The Future of Leadership by Robert Banks and Bernice M. Ledbetter

Not long ago, Max De Pree asked a paradoxical question: Does leadership have a future?21 Intertwined in this provocative question is concern about the rising ineffectiveness and selfishness among leaders. If leadership is to have a future, some important principles need to be preserved. These principles can be illuminated by asking the right questions. While good leaders do not have all the answers, they should possess the wisdom and the insight to raise important questions that search for deeper meaning. Such questions are critical because they help leaders and organizations find and determine their direction. The leaders just profiled asked some powerful questions of themselves and those around them. Some of their questions correspond with those De Pree sees as important. If leadership is to have a future, these questions must be addressed.

Who do I intend to be? This is not the same as asking, "What do I intend to do?" which is always a consequence of who one intends to be. A person can find out the latter by asking, "What do I believe? What is my purpose in life? To what am I, as a leader, devoted?" These raise the issues of purpose, virtue, and truth, all of which lead to hope. Without purpose, virtue, and truth, it is difficult to experience hope. An absence of virtues and the presence of deceit do not create the conditions necessary for hope to survive. For leadership to endure, it must be intertwined with hope hope in the sense of looking forward to the future with expectation. If leadership has a future, leaders must be able to articulate, find, and live out their own sense of hope. Hope grows dim as people deviate from their core values and grows stronger and becomes contagious in the context of shared hope within a community.

What is the source of our humanity? As Christians, we believe that the source of our humanity is found in being created in God's image. This has profound implications for how to treat people in organizations. Seeing each person as created in God's image compels leaders to offer respect, create opportunities for contribution, and affirm the gifts of others.

In the company cafeteria, how good should the bagels be? This is a question of quality. Society seems to care more about numbers than quality, particularly in an increasingly competitive marketplace. What is the quality of our relationships, and what do things such as opportunity, access, and reconciliation have to do with quality?

What will I die for? In other words, what is most essential, what matters most? This is a question of purpose and integrity When leaders have a clear sense of calling, they serve as models and mentors for others to find and live out their callings.

What may a leader not delegate? For leadership to thrive, leaders need to be clear about what they alone can and therefore must do. Leaders build and maintain trust as well as share responsibilities. They hold both themselves and the organizations they serve accountable. One thing they do not delegate is the obligation to be prepared to lead.22

Lastly, De Pree points to four critical questions that leaders must ponder consistently over the course of their leading:

1. What is my purpose in life?
2. What do I owe?
3. What will I promise?
4. What may I keep?

De Pree insightfully notes that as a society we need to care more about faithfulness than success, more about the potential of communities than individual accomplishment, and more about inclusiveness than winning. The values of society are not always the best guide and indeed often fail to reflect the true essence of leadership. If leadership is to survive, there must be an environment of high moral standards among leaders and followers, and this has the best chance of coming to expression as faith-based leaders live out their core convictions and Christian faith in everyday life and work.

The second factor that is critical for the future of leadership is the finding or creating of conducive contexts in which leadership can most effectively develop. Leadership does not come merely from gaining knowledge about it through a set of seminars or a course, though these may certainly be helpful. Some of what is entailed in faithful leadership can come through observing those who embody and practice it. But more is needed.

First of all, leaders must place people in self-directed teams with intrinsic as well as extrinsic rewards for their performance. People can learn from those working with them how to identify, handle, and evaluate issues related to faithfulness. Group wisdom has much to offer, even when people tackle issues in different ways. Where possible, tackling situations in pairs rather than alone can increase learning curves and improve responses. When there is no agreement on the best course of action, observing the ways others deal with issues allows people to see the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches.

Second, people should be encouraged to become involved in a voluntary organization. In such a setting, acceptance and influence are earned differently, for example, by showing a commitment to the purpose of the organization and by exhibiting a capacity to work well with others. Leighton Ford has said that anyone seeking to become a leader in the church should first gain some experi-ence in the voluntary sector. This is the best context in which to learn whether one has the qualities and attributes required for leadership in a changing world and among the coming generation. Only earned not expected authority will now do. In the same way, direct participation in nonprofit organizations creates opportunities for leaders to use and improve their skills. For example, it can help them move from a reward mentality to a service mind-set, or from a rugged individualism to a commitment to the general good.

Third, people should be shown the benefit of being part of an informal group of people at a similar level. When trust is present in such a group, people feel free to discuss questions related to faithfulness and to ask for help with individual struggles in this area.

In addition, there is always a place for ongoing connections with people who already exhibit faithful leading at work. Much can be gained from a mentoring experience. Anyone who invites a mentoree into such a relationship or finds a mentor with whom he or she can meet several times a year is bound to enhance the prospects for the future of leadership.

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Excerpted from Reviewing Leadership: A Christian Evaluation of Current Approaches by Robert Banks and Bernice M. Ledbetter. Used by permission of Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, copyright © 2004. All rights to this material are reserved. Materials are not to be distributed to other web locations for retrieval, published in other media, or mirrored at other sites without written permission form Baker Publishing Group. (www.bakerbooks.com)

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21. Max De Pree, Does Leadership Have a Future? Questions and Stories for Leaders (Pasadena, Calif.: De Pree Leadership Center, 2000).
22. Ibid., 14-15.

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Robert Banks is director and dean of Macquarie Christian Studies Institute in Sydney, Australia, and is the author of many books.

Bernice M. Ledbetter is adjunct faculty at Pepperdine University and prinicipal of Ledbetter Consulting Group.