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Episode Four
Leadership Styles & Models
In Episode Three of this series on leadership entitled LEAD the WAY, I talked about the relationship between Character and Leadership, and why it a true leader is one who is known for his or her character quality. In this Episode Four, I will talk about Leadership Styles, Leadership Models, and the dark side of leadership. Let us begin.
Leadership Styles
Leadership experts recognize there are three basic styles of leadership: assertive, adaptive, and passive (a.k.a. autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire). Each style has its strengths and weaknesses but all three styles can be used depending on the context and situation. Both forceful and enabling are needed. No one can truly lead without making his or her presence felt, taking stands, setting high expectations, and making tough calls, but that leadership would be hollow and ineffective without the ability to delegate responsibility, seek others’ input, show appreciation, and provide support.
Effective leaders assess the situation and factor in the people they are dealing with and the state of affairs and use all styles. For example, assertive leadership is more effective in times of crisis and urgency, when the leader is most knowledgeable, has privileged information, and the people are interested but not committed to serve. Adaptive leadership is more effective when team members are skilled, eager to share their knowledge, when time is not of the essence, and when the team members are educationally on par. Finally, passive leadership is more effective when the team is skilled or experienced and self-motivated and leaders are available for consultation and feedback.
Leadership Models
Leading by example is the leadership model that is most commonly applied. Effective leaders know they have to lead by example if they are to lead effectively and exert positive influence on others. Leaders are story-tellers (a phrase by Howard Gardner). They tell their life stories. For the stories to be effective, their lives must embody them. How does one lead by example? An excellent model is the “Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership” designed by James Kouzes and Barry Posner, which consists of the following: model the way, inspire a shared vision, challenge the process, enable others to act, and encourage the heart.
In contrast to servant leadership is the EGO (Edging God Out) driven leadership. Ego-driven leadership operates from emotional insecurity and spiritual immaturity. It makes activities its highest aim because they are equated with accomplishments. It places rules above relationships, policies or projects above people, protocols over priorities, and convenience over conviction. Ego-driven leaders seek to maintain a status quo leadership and uses people as ego boosters to achieve goals. Ego-driven leadership is averse to criticism and adopts a closed mind to suggestions and is reluctant to own up to failure. Such a leader takes credit for success and blames others for failures. Dogmatism seems to be the approach taken when it comes to heart matters and hard issues. Consequently, self-sufficiency hinders an ego-driven leader from asking help from others, while pride leads to an indulgence in self-glorification when it comes to reports marked by a tendency towards exaggeration.
A servant-leader, conversely, operates from emotional security and spiritual maturity. Such a leader pursues God’s agenda for others’ benefit rather than for personal agenda and benefit. He seeks to influence others through persuasion and move (not push) people to align with God’s purposes. A servant-leader is characterized by humility and sacrifice. Servant-leaders are God’s catalysts who have learned the art of seeing the bigger picture, enduring and creating change, as well as raising the bar and challenging people to reach it.
As faithful stewards (cf. 1 Cor. 4:1–2) who are given a sacred trust, they do the right things for the right reasons. A failure to understand and practice servant-leadership institutionally and ecclesiologically will lead to a paradigmatic shift from doing our job to keeping our job. As a result, we lose our spiritual focus, forget the ultimate, and concentrate more on the immediate. Biblically true servant-leadership multiplies value to others by enhancing, serving, and developing their potential.
At the heart of servant-leadership is the willingness to give up our intrinsic “rights” (cf. 1 Cor. 9:5–15), while emphasizing our “responsibility” and owning up when things go awry. A third model which I like to propose for effective leadership is what I call the “Impactful Biblical Leadership” (IBL) model which will be elaborated in Chapter 4.
The Dark Side of Leadership
One of the accompanying dangers to leadership is the dark side of leadership. Leaders are human beings with flaws, foibles, and failings and they make mistakes. Every leader has a dark side whether he or she acknowledges it or not. The phenomenon of having a dark side in a leader could be due to one’s past experiences. Horrific things have been done in the name of leadership (e.g., genocide). As the Prophet Jeremiah has said, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9). People often project fantasies on leaders and they must be managed properly. Otherwise, leaders lose touch with reality and think they are infallible. When that happens, they are setting themselves up for a crash.
According to Kirk Hanson, the Achilles heel of leaders includes the following:
How then do we redeem our dark side? Gary McIntosh and Samuel Rima suggest the following practical steps.
Step One: Acknowledge your dark side.
Step Two: Examine the past.
Step Three: Resist the poison of expectations.
Step Four: Practice progressive self-knowledge.
Step Five: Understand your identity in Christ.
In this Episode Four, I talked about the talk about Leadership Styles, Leadership Models, and the dark side of leadership. To help us review what we have heard from this podcast, I invite you to reflect on the following questions. Please join me for Episode Five, which I will talk about the dynamic nature of Leadership. Good-bye, and have a great day!
Discussion Questions
1. What statement strikes you the most?
2. Are the steps outlined by Gary McIntosh and Samuel Rima practical?
3. Which of the three basic styles of leadership you subscribe to.