Most leaders stand out because they are uniquely capable of leading an organization towards accomplish its strategic objectives. In the secular world, the measure of anyone’s leadership is about accomplishment and meeting objectives, rather than fussing on how those objectives or accomplishments were met. Evaluating Christian leaders tends to focus solely on the character of the leader and often disregards ability to accomplish goals. Effective Christian leadership needs to focus on both. A truly Christ-like character that compliments a highly skilled competency that achieves objectives and delivers results. Three leadership traits that foster both character and competency are worth highlighting:
- Servant leaders are those who focus their energy on the wellbeing and advancement of others. Servant leaders are more interested in helping to see the vision and mission of their organization be successfully advanced than they are in promoting their own self-interests and ambitions.
- Virtuous leaders are those who govern themselves according to what is good and true. They are honest about their intentions and actions with others and operate within the same rules that apply to everyone else. Virtuous leaders are therefore trustworthy and reliable and make for excellent partners in fulfilling mission centered work.
- Thoughtful leaders consider the context of their decisions and recognize likely outcomes that decision making has upon others and their work. Thoughtful leaders make the connection between ideas and their consequences. They understand how people and organizations typically reap what they sow. As such, these leaders know how to develop an appropriate strategic plan that considers difficult circumstances that need to be addressed that could otherwise derail their goals.
Servanthood, virtue, and thoughtfulness are not natural attributes, they are learned and developed intentionally. They must be first modeled by example and then developed by practice. It’s a process that can’t simply be purchased by attending a one day leadership seminar. Leadership development is a complex process requiring growth in numerous factors including wise decision making, relational interactions with others, and the effective communication of plans and details. It requires commitment to personal and professional mentoring and counsel. It requires cultivating spiritual and intellectual discipline. We are looking to support organizations that in this kind of leadership development process. Organizations are best served when they can be mentored and guided by experienced and professional counsel that can discern areas of needed leadership and organizational growth and can present a tailored plan to help an organization’s leaders grow in both their character, and their competency.