The L Word
Loud-ership
A quick search of Amazon reveals over 60,000 results for items matching the search term “leadership,” and that’s after filtering to only books. [1] University programs advertise programs or intensives dedicated to the topic. Leadership curriculum is even tailor-made for elementary school students. [2] Parents are promised that this or that extracurricular activity will make their child a leader.
The marketplace for making leaders is loud.
But rarely do any of these come with definitions of what leadership is. What are we talking about when we use the L word?
Lucra-ship
I recently sat on a call with a consulting company that advertises its service as “developing better leaders for a better future.” I won’t cite them, out of politeness. Their website describes their service industries, product offerings, corporate structure, board members, client testimonials, big brand partners, podcasts, webinars, data security policy, and the names of the CEO’s cats (one of these is not true).
Amidst this content, there is not one definition of what they are actually talking about when they use the L-word. I politely identified this with the three people on call and asked what they understood leadership to be. No surprise; I got three different answers. No further surprise when every definition included the promise that leadership could be taught to anyone and they would be glad to do so in exchange for our cash.
The marketplace for making leaders is lucrative.
But never mind three people. Ask 20 people, and you might get 20 different answers that orbit around similar themes: influence, vision, decisions, etc.
So, what is it?
Leadership is…
In The Sound of Leadership, Jules Glanzer takes us on an acoustically-inspired journey to the heart of leadership through the metaphor of sound. [3] What stood out to me in Glanzer’s writing is how frequently he provides definitions of what he considers leadership to be.
Let’s take a look at some of these definitions of what Glanzer considers leadership to be and the implications for those who lead:
Leadership is Acoustics
Glanzer writes, “Leonard Sweet’s definition of leadership is right-on: ‘Leadership is an acoustical art.’ An effective leader can hear and discern the many voices while at the same time call other voices into a harmonious sound of imagining and creating the future.” [4] By analyzing leadership through the metaphor of acoustics, Glanzer is able to draw parallels between the ways leadership operates and the way sound operates, as a physical force, but, more significantly, as a communicative phenomenon between people that has purpose, emotion, context, and meaning.
Leadership is Discerning Signal from Noise
Thee chapters of Glanzer’s work are dedicated to hearing, discerning, and deciding which voices to pay attention to [5]. Every leader is surrounded by a multitude of stakeholders, all with opinions on which way is the right way to go. In the information age, there is no shortage, and perhaps an over-abundance, of information available to the leader. [6] It is critical that the leader knows how to discern the voices and decide on which to give credence to. Critically for the Christian leader, this includes the voice of the Holy Spirit, which may sound like other voices, or very different. [7]
Leadership is Defining Reality and Taking Responsibility
Glanzer, quoting Max De Pree, states that “the first responsibility of leadership is to define reality.” [8] The leader must take responsibility for the realities of the path between today’s reality and tomorrow’s vision. [9] They must be able to communicate and guide others along this path, by being willing to tread the path themselves, often ahead of their followers. “You can’t lead anyone anywhere you aren’t going yourself,” so the saying goes [10].
Leadership is both Voice and Tone
“When you take action, the notes become the music that establishes the voice and tone of your leadership,” [11] writes Glanzer. As a child, my mum would remind me that it’s not always what is said, but the way in which it is said that communicates the main message. I am still learning this lesson. Research conclusions vary on the exact amounts, but generally agree that communication between people is comprised of far more than words alone. [12] Glanzer reminds us that leadership is about both voice and tone. This also includes knowing when to be silent, as Glanzer outlines in his experience learning to listen to God’s voice. [13]
Leadership is Loving
Referring to 1 Corinthians 13, Glanzer says that love is the greatest expression of God’s symphony. [14] A symphony organizes individual voices into a unified orchestra, with the purpose of sounding good together. Glanzer advocates that love is the central component in the Christian leader’s approach to leadership and our relationships to one another.
Leadership is Partnership
This includes partnership with others, such as those who follow [15], and partnership with God, our leader [16]. “We are engaged in a holy partnership”, Glanzer writes [17]. What a privilege it is that God is already at work in the world and invites us, made in the Imago Dei (image of God) to participate in that Missio Dei (mission of God)! Since we are made in the image of God, we are to likewise entrust and empower others, just as Christ did with his disciples (Matthew 10-11).
Leadership Is a Calling to Be Transformed
What is perhaps my favorite definition, “Leadership is Being that results in Doing,” reflects that leadership is ultimately about identity and character and that behavior and actions follow. I suspect this may be important to Glanzer also, as he repeats it in the book. [18] It reminds me of Friedman’s emphasis on the importance of a leader’s presence. [19]
“All are called to serve. Some are chosen to lead,” writes Glanzer. [20] Even the leader must be willing to serve (Mark 10:42-45), but to have influence on others is a sacred and different responsibility (James 3:1).
Rooted in the Latin word vocare, speaking or calling, [21] leadership is not only calling others to follow; it begins with responding to a call oneself.
This calling is to transform our minds, our thinking, and the very root of our identities (*metanoia*, repentance, Matthew 4:17, Mark 1:14, Romans 12:1-2). It is to become a different kind of person.
Yes, the things we do along the way are meaningful and holy, but I wonder if we have the order reversed.
Instead of God making us holy so that we can do things that are worthwhile, I see God inviting us into the things that He is already doing so that he can accomplish his greater goal: that we are transformed.
“And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.'”
Revelation 21:5
That includes me, and it includes you.
May our leadership be transformative!
Notes
[1] Amazon search for “Leadership”, filtered by books only, accessed April 7, 2025, https://www.amazon.com/s?k=leadership&rh=n%3A283155&dc&ds=v1%3AMcyByHwGuV9JZ2NARY%2F79ZgIXoqUYtkXOS9qbTO9xU0&crid=3T49JT0H201UT&qid=1744149080&rnid=2941120011&sprefix=leadership%2Caps%2C191&ref=sr_nr_n_1.
[2] FranklinCovey Education, “Elementary | Leader in Me,” accessed April 7, 2025, https://www.leaderinme.org/elementary/.
[3] Jules Glanzer, Sound of Leadership: Kingdom Notes to Fine Tune Your Life and Influence (Plano, TX, USA: Invite Press, 2023).
[4] Glanzer, xxiv.
[5] Glanzer, 11-28.
[6] Katie Malatino, “Information Overload Is a Personal and Societal Danger,” March 13, 2024, https://news.rpi.edu/2024/03/13/information-overload-personal-and-societal-danger.
[7] Glanzer, 24-27.
[8] Glanzer, 74.
[9] Glanzer, 111.
[1o] Author unknown. I have tried to find a reliable source for this and have given up. We’ll call it folk wisdom.
[11] Glanzer, 52.
[12] Jayme Quinn, “How Much of Communication Is Nonverbal? | UT Permian Basin Online,” November 3, 2020, https://online.utpb.edu/about-us/articles/communication/how-much-of-communication-is-nonverbal.
[13] Glanzer, 114-115.
[14] Glanzer, 7.
[15] Glanzer, 75.
[16] Glanzer, 80.
[17] Glanzer, 82.
[18] Glanzer, 46 & 59.
[19] Edwin H. Friedman, A Failure of Nerve, Revised Edition: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix, Revised Edition (La Vergne: Church Publishing Incorporated, 2017).
[20] Glanzer, 100.
[21] Glanzer, xvii.
About the Author
Joff Williams
I help communities and people discover their identity and purpose by discovering the identity and intent of their Creator. I am a follower of Jesus, husband, father, son, sibling, music nerd, recovering IT nerd, just an all-around nerd nerd, and mediocre but happy runner. My work involves leading and loving the communities of Mercy Ships, an international hospital ship mission deeply rooted in the love of Jesus.12 responses to “The L Word”
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Joff, your post begs a question: How do you define leadership?
I’ll be glad to correct your answer and unlock your leadership potential for a small fee…
Touché! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnB1TgxgwEA
Leadership defines what today is and influences others in what tomorrow will be.
Great leadership does so while not losing one’s own soul.
Brilliant—the definition, not the video. The great leadership addition is what sold me.
I’m grateful that Robert asked you for the definition and not me. I don’t have an eloquent answer and will contemplate it on my drive to the airport.
Rich – I am in full agreement: this is a fantastic and motivating defintion of leadership! Joff, what a great way to distill and invite transformational leadership!
I reflected on this while flying home last night. My favorite leadership quote is from a retired colleague who said, “Leadership is what happens when you aren’t in the room.” It appears that Jim modified something that is attributed to Ken Blanchard. Regardless, that saying is a subset of what it means to lead and most appropriate for a hierarchy.
Google attributes Joff’s first sentence to John C. Maxwell and the second to David Dye. There is nothing new under the sun.[1] The brilliance is in combining the two thoughts. I will choose to believe that they ripped off Joff, which sounds like a great game show.
[1] Qoheleth, Ecclesiastes 1:9.
Joff,
As I think about the ‘defining of reality’ you drew on in your section on Taking Responsibility, I am wondering how often leaders don’t know that they may need to redefine some sets of reality as they have shifted? Do you see leaders in Christian circles being apprehensive about redefining changing realities based on principles that biblical realities don’t change?
Hey Darren,
I do see this, for sure. I’ve been guilty of it myself.
You know what they say as the only things that can be counted on: God, and taxes.
God’s character doesn’t change, and his mission doesn’t change. My understanding and interpretation of those things do, however, because I change. That is not only OK, it is God’s good intent.
I don’t think all the same things I did 20 years ago, precisely because the spirit of Jesus is in me and guiding me into that which is true (John 16:13).
Doing a new thing doesn’t necessarily mean God’s character has changed. The church has been built on contextualization (people following Jesus in the cultures they are in) for two millenia. That doesn’t mean there isn’t objective truth. There is, it’s just defined by God, manifest by Jesus, and revealed by the Spirit, not in our culture or any other idol, including any sacred cows we set up within the church.
In summary, we need to differentiate between the agent of change (the perfect, unchanging Spirit of God) and the subject (us—beautiful, broken, being made new).
I do also pray for taxes to change.
Joff –
In my current context we articulate our “true north” as “Love God. Love Others. Live Sent. BE TRANSFORMED.” with the awareness that Holy Spirit transforms us AS we participate with God in the way of love, so the conclusion of your post has special resonance for me. I really appreciate the way you recalibrate us in what God is at work doing in us.
In your context/role, how do you help people keep transformation as a trajectory-setting win in the midst of all the other necessary metrics of engagement?
Our organizations share the top 2 core values! We use “Love God. Love and serve others. Integrity. Excellence.” If I got to choose, I’d absolutely swap one of those out for transformation. I think yours are strong!
My answer to your question is that it takes hard work: modeling, repeating things 7 times in 7 ways, advocacy, and time. I consider it a coup that in the most recent version of our organizational strategy doesn’t just have our values and culture as underlying foundations that support the goals, but one of the actual goals is cultivating an environment of transformation.
I find the time part annoying. I often want things to move faster. I was just on the call with my leadership coach this morning, talking about the difference between honoring ‘chronos’ and discerning ‘kairos’. There’s some growth for me to do there.
Joff –
We must be reading from the same Book!
The chronos/kairos time distinction is a thing, for sure. I think certain leaders naturally have a sense of urgency and drive that’s healthy when it spurs us on toward love and good deeds; not so much when it pushes us to dysfunction, burn out, and overwhelm. I keep reminding (and reminding and reminding) myself that transformation and culture cannot be microwaved, but are slow-steeped.
Joff,
A list of 60k titles – that’s about 10+ miles if you lay them end to end. A ton of literature to walk through.
This doesn’t even include the apps working to create perceived value (or not) in that vertical. I have friends who work in that marketplace.
I was closely aligned with Rich on our shared definition, except it was closer to “the team conducting their necessary business when you weren’t around.”
This collective space has immense (not indefinite) resources, focus, and words. Why is there a struggle to develop and maintain good leaders? I see it daily in my environment.
Thanks for the question, Mike.
I think that what makes “good leadership” a challenge is simply that we struggle to be good at anything, both in a practical and an ethical sense.
Hebrews 12 describes the weights and entanglements of sin that hold us back. Our exemplar of how to respond to this: Jesus, “who for the joy set before him endured the cross.”
Practically, mastering anything takes hard work, persistence, patience, resilience, and grit.
Ethically, good leadership requires a higher tolerance for emotional pain. That can either break or refine us, depending on our orientation toward the Lord and our readiness to endure.
I have a book on this topic on my bookshelf called “Leadership Pain” by Samuel Chand. I’m looking forward to reading it during the summer break.