Does the world need more leaders?
The other day, I was reading the “Future of Jobs Report 2025, by the World Economic Forum (WEC) which provides highlights on skills that will be required for the future. Of course, Generative AI featured as a disruptor in different sectors, but I was mostly intrigued by leadership and social influence as a skill that will be in high demand for the future. [1] Furthermore, and picking up from the reflections last week, the world seems to be short of solid leadership given all that is going on (or not). But the term “leadership” can be quite broad, contextual, personality and style driven. The American Leadership University lists the main known styles of leadership from an organization standpoint, though I think the styles are applicable in different settings as well. These are: 1) Autocratic style – make decisions on their own maintaining strict control over their teams 2) Democratic style – involve team members in decision making and foster collaboration and inclusivity 3) Laissez-Fairez – provide a hands-off approach and autonomy to teams and 4) Transformational style – leaders inspire and motivate teams to exceed expectations by focusing on vision and innovation. Transactional, servant leadership, situational leadership and charismatic leadership are listed as other styles.[2] Today, I resonate with the idea of servant leadership drawing a parallel to Camacho’s book, “Mining for Gold.” Just like in the WEC 2025 report, Camacho, also saw the need for (and identifying leaders) at the time of writing his book. So, leadership has always been needed but the quest is, what types of leaders are required and have a chance of being effective in a rapidly changing world?
Tom Camacho shares his personal journey in the corporate world and his call into coaching leaders (the mining for Gold). He reminds us of the biblical story of Samuel at Jesse’s house, while looking for the next king of Israel. In that scene, it turns out that the individuals whom his natural eyes thought “here’s the anointed one!” weren’t. It was not until a humble young man, who would have been easily dismissed if only looking at outward appearance, strolled into the homestead, and Samuel’s eyes were opened: standing before him was the future King of Israel. Samuel goes on to anoint David and we know how the story evolves. Camacho shares two key lessons from this story that I think informs how we should think of developing “future proof” leaders. The first is, “In order to see the gold God has placed in a person, we need to see them with the eyes of the Spirit. To draw out someone’s true potential, we need to cooperate with the Spirit of God.” In my view this approach provides a “tried and tested” approach to leadership selection. Secondly, “God is looking for Samuels, leaders who will see the gold in people by the Spirit and draw out those riches for his purposes.” [3]
Our ultimate prototype of a servant leader is Jesus Christ. He was spoke and taught with authority and dismantled existing orders and paradigms by the power of the Holy Spirit. He equally had a posture of service and care evidenced by the washing of the disciple’s feet during the last supper (John 13: 1-17) and care and concern for hungry multitudes who had followed him in Mathew 14:13-21. Jesus took the time to “Mine for Gold” among his disciples and they went on to change the world as they knew it then and form the early church as we read in the book of Acts.
[1] World Economic Forum: Future of Jobs Report 2025.
[2] American Leadership University
[3] Camacho, Tom, Mining for Gold. London: IVP, 2019 [Amazon] [GFU Library eBook | Request Print via ILL]
About the Author
Alex Mwaura
12 responses to “Does the world need more leaders?”
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Alex, rafiki yangu, you hit the nail on the head. The world doesn’t simply need more leaders. It needs more people who are committed to serving others in the way of King Jesus. That is true leadership.
As a leader of an organization, how do you apply the principles you discuss for the benefit of those under your care? What is practically distinctive about the way you work?
Rafiki, Joff! Thanks for the feedback. In my daily work, I try to follow the model of Christ. I think of my role as a servant of others inspite of the authority I have and I also aim to lead with a posture of love. And how about you? Do these ideas or others show in your leadership role?
Baraka kwako.
Hi Alex! what an intriguing post. What resonated with me is the “Servant Leadership” focus of your blog. Choosing humble leaders is often overlooked yet what I’ve found is that those leaders KNOW how to serve! From my leadership development experience I put “Humility” as a high value for leaders I like to hire, work alongside. Through your blog I also see the responsibility we have as elders that we need to be LEADERS who see the GOLD IN OTHERS. We have a profound responsibility to see through the eyes of the SPIRIT. I ALSO like the idea of JESUS being the prototype! I often ask congregations when I preach “DO you know how far Jesus walked in his personal and ministry life?” the answer is 21,000 miles.. the significance is that Jesus was a servant walking and meeting people. He loved people, He served people, He healed people! Thank you for your blog post Alex.
Judith
Thanks Judith! I did not know that Jesus walked that far to meet with and serve others as part of His ministry. I agree that humility is an underrated quality. It’s easy to view it as a weak trait but it’s not. It creates and environment where teams can thrive and deliver on their goals. Thanks for the insight Judith!
You are asking an excellent question: “What types of leaders are required and have a chance of being effective in a rapidly changing world?” This generation of young people, particularly those who use platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, is used to swiftly gathering information. I believe that actions speak louder than words. Anyone can go online and make a post, but how many people’s words actually turn into action? Nothing is more inspiring than leaders who lead by example. I think there is no limit to the number of these types of leaders and coaches we need in the world.
Alex, thanks for your post!
Your assessment and Ivan’s response are both great reminders of the need for authentic, integrous, servant leadership. I wonder how much the seeming historical focus on the *function* rather than the *person* of leadership has impacted our view of success and the paradigms of leader development. One thing I liked about the reading this week is its clear focus on the person—being transformed by Jesus—leading out of who they are (and who Holy Spirit is inviting them to become). I think when we focus on the “function” or have too-small measures of effective leadership, it’s more likely we let servant leadership and authenticity fall to the wayside.
Thanks Jeremiah! Yes, I like that portion as well in the reading. How might we allow the Holy Spirit to transform our lives and prepare us for leadership roles or as we Mine for Gold in upcoming leaders? I’m reflecting on this but it was affirming that we do have a part to play in raising the next generation of leaders. Thanks for your comment.
Ivan, what a great insight. There is a gap between thinkers, conceptualizers and those who actually do the work! And the hard part of leadership is being the leader and actually doing what one says! Thanks for the challenge.
Yes, the world needs more leaders, but the right kind. It seems world political leaders now-a-days are more autocratic than they are anything else. I see a growing desire for people to seek out this controlling leadership, leaving me questioning why.
Camacho talks of the parable of the talents in Matthew 25. This passage has been a significant one fore me in developing the authority and leadership God has for us. He equips us with “talents” and wants us to cultivate into this world to bring forth growth and presence. I often think about whether I am investing well or not. Is it bearing fruit? Can I see transformation in those around me? Over servant leader Jesus has empowered us to serve. I love that “power” and “serve” are in the same sentence when we talk about Jesus leadership!
Jess, I like the dimension of introspection in one’s leadership journey which I think is so critical, today. More so, what frames do we use to monitor and evaluate our leadership journey? Thank you for introducing this dimension. And yes, servitude and power can co-exist and Jesus Christ showed us how!
Alex, it does lean heavily on the type of leader. As Jess shared in the prior comment, we likely have enough leaders but not leaders in the sense of what truly matters to Kingdom work. Many types of lights shine in the world, and they are self-proclaimed leaders. These are not humble leaders; instead, they might prefer to leverage marketing, media, or other means to communicate and build brand awareness. I have enjoyed reading through your two recent posts. Thank you.
Thank you, Michael. Indeed there is no shortage of leaders and you as a great question: are they self proclaimed? Could what we are seeing in the organizations and world at large be a crisis of lack of leadership? Is leadership a title? Thanks for the feedback Michael. I enjoy reading your perspectives. On the branding, marketing and media use by leaders, that is a whole topic to explore!