Writings on Christian leadership and leader development by Malcolm Webber
The word “accountability” in English comes from the fourteenth century word accounts, meaning a record of money received and paid. King James II of England was the first to publicly use the term “accountability.” In 1688 he said to his people, “I am accountable for all things that I openly and voluntarily do or say.” In short, the word [...]
Malcolm Webber
When a young man or woman goes to Bible school to become a leader, what is usually addressed? Competencies! Perhaps some token attention is paid to the other four elements of a healthy leader (Christ, community, character, and calling), but for the most part, our attention to “leader development” is given in the area of competencies such [...]
Malcolm Webber
Like all true leaders at any level of responsibility, Paul was “sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father” (Gal. 1:1). There is no substitute for the Divine call in the leader’s life. A leader may have impeccable character, a great desire to be a leader and strong technical abilities to lead and manage; but [...]
Malcolm Webber
There was once a young man who was exceptionally bright. When he was ready, his father went to enroll him in a fine university and said to the President of that school, “Since my son is so gifted, would it be possible for him to finish the courses in less than the normal time?” “It all depends on what you want your son to be,” the wise [...]
Malcolm Webber
This is the final part in a series on organizational change Part 1:Leader, Be Prepared! Your Followers May Resist Change. Part 2: Change in Real Time: What You Need to Know As a Leader Part 3: Without a Strategy for Change, You’re Sunk Recently we explored the process of change in an organization. But any organization is built of people, [...]
Malcolm Webber
This is Part 3 in a series on organizational change Part 1: Leader, Be Prepared! Your Followers May Resist Change. Part 2: Change in Real Time: What You Need to Know As a Leader Large-scale change in an organization involves a process of experimentation and learning. It is impossible to anticipate all the possible problems or to prepare [...]
Malcolm Webber
This is Part 2 in a series on organizational change. Part 1: Leader, Be Prepared! Your Followers May Resist Change. Part 3: Without a Strategy for Change, You’re Sunk Leaders lead their constituents somewhere different from where they are already. Thus, the essence of leadership is change. Consequently, leaders must understand the change [...]
Malcolm Webber
This is part 1 in a series on organizational change Part 2: Change in Real Time: What You Need to Know As a Leader Part 3: Without a Strategy for Change, You’re Sunk Most people prefer stability and predictability in their lives and ministries. Consequently, proposed change causes stress for most people. This is why when faced with [...]
Malcolm Webber
The most effective leader development efforts are conducted within a living community of people in which the emerging leaders function and participate. In many traditional systems of education, the individual students arrive at the class, sit at their separate desks, listen to the lectures, participate in whatever group tasks are [...]
Malcolm Webber
“Groupthink” is a well-documented phenomenon that teams must vigilantly avoid. It occurs when a group of people strives to minimize conflict at the expense of critical analysis and evaluation. Groupthink happens when the members of a team try so hard to get along that they never disagree, which results in a stagnation of ideas. [...]
Malcolm Webber