Leadership Development
Hard to believe this is the last of Jason’s books for us to read this semester. These last few months have flown by. We’ve been taken down this journey teaching us how to read books, we were introduced to ethnography, a crash course in theology and social theory, and we now close the semester with a Harvard colloquium on leadership.
In our last chat Jason challenged us “when reading your books for me and your own research ask some key questions which are…what kind of human being is this leadership book saying I should be, what is this book saying life should be about and like? Why is that?” After Jason’s challenge I went back to the table of contents of Nohria and Khurana’s Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice and tried to think through the social theory of each section.
Section One “The Impact of Leadership: Performance and Meaning” tends to focus on maximizing performance. Having graduated from Baylor Business School and growing up with a Dad that was successful in the corporate world this is the view of leadership I have often held. “How does leadership impact performance?” It is a question that can’t be ignored but it also places a high value on “what we do,” sometimes to the detriment of “who we are.”
Chapter 2 titled When Does Leadership Matter? starts by asking the question “Does it matter who the CEO is?[1]” After numerous studies and interviews it is determined “that who the CEO of an organization is, matters.[2]” However, they were able to quantify the significance and say “the CEO effects account for 14.7 percent of the variance in company performance…[3]” There is no doubt that performance matters but I have found when a person places too much significance on performance their relationships struggle and the things I place of most importance tend to take a back seat. (i.e. Faith, Family, Relationships, etc.) When leadership places too much emphasis on performance and results, I believe we start viewing people as a commodity.
In comparison, because of my theology, I was most drawn to Section Five “The Development of Leaders: Knowing, Doing, and Being.” The idea of developing those around us, pursing authentic leadership development, and multiplying ourselves goes with my view of what the Bible is calling us to. In Chapter 24, Leadership Development Interventions it says, “when deployed in a comprehensive manner with a commitment to the long term, leadership development initiatives can and should play a critical role in developing the bench of leadership talent of an organization.[4]” I’m drawn to leadership development because it seems to go hand in hand with Jesus’ instruction to us about making disciples. Performance and results matter but leadership development recognizes that people and relationships are the priority.
I enjoyed reading section by section and chapter by chapter thinking, “what kind of human being is this leadership book saying I should be, what is this book saying life should be about and like? Why is that?” My leadership practices should be directly connected to my theology of people, not just adhering to the latest leadership trends.
[1] Nitin Nohria and Rakesh Khurana, eds., Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice: an Hbs Centennial Colloquium On Advancing Leadership (Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press, 2010), 27.
[2] Ibid., 56
[3] Ibid., 49
[4] Ibid., 709
About the Author
Nick Martineau
Nick is a pastor at Hope Community Church in Andover, KS, founder of ILoveOrphans.com, and part of the LGP5 cohort.12 responses to “Leadership Development”
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God bless you Nick,
Great concept to really be focused on developing people with your leadership. I concur. I think that is an important aspect of leadership. Developing other leaders and making sure what you are doing is not just for you or your organization but that your leadership is inclusive of the development of those you lead that they will benefit from your leadership personally!
I really liked the way you approached the questions Jason offered. I have been struggling to get language around some good answers… Your observations about performance being of the highest importance rings true with me. I am hoping we can turn our attention to BEING followers of Jesus and less towards DOING things for him.
J
Being is a lifetime adventure. It’s a struggle for me but I know it is more important than the things I do.
Nick, Nice angle on the text. I have always been “scared” of the performance driven success chase that causes one live attempting to gain the world but ends up losing the soul (special thanks to Toby Mac for keeping that one rolling through my head). I definitely agree the that section one and section five need to be liked so that leaders have the competence and the character to live and lead a whole life, with whole people and a whole organization. And YES, it is hard to believe this is our last speed dissection of a book and post:)!
Crazy how time flies!
“How does leadership impact performance?” It is a question that can’t be ignored but it also places a high value on “what we do,” sometimes to the detriment of “who we are.”
Nick, thanks for bring balance to this question. As leaders, it is fair to ask about our the competency of our leadership. If we don’t, we will most likely not become better leaders. The problem is that we place this “performance” above all else. I have known way too many flashy leaders who have crashed and burned.
I have to complete a bimonthly report. On thing I appreciate about it is that much of the report focuses on personal health, (physical health, spiritual health, emotional health, marital/family health). If these areas are not in balance, my leadership will suffer. Furthermore, these areas will have a far greater impact and for a longer time than my current leadership responsibilities.
Brian, I think this is another way of saying that we MUST remember, we are first followers of Jesus and second, leaders… Core life issues have to be of a higher priority!
J
Sounds like you have a good organization that asks you to fill out by monthly reports on things that really matter. Too often the reports we fill out revolve around performance.
I finished walking with a friend where we discussed your sentence: “When leadership places too much emphasis on performance and results, I believe we start viewing people as a commodity.” In our church of about 1100, there can be a tendency for the leadership to look at only the outcomes, rather than the intention of being faithful to the call of Jesus. We aren’t always guaranteed what we hope will occur among groups of people; however, we can trust the one who will do the work. When we get too focused on the effects of what’s happening or not happening, we become much more transactional, even mercenary. Thanks for the reminder.
By the way, I didn’t realize you graduated from business school….this must be fascinating as you overlay theology, leadership, social theory, and your background in business.
It is so hard when good leadership doesn’t end with the results we were expecting. That is when I have to rely on Jesus being who he says he is. Do I really just want results or do I want to be with Jesus? That is a difficult tension for me sometimes.
Nick,
I also appreciate Jason’s question and it’s stuck with me: “what kind of human being is this book/chapter/article saying I should be.” I’ve recently had a chance to read and be exposed to some of John Maxwell’s material, just a touch of it really. What I find are some very functional principles, many of the principles can be seen in scripture. Yet the book, or chapter wants me to ‘be successful’. Yet ‘being successful’ really depends on how you define success, each individual can make what they want of it. That gets to the second point I take from your post. That we need to focus on the ‘being before the doing’. What we need is to be more like Jesus in our identity so that when we lead people, when ‘we’re successful’ we’re leading them to Jesus.
Thanks for the great reminders.
I have heard you quote Maxwell I handful of times this semester. It is amazing how this program is helping us see things with different eyes. Thanks for your honesty.