A useful definition of leadership revolves around “vision,” and has three parts:

1. The leader establishes the vision.
2. He aligns the people in that direction.
3. He motivates and inspires them to move and keep moving in that direction until they fulfill the vision.

Viewed from this angle, leadership involves movement toward a vision. This is a helpful way to understand leadership – but only if the vision and its implementation are legitimate. Continue Reading »

An effective leader possesses a blend of three special elements:

1. Vision. In Christian circles, we could also call this “Calling.”
2. Character.
3. 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 shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance. And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them. (Ps. 78:70-72)

Verses 70-71 reveal David’s calling:

He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens; from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people

Verse 72a shows his character:

David shepherded them with integrity of heart

Verse 72b describes David’s competencies:

with skillful hands he led them.

Just as a stool has three legs, there are three foundations of effective leadership. All three must be present and in balance for the leader to succeed. The three foundations are calling, character and competencies. Continue Reading »

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 character and values (“Be”), his competencies (“Know”), and his decisions and actions (“Do”). Continue Reading »

According to our definition of leadership (as found in SpiritBuilt Leadership #1: Leadership), there are three parts to leadership:

1. The leader establishes the direction or the vision.
2. He aligns the people in that direction.
3. He motivates and inspires them to move in that direction and to fulfill the vision. Continue Reading »

Through focusing on building leaders, rather than on building organizations, we will avoid the common problem of vision displacement.

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In “Leading Change,” John Kotter presents an eight-stage model of planned change. This Letter examines the third stage of the model.

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Leaders lead their constituents somewhere different from where they are already. Thus, the essence of leadership is change. Consequently, leaders must understand the change process and how change is achieved.

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In “The Leadership Challenge,” James Kouzes and Barry Posner demonstrate that leaders:

1. Challenge the process.
2. Inspire a shared vision.
3. Enable others to act.
4. Model the way.
5. Encourage the heart. Continue Reading »

According to “The Leadership Challenge” by James Kouzes and Barry Posner, leaders:

1. Challenge the process.
2. Inspire a shared vision.
3. Enable others to act.
4. Model the way.
5. Encourage the heart. Continue Reading »

According In “The Leadership Challenge,” James Kouzes and Barry Posner demonstrate that leaders:

1. Challenge the process.
2. Inspire a shared vision.
3. Enable others to act.
4. Model the way.
5. Encourage the heart. Continue Reading »