circles, we could also call this “Calling.” Character. Competence. All three elements are found in the description of King David in Psalm 78: He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens; from tending the sheep he brought him to be the [...]
Malcolm Webber
In our last Letter, we saw that self-giving love is at the core of healthy Christian leadership. For the healthy leader, the “fundamental focus shifts from what we need and from what others should be doing for us to what we can do to serve them… [This] is the very essence of what Jesus did in His life and ministry and it is at the heart [...]
Malcolm Webber
In our last Letter, we looked at the relationship between Christ and Community and the implications of this relationship for leader development. In the New Testament, there is a very close relationship between the church and the leader’s maturing union with Christ. This relationship can be expressed in two fundamental ways: Christ builds [...]
Malcolm Webber
In the western church, Christianity is largely understood as an individual thing – a personal transaction between the individual and God. Consequently, leader development is also understood, largely, in individual terms – the individual learns and grows in an essentially individualized learning environment and then, once qualified, he [...]
Malcolm Webber
The “Be, Know, Do” (BKD) model of leader development is used by the U.S. Army but has also gained some measure of popularity in Christian leader development. According to the Army, leaders lead others by their character, by their competence, and by their actions; therefore, effective leader development must focus on the leader’s [...]
Malcolm Webber
By definition, leaders have too many responsibilities on their plate. This is what distinguishes leaders from non-leaders – the ability to think it through and then act. And the courage to do so.
Malcolm Webber
The 5C Goal of Leader Development According to Robert Clinton, over 70 percent of leaders who successfully climb the ladder of leadership influence do not finish well. Some dramatically fail, precipitating public scandal, while the majority of leaders who lose their influence just fade quietly into obscurity. They fall short because in [...]
Malcolm Webber
In our last Letter, we saw that just as Jesus lived His life by the life of His Father in Him, so we are to live our Christian lives, by the life of Jesus in us.
Malcolm Webber
As have seen in previous Letters, our leadership development efforts must not be conducted apart from a living community of people in which the emerging leaders function and participate.
Malcolm Webber