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The
hand of the diligent will rule, but the lazy man will be
put to forced labor. (Proverbs
12:24)
"Everything
rises or falls on leadership." John Maxwell says this now!
Lee Roberson, pastor of one of the largest churches in America,
said it before him. And we forget who said it first.1
Counselors
claim the presence of a strong and loving husband and father
can make all the difference in the world for the family. Recent
publications like Daddy's Little Girl,2
The Mom Factor,3 and The
Blessing4 all report the significant
impact parents have on children, both positive and negative.
Successful families rise or fall on leadership. Some of America's
finest schools are located in inner cities marked by urban
decay. They are the kind of institutions sociologist would
claim are destined for failure. Indeed, many were once an
embarrassment to their state educational agency. But the vision
of a new principal and the passion of dedicated teachers together
with the cooperation of parents and local community leaders
have transformed dying schools into model schools — schools
that teach students who learn and move on to institutions
of higher education for further training as they pursue lofty
dreams. Schools rise or fall on leadership.
The best
team in the league is not always the team with the best players.
When National Hockey League players were first allowed to
play in the Winter Olympics, everyone knew Team Canada had
the gold medal sewn up. But the Gretzky gang was shut out
of the medals completely and returned home empty-handed. In
contrast, the Montreal Expos have consistently placed near
the top of the standings throughout the last decade despite
having the second lowest payroll in the major league. There
are no superstars on the team, but great coaches on the bench.
In every sport, teams rise or fall on leadership.
Great
men of God build great churches. When people think of the
world's largest churches, they usually think first of the
pastor. To talk about Willow Creek Community Church is to
talk about Bill Hybels. It is difficult to mention Saddleback
Community Church without referring to Rick Warren. People
are more likely to mention "Yonggi Cho's church" than to call
it Yoido Full Gospel Church of Seoul, S. Korea, i.e., the
largest local church in history with over 750,000 members.
Mention a great church in your community, and someone is likely
to say, "Isn't that where _____ is pastor?" Churches rise
or fall on leadership.
Overwhelming
force is not always the key to great military victories. Ever
since David defeated Goliath, great military leaders have
used limited resources to win great victories. Sir Francis
Drake was clearly outnumbered when he defeated the Spanish
armada with his leadership skill and inspiration. Germany
clearly had overwhelming air superiority in the Battle of
Britain, but England was led by Sir Winston Churchill, the
one man who put a steel backbone in England's resistance.
George Washington's army wasn't much, but under his courage
it was enough to defeat the largest empire in the world, i.e.,
the British, in the Revolutionary War. Great armies, navies,
and air forces rise or fall on leadership.
Worthy
causes depend on great leaders for success. Even when the
cause is just, it is often neglected until embraced by a leader.
Mother
Teresa
made people care about the poor of India. Elizabeth Fry embraced
the cause of prison reform in her generation and transformed
the character of Britain's penal institutions. Throughout
the twentieth century, a host of national leaders rose in
various European colonies worldwide to lead their nations
to independence. When a popular leader takes up the cause
of some dreaded disease, only then are the funds raised to
finance the research needed to find a cure. Worthy causes
rise or fall on leadership.
Leaders
alone achieve success in business. Having a great product
or service is not enough in today's competitive market. While
having a loyal and committed team may help, they need a strong
leader to show them the way. He can lead his team to overcome
obstacles and accomplish their goals. It was obvious Microsoft
would never amount to much in a market dominated by IBM, but
Bill Gates gathered a team and made it happen. Today they
know their greatest challenger may not be in an executive
office in Silicon Valley. He may be struggling to make a new
product or idea work in his garage, basement, or the spare
room in his apartment. Businesses rise or fall on leadership.
Four
Ways to Describe Leaders
Because
we are so dependent on leaders for group success, it is not
surprising that many have attempted to describe the essence
of leadership. From the days of Nimrod, who led a group to
establish a city and build
a tower, people have tried to explain what makes a leader
a leader. Often these definitions are like the blind man's
description of an elephant. When touched, the blind man determined
an elephant was four pillars and a wall with a rope on one
end and a hose on the other. He was able to discern the parts
but unable to see the whole.
Leadership
may be one of those things that is easier caught than
taught. Despite our best efforts to the contrary, attempts
at defining leadership tend to focus on the parts rather than
the whole. Various leadership definitions tend to focus in
four areas. Some definitions describe leadership in the context
of the person who is leader. Others describe the process by
which leaders lead. Still others tend to focus on the leader's
ability to persuade others to follow. Then there are those
who describe leaders in the context of the people being led.
Leadership
does not exist without a leader. It has been said that leaders
have two important characteristics: First, they are going
somewhere; second, they are able to persuade other people
to go with them. Tom Landry, long-time coach of the Dallas
Cowboys, claimed, "Leadership is a matter of having people
look at you and gain confidence, seeing how you react. If
you are in control, they are in control."5
If everything rises or falls on leadership, then it rises
or falls on the one who is leader. Some students of leadership
have even suggested it can be defined in the unique mix of
certain personality traits.
Understanding
the process by which leaders lead also provides insight into
the nature of leadership. In one sense, leadership is the
process of helping people do the worthwhile things they want
to do. Good leadership has been described as the art of getting
average people to do great work. At its highest, leadership
consists of getting people to work for you when they are under
no obligation to do so. That is why, according to Henry Cabot,
"You lose leadership when you cease to lead."6
Perhaps
the briefest definition of leadership states, "Leadership
is influence." Ordway Tead described leadership as "the activity
of influencing people to cooperate toward some goal, which
they come to find desirable"7 In a military
context, it is the process by which one soldier influences
others to accomplish the mission. Vance Packard called leadership
"the art of getting another to want to do something that you
are convinced should be done."8 Apparently,
Randy Houck agrees. He describes leadership as "getting people
to do what they ordinarily wouldn't do on their own."9
It is
virtually impossible to describe leadership without considering
the group. According to the message in a Chinese fortune cookie,
"He who thinks he leads when no one is following is just taking
a walk." In this sense, leadership is the art of changing
a group from what
it is to what it ought to be. Leadership is in part a function
of group dynamics.
The
Eight Laws of Leadership
Like any
other science, certain fundamental laws and principles govern
the science of leadership. Various attempts have been made
to identify and apply these principles to help leaders excel
at what they do.
Many successful leadership books tend to emphasize various
expressions of a single law of leadership. These books appeal
to leaders who are most comfortable applying that law of leadership.
Also, certain laws of leadership tend to be more effective
in some contexts. A more balanced approach to the science
of leadership recognizes at least eight laws of leadership.
The first
law of leadership is the Law of Dreams. People follow a leader
who has a dream of a desirable objective. The Law of Dreams
challenges the leader to direct followers to a desirable objective.
When people buy into a leader's dreams, they buy into his/her
leadership.
The second
law of leadership is the Law of Rewards. People tend to follow
a leader who rewards them when they accomplish their goals.
Everyone wants or needs something in this life. This law states
the leader
who rewards his followers with the things they want insures
they will continue to follow him. In many organizations, things
that get rewarded get done.
The Law
of Credibility is the third law of leadership. People follow
a leader when they have confidence in his plans. They not
only follow; they work ... they sacrifice ... they won't give
up, if their leader has a credible
plan to reach the objective. The leader who believes in his
followers usually have people who believe in him.
The fourth
law of leadership is the Law of Communication. People follow
a leader who effectively communicates his plan to reach the
objective. Therefore, the successful leader must effectively
communicate his ideas and plans to his followers if he hopes
to motivate followers to reach the objective. People tend
to follow a leader who gives clear directions. In contrast,
as John Maxwell notes, "People are always down on what they
are not up on."10
The Law
of Accountability is the fifth law of leadership. Many people
find it easier to follow a leader who gives them specific
responsibilities to help them reach the objective. This means
the leader must know the specific contribution his followers
can make to help insure the entire group reaches the goal.
Then he must hold each group member accountable to do his
part. People don't do what a leader expects, but what he or
she inspects.
The sixth
law of leadership is the Law of Motivation. Motivation is
not stirring speeches, slogans, or threats. People tend to
follow a leader who gives them compelling reasons to reach
the objective. The primary task of the leader is to give his
followers the best reasons to accomplish the objective. People
follow you when you give them a reason to work.
The Law
of Problem Solving is the seventh law of leadership. People
follow a leader who gives solutions to problems that hinder
them from reaching the objective. This means the leader must
solve problems that hinder followers if he wishes to see his
group move forward in reaching their objectives. The more
barriers that frustrate your followers, the less likely your
followers are to reach their goal.
The final
law of leadership is the Law of Decision Making. People follow
the leader who decides well when questions arise as the group
moves toward accomplishing their objective. That means the
leader must be a good decision maker. Leaders make good decisions
on good information, bad decisions on bad information, and
lucky decisions when they have no information.
___________________
From
The Good Book on Leadership: Case Studies from the Bible
by John Borek, Danny Lovett, and Elmer Towns, ©2005.
Reprinted by permission of Broadman & Holman, Nashville,
TN.
Click here to learn more about
this and other resourses.
_______________
Notes:
1. Lee Roberson, cited by Jerry Falwell, "Foreword" to How
to Develop Leadership: Becoming a Leader by Elmer L. Towns
(Lynchburg, VA: Church Leadership Institute, 1986), 4.
2. Mary Higgins Clark, Daddy's Little Girl (New York:
Simon & Schuster, 2002).
3. Henry Cloud and John Townsend, The Mom Factor: Dealing
with the Mother You Had, Didn't Have, or Still Contend With
(Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996).
4. Gary Smalley and John T. Trent, The Blessing (New
York: Pocket Books, January 1990).
5. "Famous Quotes, Love Quotes, Motivational Quotes, Cool
Quotes and Quotations," <www.indianchild.com/Quotes/confidence-quotes.htm>
(August 17, 2004).
6. Management House, "Thoughts on Leadership," <http://www.managementhouse.com/ProductsArchivesPages/ArchivePages/A%20LeadQuotes.
html> (August 17, 2004).
7. Ordway Tead, The Art of Leadership (New York: McGraw
Hill Book Company, 1963).
8. DM Review, "The CRM-Ready Data Warehouse: Top 10 Characteristics
of a BI1CRM Leader, Part 1," <http://www.dmreview.com/article
sub.cfin?articleld=5668, (August 17, 2004).
9. Management House, "Thoughts on Leadership," <http://www.managementhouse.com/ProductsArchivesPages/ArchivePages/A%20LeadQuotes.html>
(August 17, 2004).
10. Bring Them In, "Starting a Bus Ministry,"<http://bringthemin.com/
generic8.htm1> (August 17, 2004).
_______________
John
Borek is president of Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA.
Danny
Lovett leads Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary in Lynchburg,
VA.
Elmer
Towns is dean of the B.R. Lakin School of Religion at Liberty
University in Lynchburg, VA.
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