Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
~ Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV)
Leading for good
Leadership is making good things happen that on their own would not happen.
Leaders must make things happen. Leadership is like reconstructing or redesigning a house, rather than just rearranging furniture.
Yet, leadership cannot be just a matter of making things happen. A gang leader and a dictator make things happen too.
Good leaders must address the moral dimension of doing good. They must be able to explain, at any point in time, why what they are trying to do is good. Good for what and good for whom may not be the same for the leader as it may be for each of us, but seeking good is an inescapable accountability for the leader.
What leadership involves
I was once asked by the organiser of a leadership conference to summarise my thoughts on leadership in fewer than ten words.
It seemed like such a preposterous last-minute request. Nevertheless, I made my answer, six words in three phrases, “Think People, Think Future, Think Excellence.” Every leader must do well in all three aspects.
Think People is a natural imperative. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you! The people you interact with are never digits or toys to push around. They are sensitive beings who seek to be appreciated and respected. Church is a “people business”, no more and no less.
Think Future is a critical demand where too many people in leadership positions fail. Preparing their people and positioning the organisation for survivability and sustainable success is the one responsibility which is uniquely that of a leader. Many fail to do it but do not get found out if a crisis does not happen on their watch. It has been said that when the tide runs out, you will see who has been swimming naked. There are lucky people who are not there when the tide runs out. Nevertheless, they have failed in their responsibility as leaders.
Finally, Think Excellence! I use the word “excellence” to mean “being the best you can be” where performance reflects potential, where your people do the best they can and are the best they can be as individuals, and to work effectively as a team to make the organisation the best it can be.
Think People to harness the creativity of your people, so that you, and they, can realise and benefit most from their talents and abilities. Think Future to be in time for the future. Opportunity and fortune come to those who are prepared. This is “prepositioning” to succeed in all circumstances. Think Excellence to be the best you can be. Anything less than excellence is to miss out on getting the most from what you are capable of.
Should you fail in the People and Excellence dimensions, you do not have to worry too much because the problems will come to you, though everyone can then see where you have failed. Failure in these two dimensions will show up in operational mistakes and organisational performance. However, if you fail in the Future dimension, it would simply be irresponsibility made evident when crises loom.
Pictures of leadership
Three pictures come to my mind when thinking of leadership: a dragon boat race, a symphony orchestra and a soccer game.
In a dragon boat race, the leader is the drummer. The rowers follow the beat of the drummer in pulling their oars. The objective is synchronisation. If the drummer beats too slowly, his boat cannot win the race. If he beats the drum too fast, the rowers lose synchronisation and his boat loses.
Next, a symphony orchestra. The orchestra is a mix of instruments. Each player does his part according to the music score. Together they produce beautiful music. The objective is harmony. The conductor sets the tempo and the musicians follow the music score. In an organisation, the music score is the corporate strategy, and the leader integrates his people’s efforts to produce excellent results.
Notice that for both the dragon boat race and the symphony orchestra, the leader unilaterally decides the actions to produce the requisite results. Virtually everything is under his control.
Now think of a soccer game. The coach cannot tell individual players what to do. It depends on where the soccer ball is coming from and at what speed, where his team’s players are, where the opposing team members are, where the goal post is and so on. So much has to be delivered by each player based on his awareness and his judgment of the situation. The objective of the leader here is enablement—helping each player be the best he or she can be without being able to tell the player what to do in the course of the game. Choose your players based on physical fitness and ball control, making clear the purpose of the game is to win by working as a team with each player doing his best.
The leader for the Church
From these pictures, the leader for the Church needs most of all to see his work as leading a soccer team to victory, rather than as the drummer in a dragon boat race or the conductor of a symphony orchestra. It is about teaching, training, encouraging, inspiring and motivating his players without being able to directly control their play.
His flock needs to know what is expected of them, and that for each of them, their life is their own race. What are their needs? How can they be equipped? How can they be brought to their best condition of body, soul and spirit? How will they overcome the world and the flesh? How do they get to enjoy the reality of love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control?
Measuring success
The leader must understand his work is like leading a soccer team. How does he build up his people to be confident for life? How does he prepare his flock for the challenges and disappointments of life? Most importantly, how does he define his own success? What are his key performance indicators, bearing in mind that not everything important can be counted, and not everything that can be counted is important. Success lies in the lives of his people. Now, how does he measure that?