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Table of Contents
Effective Leadership
While there are a myriad of leadership styles, the effectiveness of Christian leaders is not how well they demonstrate one particular style of leadership, but how well they can assess the situation and apply the appropriate style. Jesus demonstrated several leadership styles during His earthly ministry. The seven most predominant leadership styles are described below.
AUTHORITARIAN LEADERSHIP
Authoritarian leaders wield power to obtain follower compliance whenever and wherever needed. The authoritarian leader:
- is the sole decision maker.
- issues orders.
- establishes rules.
- offers rewards for compliance and punishment for noncompliance.
Jesus forcefully evicted moneychangers from the temple (Mark 11:15–17).
DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP
While authoritarian leadership demonstrates task-related behavior, democratic leadership demonstrates people-related behavior. The democratic leader:
- empowers others to make decisions.
- expects input from followers.
- builds relationships with followers.
- strives for follower consensus.
Jesus spent time with His disciples building relationships (John 13:23).
SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP
Hersey and Blanchard developed the situational leadership theory in 1969. The situational leader provides:
- high task/low relationship behavior to low task-ready employees.
- high relationship/low task behavior to high task-ready employees.
Jesus had several circles of relationships where He related differently: the multitudes, the Seventy, the Twelve, and the Three.
TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP
A transactional leader motivates the follower by providing a benefit, which appeals to the self-interest of the follower, in exchange for the services rendered by the follower. The transactional leader:
- barters and bargains for the services of the follower.
- terminates the relationship when the follower ceases to be useful.
Jesus offered to make Peter a fisher of men rather than of fish if he would follow Him (Luke 5:10).
TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP
James McGregor Burns introduced the transformational leadership theory in 1978. The transformational leader:
- requires followers to transcend their own self-interests for the good of the group.
- converts followers into leaders.
- considers the long-term needs for people to develop themselves, rather than their needs of the moment.
Jesus transformed a motley crew of fishermen and tax collectors into men who could debate even the teachers of the Law.
SERVANT LEADERSHIP
Robert Greenleaf introduced a new concept of "the leader as a servant first" to the corporate world in 1977. The servant leader:
- serves his followers by virtue of his position as leader.
- searches for opportunities to serve his followers.
- trains his followers to lead as servants.
Jesus was God himself stooping to become a servant (Philippians 2:7).
SACRIFICIAL LEADERSHIP
Sacrificial leadership is an oxymoron to the hedonistic contemporary culture. The sacrificial leader:
- sacrifices personal agenda and benefits for the betterment of the organization.
- trains followers to sacrifice in order to achieve a common goal.
Jesus sacrificed His life for the cause of Christianity.
CONCLUSION
The effectiveness of a leader is determined by his or her exercising the appropriate leadership style demanded by the setting. Effective leadership depends on the:
• accurate assessment of the situation,
• the determination of the appropriate leadership style to apply, and
•the leader’s ability to apply the appropriate model.
Reggie Chandra, senior pastor, High Praise Assembly of God, Bolivar, Missouri.
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