A. Introduction.
1. The existence of authority demands the function of leadership. The possession of authority carries the responsibility of leadership. The existence of any organized group demands the existence of leadership.
2. Authority in the family demands parental leadership. Authority in marriage demands the leadership of the husband. Authority in the military, business, government, the church, and other organizations demands the exercise of leadership. The principle of authority demands more than management; it demands the existence of leadership for the proper function of that authority.
3. Historical events produce a need for leadership and only leadership can meet that need. Circumstances produce a market for leadership and leadership supplies that market. Life is a market for leadership, and crisis sets the stage for leadership.
4. Leadership is the authority, ability, and capacity to direct, to guide, to lead, to motivate, to control in any organization where legitimate authority exists. The purpose of leadership is to enforce, to execute, and to motivate policy, purpose, and the objectives of any legitimate organization.
5. Leadership is the responsibility of authority. However, being in a position of authority does not mean or imply that the person has leadership.
6. Many categories of life depend on and demand leadership capability rather than mere managerial function.
7. Categories of life that demand leadership include: marriage, the family, government, the military, professional organizations, business organizations, academic institutions, athletic organizations, and Christian organizations.
B. Leadership must be distinguished from management.
1. There are leaders and their are followers as can be seen in the spiritual gifts given to the Church.
2. There are Christians with God(c)given authority, and there are Christians under God(c)given authority.
3. There are pastors and congregations. There are very strong doctrinal principles that apply to Christian leadership which demand wisdom from doctrine circulating in the stream of consciousness. There are equally strong doctrinal principles assigned to the congregation as followers with regard to their response to the teaching of the word of God.
4. Col 3:22(c)4:1, “Christian workers, keep on submitting to the authority of the lords according to the flesh according to the standard of all things, not in the sphere of eye(c)service as men(c)pleasers, but by means of the integrity of the stream of consciousness, respecting the Lord. Whatever you do, keep functioning from the soul as to the Lord and not to men, knowing from the ultimate source of the Lord you shall receive in return the reward from the inheritance. You are the servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. For he who does wrong shall receive the consequences of that wrongdoing, and there is no partiality. Lords [Christian leadership], give from your own resources and power both fair treatment and equal wages to your employees, knowing that you too keep on having the Lord in heaven.”
a. The existence of authority demands the function of leadership. The possession of authority cares the responsibility of leadership. The existence of any organized group demands the existence of leadership. Authority in the family demands parental leadership. Authority in marriage demands the leadership of the husband.
b. The principle of authority demands more than management. It demands leadership, especially in the local church.
5. Leadership motivates people, management regulates people. Leadership is destroyed when management mechanics get involved. There is no gift of spiritual management in the Bible, only the gift of spiritual leadership related to the unique spiritual life of the Church Age. The leader does not have the privilege of disliking anyone. Everyone must be treated the same, not based on who the leader likes or dislikes. Christian leadership is responsible to the Lord for their treatment of their employees.
6. Leadership necessitates the establishment of authority, and authority is established through discipline. Self(c)discipline is the foundation for leadership. Management is the bureaucratic enforcement of regulations without ability and often without integrity. Leadership provides self(c)motivation from efficient function in the spiritual life.
7. Management bullies and requires no honor or integrity, while leadership motivates even in the dullest of routines.
8. Leadership delegates authority, while management abuses authority by failure to allow initiative in subordinates (micro(c)management). Leadership delegates authority, while management stands over a person and bullies.
9. Leadership cannot function without honor and integrity while management produces hypocrisy, inordinate ambition, and often dishonesty.
10. Leadership produces maximum results; management maintains the status quo and then declines from there.
11. Leadership inspires humility; management creates arrogance.
12. The function of leadership verses management in the local church.
a. In the local church, the leadership of the pastor is related to his faithful and consistent studying and teaching of Bible doctrine.
b. This means that the leader(c)pastor recognizes the privacy of the royal priesthood of each believer and avoids counseling or dictatorial functions that create dependency on the pastor rather than on the message he teaches. The pastor(c)leader teaches doctrine but does not coerce the volition of the members of the congregation.
c. The leadership of the pastor(c)teacher is to direct the congregation in what the Bible teaches rather than to establish a dependency on himself or encourage creating a role model out of himself or anyone else.
d. The manager(c)pastor may or may not teach Bible doctrine, but he does seek to regulate his congregation. He encourages counseling or leaning on him for advice and counsel. Therefore, he creates a dependency on himself rather than a dependency on the Word of God.
e. When a congregation is under the ministry of a manager(c)pastor, they tend to react to dictatorship of that pastor or over(c)respond(c)(c)both are unhealthy. Over(c)response creates a tendency to make a role model out of the pastor. Reaction means seeking to malign, criticize, or judge the pastor. This distracts from the function of learning doctrine and causes the three stages of Christian degeneracy.
f. The only role model in the Christian life is our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ cannot be the role model of any believer apart from their consistent inculcation and cognition of Bible doctrine.
g. The manager(c)pastor has a tendency to become the volition for his entire congregation rather than allowing the believer to make his own decisions. The minister must preserve the freedom of his congregation and protect their privacy. The leadership pastor seeks to protect the privacy of the congregation, while the manager pastor seeks to invade the privacy of the congregation. It is not the man; it is the message that is important.
h. The pastor(c)leader delegates authority to others for the administration and service functions of the local church. Management pastors try to run everything and everyone.
i. By teaching the Word, the pastor(c)leader seeks to inculcate self(c)motivation from Bible doctrine. Leadership pastors teach virtue and integrity from Bible doctrine, while management pastors teach legalism and hypocrisy from their own self(c)righteous arrogance. Spiritual leadership emphasizes the importance of Bible doctrine; management pastors emphasize the importance of Christian experience.
13. Leadership constantly teaches and trains; management relies on a pleasing personality and making subordinates feel good. Management gives orders and never explains anything.
14. People under management react and overreact, resulting in a lot of dissatisfied people. Management cannot properly discipline.
15. Management rises to the top without ability. In a leadership system, the best people rise to the top.
16. Leadership is always humble in the sense of virtue. It has self-esteem.
17. Prov 24:6,E “Because through the art of leadership you will execute warfare. Therefore, victory resides in the greatness of the one who commands.”
18. Historical events produce a need for leadership and leadership meets that need. Life is a market for leadership; crisis sets the stage.
19. When management has authority, it is inevitable that disaster will occur.
20. Leadership necessitates the establishment of authority, while management is the bureaucratic enforcement of regulation without ability or integrity.
21. Leadership delegates authority; management abuses authority by trying to do all the work or take the initiative away from others.
22. Leadership cannot function without honor and integrity. Management can only produce hypocrisy, inordinate ambition, dishonesty, and lack of virtue.
23. Management maintains the status-quo in a crisis or disaster; leadership produces maximum results.
24. You cannot lead untrained troops in battle and be successful.
25. Leadership and popularity are not the same. Not all leaders are popular. The basis of leadership is virtue and integrity in life. The basis for popularity is success, personality, personal appeal, or physical attractiveness.
26. Memorial to Hood’s Texas brigade, “Not for fame or reward. Not for place or for rank. Not lured by ambition or goaded by necessity, but in simple obedience to duty as they understood it, these men suffered all, sacrificed all, endured all, and died.”
C. The Attributes of Leadership.
1. A leader must possess either human or spiritual self(c)esteem, or both, so that he does not feel threatened by any form of pressure.
2. A leader must possess honor, integrity, virtue, loyalty, sensitivity to those under his command. These come from a relaxed mental attitude, which means total freedom from the arrogance complex and emotional complex of sins.
3. A leader must be organized in his own personal life. His thinking must be organized; his motivation must be consistent; his decisions and actions must follow his motivation in consistency. Disorganized people never make good leaders.
4. A leader must understand both self and group discipline. No one achieves true leadership without self-discipline. At the same time, he must understand group discipline and its significance. A leader understands that the organization is more important than he is.
5. A leader must have respect for authority. This is the basic virtue of humility. He must know how to use that authority without abusing it. The leader gets far greater punishment from the supreme court of heaven than the followers.
6. Subjective and arrogant people rarely make good leaders. A leader must be free at all times from arrogance. Therefore, he must be free from subjectivity. Arrogance in leadership expresses itself in pettiness, tyranny, lack of fairness to all, and self(c)promoting. A true leader is objective, humble, teachable, and grace(c)oriented. Subjective and arrogant people do not make good leaders.
7. A leader must function within his own personality as a self(c)object and not through imitation of some role model. You will never be a leader by imitating someone else’s personality. You must stay within your own personality and not try to be someone else. You cannot maintain your poise while trying to someone you are not.
a. Certain personality imitation should be avoided at all costs, such as the macho personality. You find poise inside your own personality.
b. The leader must examine himself for empathy as a caretaker of others rather than using those under his charge for self-promotion.
c. Leadership demands that the individual utilize leadership characteristics within the framework of his own personality.
8. Leadership demands a total knowledge and professional understanding of whatever you are leading: a business, a profession, a soldier, a police officer, a pastor, a politician, a coach, an executive, a husband. You cannot be lazy and be a good leader. Leadership is hard work.
9. As a result of understanding the principle of authority, the leader must possess both objectivity and loyalty to higher echelons of command and to those under his command.
a. In this regard, objectivity neutralizes potential personality conflict, while loyalty produces good command function in a structured organization. Objectivity resolves personality conflicts.
b. Leadership exercises both fairness and objectivity toward those under one’s authority without using that authority to be abusive or dictatorial.
c. A leader does not use his command to attain promotion.
10. A leader must possess common sense, some degree of flexibility, and an understanding of people. Common sense is all of his knowledge about the profession, all of his understanding of people, and the importance of relating to all people under his command with some measure of flexibility. Along with this common sense, a leader must have academic understanding of his responsibilities, of the purpose of the organization in which he serves, and their objectives.
11. A leader must be fair to all under his command. He must be free from prejudice of any kind. Prejudice is blind arrogance when it comes to understanding people.
12. Leadership must develop and attain executive ability rather than managerial bureaucracy. This means leadership must learn to analyze, to organize, to categorize, to systematize, to synthesize, and communicate. A leader must also train and teach those under his responsibility. He must teach them to improve their motivation and capacity for life.
13. The key to all leadership is impersonal love. Since impersonal love for all mankind is a function of spiritual growth directly related to Bible doctrine, the sooner you arrive at the point of impersonal love for all mankind and spiritual self(c)esteem the sooner you will achieve leadership in any managerial or responsible area.
14. Good leadership must have confidence, poise, dress, carriage, good manners, and thoughtfulness of others. Some leaders have flair, but flair is not a leadership characteristic in itself; it is a personality characteristic. Therefore, if flair does not match your personality, avoid it at all costs.
15. A leader must possess either human or spiritual self(c)esteem, so that he does not feel threatened by any form of pressure from personnel or malfunction in an organization.
16. A leader must have a sense of responsibility toward his organization. He must have a sense of responsibility toward the personnel, toward fulfilling the objectives, and toward maintaining the policy of the organization.
D. Leadership must be related to some profession or some system of organization in life.
1. Various professions require variations in leadership function.
2. A husband’s leadership must be related to his wife; a parent’s leadership must be related to children. Leadership must be related to the situation.
3. A pastor’s leadership must be related to the study and communication of Bible doctrine.
4. A soldier’s leadership must be related to his ability to motivate and train troops. Military leadership is defined as that professional soldier whose rank gives him command of a tactical unit in combat, which can include anyone from an officer to a non(c)commissioned officer to a team leader. Military leadership includes combining your understanding of logistics with your ability to make good decisions under pressure.
5. Business leadership must be related to marketing ability.
6. Political leadership must be related to establishment principles and the communication of those principles to your constituents. Good leadership in a politician makes him a statesman.
7. Good leadership in a labor union must include the highest form of integrity and the ability to have the interest of the union in balance with the state of the economy. Union leadership cannot provide for the union what the economy will not bear.
8. All categories of leadership must relate their objectives to the status quo of the national entity so that they are not in conflict with divine establishment.
9. Good leadership in any sphere always balances the objectives of the organization with the public welfare.
E. Leadership thinks under stress and pressure, Zech 12:5.
1. Zech 12:5, “Then the generals of Judah will think in their hearts, `My strength is in the inhabitants of Jerusalem through the Lord of the armies, their God.’” 2. There are two Jewish generals who will organize the remaining population of Jerusalem and will not surrender. They continue to think in the face of hopeless odds during the seige of Jerusalem at the end of the Tribulation.
3. The faith(c)rest drill is the basis for their thinking under stress. They lifted the shield of faith by using doctrinal rationales: the essence of God, the plan of God, the policy of God, logistical grace, and the a fortiori rationales.
4. Even though two(c)thirds of the population of the city have been killed, they still know there are mature believers left alive who they can organize to fight. They also know that the Lord Jesus Christ will return at the Second Advent to deliver them.
F. Leadership motivates under pressure, Zech 12:6.
1. Zech 12:6, “In that day, I will make the generals of Judah like a pan of fire among the sticks and like a flaming torch in a sheaf. Therefore, they will cut to pieces all the surrounding enemies on the right hand and on the left. Therefore, the inhabitants of Jerusalem will live in their own homes in Jerusalem.”
a. The pan of fire is the leadership in combat arms and the sticks are the troops.
b. The flaming torch is staff leadership. The sheaf is a general staff.
2. This Jewish army will have freedom through military victory.
3. In the Millennium, Jerusalem will be inhabited by the heroes of this army who used the faith(c)rest drill and continued to resist under great leadership.
4. Stress does not shorten life. The only time stress shortens life is when you succumb to that stress.
_G. The Pattern of Leadership in the Military.
1. The pattern of military leadership becomes the basis for whether we survive and have freedom or not.
2. Authority orientation, which includes use of that authority without abuse of authority, is one of the most important factors in the military.
3. The officer corps must have a self(c)disciplined life, which includes:
a. Virtue, honor, integrity, self(c)esteem, a relaxed mental attitude with good motivation which includes love for the profession of arms and freedom from arrogance.
b. There must be a strong sense of responsibility toward one’s command.
c. There must be professional diligence and perspicacity which includes knowledge of all phases of military life: strategy, tactics, logistics, personnel, military administration, and a study in depth of principles in these areas which have not changed in the last 5000 years.
d. There must be loyalty to authority above and subordinates. Hence, objectivity rather than subjectivity is the key to military life.
e. There must be common sense and good judgment developed from freedom of scar tissue of the soul.
f. There must be fairness and the avoidance of prejudice in dealing with personnel.
g. There must be ability to organize, categorize, synthesize, analyze, and to delegate responsibility.
h. There must also be health, endurance, mental stability, the ability to think under all kinds of pressure.
4. The fine line between officer and enlisted.
a. The military has established precisely correct procedure. There is a fine line between officers and enlisted men. The purpose for this fine line is extremely important. If the fine line is erased, leadership is surrendered. This is why there is a separation between officers and non(c)commissioned officers. b. The same line exists in business. Not all problems are the fault of labor unions; many are because of leadership failure.
c. Leadership is not your popularity with those under your command, but your wisdom in dealing with every situation as a person set apart to command. Leadership demands wisdom in relationship to those under your command.
d. Leadership can become too dependent on the opinion of those under its command. If a leader is told by those under him what to do, he is not a leader. He cannot think independently. He will cause unbelievable defeat and casualties.
e. Leadership cannot afford to become socially involved with those under its command. There are certain social events which are wonderful and legitimate. But to become “buddy-buddy” with those under your command, or to over-socialize, means that when you have to make a decision whereby that man will have to be sacrificed as a part of a greater plan, you can’t do it. Therefore, you shouldn’t be a leader.
f. “I don’t tell my men to do anything I wouldn’t do,” is a mentality that should not rise above company level. This mentality means you cannot properly tell a battalion what to do. You’re supposed to be a cut above them and be able to think! With your higher rank, you’re supposed to do the thinking and tell them what to do! That macho stupidity means you’re a fool and you don’t belong in leadership.
g. The same principle applies to business and to every organization. We are lacking leadership everywhere today because that fine line has been erased by social life, patronizing, flattery, and simply by good ability dying on the vine.
h. Leadership cannot afford to become socially dependent on those you command, because you cannot make objective decisions with regard to them. Leadership under social dependence has a tendency to over reward good work and to ignore lapses.
i. Eventually a crisis occurs where leadership must make independent decisions. Otherwise, the leader is not really a leader but a spokesman for bureaucratic democracy, which is not leadership at all. Any bureaucrat can take a poll on a decision. Leadership must have something to distinguish him from the rest, e.g., good judgment, moral courage, independent thinking, and the ability to make good decisions which go against the grain. That’s why Douglas MacArthur stands historically as being the greatest soldier this country has ever had.
j. Leadership must never adopt the prejudices of the underlings, which destroys overall objectivity in dealing with personal problems. Leadership, therefore, must lead and not follow. Leadership can take suggestions and listen to opinions and advice from others. But if leadership becomes too dependent on these “conferences with the group,” the ability to make sound and independent decisions is lost completely. Leadership must never be sucked into bad advice, or be manipulated by flattery or patronizing from ambitious underlings.
k. For the good of the organization, leadership must motivate and encourage, but not allow the underling to take advantage of friendship, so that the organization is used instead of served. Manipulatory underlings will often tell you what they think you want to hear. They will become a bad influence in decision making, which means loss of leadership, and the fine line is erased.
l. Leadership must function within the realm of one’s own personality without being used or without being authoritative where there is not need for it. Therefore, leadership can be neutralized and destroyed by overinvolvement with those under one’s command. Involvement should be confined to one’s peers within the framework of your organization.
m. If this fine line does not exist, there is equalization, and so there is no leadership, and therefore there is inevitable disaster. We’re moving toward this today. Everyone’s a leader; everyone should express an opinion.
n. All this means we are destroying protocol. When you erase the line between the leader and the followers, you also destroy respect. And if there is no leadership, the followers are self-destructive.
o. Today, the salute is disappearing. Yet you should never break the protocol. That salute is a part of the fine line. The officer’s club is a part of the fine line. Without that line, there is no leadership.
p. There is just as clearly defined leadership and authority in Christianity as there is in any of our military services and in any well-run organization of any kind.
5. The essence of military leadership is developed for the leader through his Bible doctrine. It begins with proper respect for authority, the proper use of authority without abuse of that authority. Tacitus said, “An army of stags is more to be feared under the command of a lion than an army of lions led by a stag.”
H. The Pattern of Parental Leadership.
1. Parental leadership is related to one’s own children, not to other people’s children.
2. God has provided a divine system for people to emerge from childhood with orientation to life, capacity for happiness, and human self¦esteem.
3. This divine system is based on the authority of parents and their ability to teach, train, discipline, encourage, motivate, and guide their own children into the status of adulthood.
4. This divine system is designed by God for both unbelievers and Christian parents.
5. The divine system of family is often neutralized by parental failure. Causes for malfunction of the family include:
a. Genetic handicaps.
b. Environmental handicaps(c)(c)this is too much garbage in the subconscious.
c. Volitional handicaps which often develop rebellion of the children or abuse from the parents, Col 3:21.
I. Scriptural Examples of Leadership.
1. Prov 24:1(c)6.
a. Prov 24:1, “Do not be jealous of evil men, nor desire to be with them.”
(1) You cannot be a good leader and practice any mental attitude sins. You cannot be a good leader and be jealous. Jealousy leads to pettiness which destroys a leader. Jealousy destroys any form of leadership. Jealousy results in a distorted view of reality and life.
(2) Mental attitude sins destroy both moral and battle courage. Nerve is moral courage in battle.
(3) You cannot be a good leader until you are authority oriented. You must be willing to take discipline whether fair or unfair. Only arrogance wants to start at the top.
(4) Do not make a role model out of character flaws of a leader. You copy the wrong thing. Arrogant flaws include all the mental attitude sins. You should not desire to associate with evil. The desire to associate with evil leaders indicates wrong values from wrong priorities. The desire to associate with evil leaders often means inordinate ambition.
(5) For the believer, leadership must originate from doctrinal application of epignosis doctrine circulating in the stream of consciousness. For the unbeliever, leadership must originate from the doctrinal application of the laws of divine establishment.
(6) Leadership is constructed from stability and integrity of soul. Machoism is a flawed concept of leadership. Leadership does not require you to be able to do everything your men can do; it requires you to think.
b. Good leadership doesn’t slander or malign, Prov 24:2. “For their stream of consciousness is obsessed with violence [abuse of power, tyranny], and their lips talk slander.”
(1) Certain people are attractive to the good leader and can become a distraction. One of the big distractions is trying to emulate a macho jackass.
(2) Tyranny includes anyone who is filled with slander, maligning, judging others. Verbal arrogance is ruinous to the soul. Anything ruinous to the soul is ruinous to leadership. They use the public lie to protect their own career. Genuine leadership functions from integrity, right priorities, and a true scale of values. (3) A good leader is not obsessed with violence. A person obsessed with violence makes a poor soldier.
c. The regenerate concept of leadership is found in Prov 24:3(c)4, “By means of wisdom a house is constructed, and by means of doctrinal insight one prepares himself. And by means of cognition the rooms [the seven compartments in the stream of consciousness of your soul] will be filled with something of value and something stimulating.”
(1) Spiritual growth to maturity is the greatest help for leadership.
(2) “Wisdom” is metabolized doctrine circulating in the stream of consciousness of the right lobe of the soul. The “house” is the edification complex of the soul through the metabolization of doctrine. The house is almost built when you are in spiritual self-esteem and spiritual autonomy and is completed in spiritual maturity.
(3) Leadership is something you prepare for all of your life. Preparation for leadership demands accumulating in your soul certain technical data. You must also have doctrinal preparation, if you are a believer.
d. A good leader strengthens his professional ability, Prov 24:5, “A wise soldier [GEBER] lives in the power of doctrine, and a man of knowledge [doctrinal incite] strengthens his professional ability. The Hebrew word GEBER refers to a professional soldier. The use of this word eliminates women from serving in the military.
e. Prov 24:6, “Because through the art of leadership you will execute warfare, therefore victory resides in the greatness of the one who commands.”
2. Prov 20:18, “War plans are formed by wisdom in planning. And by means of wisdom, they make war.”
3. There are twelve biblical principles or reasons why believers should serve in the military.
a. The military profession is an honorable function for believers, Mt 8:5-10.
b. Believers in the military have done well in the past through Bible doctrine. Heb 11:34 gives a summary of believers in ranks of armies of the Old Testament, “… they were courageous in battle, they put to flight the invading armies, they escaped from the mouths of the sword.”
c. Believers have been delivered in battle, Job 5:20, "And in war He will deliver you from the power of the sword.”
d. Believers have great confidence in battle stress situations, Ps 27:3, "Though an army surrounds me, my right lobe will not be afraid. Though wars rise up against me, in spite of this I will keep on having confidence.”
e. Warfare has both a spiritual and an establishment connotation. Spiritual preparation is found in Neh 4:8(c)9; military preparation is found in Neh 4:13(c)15.
f. For the client nation to God, the Bible emphasizes the importance of universal military training, Num 1:19(c)46.
g. The client nation to God should have a mobilization plan, Num 31:3(c)5. Such planning is honorable.
h. The client nation to God must perpetuate in every generation training in warfare, Jud 3:1(c)2.
i. God Himself ordained the principle of peace through military victory, Ps 46:7-9.
j. Warfare demands concentration which results in courage. Courage is concentration in stress. Deut 20:1-8.
k. The women of a nation suffer when there is military defeat, Isa 3:16-26.
l. The believer is motivated for military training by the Word of God, Ps 18:34,
“He trains my hands for battle so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.” Ps 144:1, “Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle.”
J. Basic Concepts of Leadership.
1. There are basic principles of leadership that apply to believers only.
a. Leadership does not imply a change in personality but demands a change in character.
b. Leadership function demands the removal of garbage from the subconscious. 2. A leader must lead and not follow.
a. Leadership in management must never adopt the prejudices of employees. This destroys objectivity in dealing with personnel problems. b. Leadership in management must give thoughtful consideration to suggestions from those under your command or responsibility.
c. Leadership in management can take suggestions and advice from staff personnel and others involved, but leadership alone is responsible for all decisions made. Therefore, leadership in management must develop the ability to make good decisions from a position of strength rather than bad decisions from a position of weakness.
(1) In Christian leadership, this emphasizes the importance of maximum metabolized doctrine in the stream of consciousness, circulated by the filling of the Spirit.
(2) This also emphasizes the removal of garbage in the subconscious of the soul. Garbage in the subconscious neutralizes leadership characteristics and ability.
d. Leadership in management will not be manipulated by flattery or by a patronizing attitude of ambitious underlings.
(1) For the good of the organization, leadership in management must motivate and encourage labor or those under his command or responsibility and must avoid being used by subordinates.
(2) Manipulative underlings, full of inordinate ambition, will often tell you what they assume you want to hear. Hence, by omitting facts and vital information, they become a bad influence on decision making in leadership, so that leadership is neutralized and becomes management.
3. Leadership demands flexibility.
a. Flexibility means adaptability to changing situations.
b. However, there must be no flexibility in attitude toward Bible doctrine, which must have number one priority in the life. Bible doctrine is essential to Christian leadership in management, for it provides the wisdom for effectiveness in making necessary adjustments to the changing circumstances of life.
c. Those who fail in flexibility are not even leaders; they are management looking for a job.
d. Flexibility is not a compromise of Bible doctrine but the ability to modify and adapt through cognition and application of the problem solving devices of the protocol plan of God.
e. Every circumstance of life will require adaptability from time to time. You have to be very alert to do this. If you are not flexible in your lifestyle, you will break into a thousand pieces. Legalistic believers and arrogant or emotional type Christians are neither flexible or adaptable.
f. Changing circumstances of life demand flexibility in life, in leadership, and adaptability in the policies that leadership is enforcing.
g. Flexibility in leadership originates from humility. Humility is the ultimate state of flexibility.
4. Leadership in Christian management must not be neutralized or destroyed by becoming over(c)involved in the personal or social life of the employees. a. The smaller the organization the greater the danger of loss of authority in this area. When socializing means loss of authority, this principle of leadership applies.
b. This principle does not destroy leadership’s personal concern and continual desire to help those under his command. This means leadership in management demands wisdom in relationship to those under one’s command.
c. There comes a time when leadership must make wise and independent decisions for the good of the organization. Leadership must not become too dependent on those under his command, so that he loses the habit of thinking independently. A leader must think independently and adopts independent decisions and policies, which makes him a leader in the first place.
5. Good leadership in management should be flexible enough to listen to good advice, to recognize good suggestions. This is not in conflict with independent thinking but is a supplement to wisdom. A good leader with self(c)esteem never feels threatened by input from others, but he also knows where to cut off input and make his own decisions.
a. The Christian has the advantage of being totally dependent on the Lord. Being dependent on the Lord and being objective, this objectivity overflows and gives great strength in the function of leadership, so that leadership will be extremely fair. A leader will walk extra miles with a person who is not doing a good job.
b. One of the most important functions of leadership is to always be very careful of someone about people who make great mistakes in an organization. A person who makes a great mistake and recognizes it is going to learn from that mistake. One of the worst things you can do it fire the person; they will never make that mistake again. It is the people who do not learn from their mistakes that you must fire because they are inherently arrogant.
c. Humility in the status of spiritual self(c)esteem has the ability for independent thinking. Great leaders do not function under herd¦bound popularity concepts.
d. Independent thinking and flexibility recognizes good advice and incorporates it in policy and decision making. Taking good advice from subordinates on the one hand, and not being influenced by subordinates on the other hand appears to be contradictory. On the contrary, it is simply the flexibility of leadership. e. Arrogance and power lust in management combine to provide a personality flaw that cancels leadership ability and good managerial function. (1) Learn to know your limitations and function within them.
(2) When you know your limitations, you have contentment, and you are marvelously effective in what you are doing and appreciated.
(3) Arrogance and power lust destroy even the potential for leadership in management.
6. Naivete in leadership.
a. Naivete is used here in the sense of lack of judgment, lack of experience, lack of information; therefore, the simplicity of stupidity from arrogance and power lust.
b. Naivete is defined for this study as the blind spot of oversimplification. Something may be objectively observed by others but it is not apparent to the leader.
c. There are three sources of naivete in leadership.
(1) Ignorance or rejection of the truth related to the reality of a situation, or ignorance or rejection of the truth in the sense of understanding the true nature of circumstances.
(2) Arrogance as a complex of sins becomes a system of naivete in leadership.
(3) The lust pattern of the sin nature. Motivation from the lust pattern of the sin nature, especially power and approbation lust, crusader lust, lust for revenge, inordinate ambition resulting in inordinate competition. Lust divorces the believer from reality with the following results:
(a) Naivete in leadership and management.
(b) Lust divorces the believer from reality which produces naivete in leadership.
© Lust destroys spiritual self(c)esteem and replaces it with inordinate desires incompatible with the protocol plan of God. (d) Lust destroys capacity for leadership and management.
(e) Lust produces self(c)centeredness(c)(c)the desire for self(c)promotion to the exclusion of a sense of responsibility and a concern for those under one’s command.
(f) Lust destroys the believer’s motivation to execute the protocol plan of God.
(g) Lust substitutes the false motivation of arrogant ambition for self(c)promotion instead of the true motivation of glorifying God in the execution of His plan.
(h) Power lust is the main problem in naivete of leadership or management.
(i) Illustrations. Satan, who was so complimented that he became naive and began thinking that he would take God’s place. Paul was naive when he decided to make another trip to Jerusalem though warned by believers and God the Holy Spirit not to go. Julius Caesar was naive when he refused to have a body guard. Napoleon was naive about the invasion of Spain and the invasion of Russia. Robert E. Lee was naive at the Battle of Gettysburg by not forcing his subordinates to pursue at the end of the first day and by not checking the enemies left flank prior to the attack on the third day. President Wilson was naive when he thought the Congress would support the League of Nations. President F. D. Roosevelt was naive when he thought he could control Stalin.
(j) The greater the power of the leader, the greater the sphere of his naivete or blind spot.
7. When leadership must supercede management.
a. When historical events produce a need and leadership meets that need. In historical crisis, management will not work.
b. Circumstances of life produce a market and leadership supplies the market.
c. Crisis is a stage for leadership, life is a market for leadership.
d. Leadership is the basis for effective management, therefore, there are some important distinctions between leadership and management.
K. The Distinction Between Leadership and Popularity.
1. There is a fantastic difference between leadership and popularity. Not everyone who is popular is a leader and not everyone who is a leader is popular. 2. The basis for leadership is honor, virtue, integrity. The basis for popularity is personality, success, and human appeal. To be a leader, one does not have to be popular; but one does have to have honor, integrity, virtue, and self-esteem.
L. Summary of military leadership.
a. Both self and group discipline, respect for authority, the proper use of authority without abuse is leadership.
b. Leadership should have a relaxed mental attitude at all times.
c. Leadership should integrity, including a sense of responsibility and the function of the military honor code.
d. There must be professional understanding, knowledge of all phases of military science, strategy, tactics, logistics, etc.
e. Leadership demands loyalty to those you command and those who command you.
f. Leadership demands common sense and good judgment.
g. Leadership demands fairness and objectivity toward all who are under your command.
h. Leadership means understanding of people.
i. Leadership means executive ability(c)(c)the ability to organize, categorize, synthesize, systematize, analyze, and to delegate authority.
j. A leader must have good health, which includes endurance, nervous, and emotional stability.
k. A leader must have presence, which is defined in terms of dress, poise, courtesy, flair, a sense of humor, and constant concern for those under your command.
© 1989, by R. B. Thieme, Jr. All rights reserved.
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