by Dr. George Kalaras
“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today; Let us move forward with strong and active faith.”–Franklin D. Roosevelt
When God spoke The Ten Commandments to Moses and the Israelites in Exodus 20:20 they witnessed something extraordinary. They saw thunder and lightning flashes and the sound of a trumpet and the mountain smoking, “they trembled and stood at a distance.” Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin.” When followers face doubt it is up to the leader to face that doubt in confidence. Most of the time the leader faces the same doubts but it is the empowerment of the Holy Spirit that helps good leaders and followers to surpass these doubts. This paper will look at how leaders are motivated to look past the “doubts of today” and move forward with the empowerment of tomorrow.
There are different views of how leadership style is defined or conceptualized. Some researchers view leadership style as a trait or as a behavior other researchers have found that leadership style is a process of gathering information and others look at leadership style as relationship. This short article suggests that leadership style is motive based.
Leadership is not the idea of problem solving and decision making, it is a relational endeavor that searches to motivate people towards a vision that will require significant change. Bennis believes that all excellent leaders have six capabilities: “They create a sense of mission, they motivate others to join them on that mission, they create an adaptive social architecture for their followers, they generate trust and optimism, they develop other leaders, and they get results.” Leaders who aspire to transform an organization surround themselves with strong associates (who) help them reduce flaws in their organization.
The six capabilities that Bennis talks about are not uncommon. These capabilities are seen in many organizations, so, what is special about a Christian’s motives to lead an organization? From a believer’s perspective it is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Piper writes that “the Holy Spirit performs a crucial role of humbling us. The primary work of the Holy Spirit is to abolish the pride and arrogance that keep us from being open to serving. The person who knows himself through Christ, and who then rejoices in the mercy of God, has nothing to lose when his ego is threatened.”
Leadership styles develop naturally mostly due to the individual’s self-identity, which has been shown to play a major role in cognition, emotion, motivation, and behavior. A person’s identity in Christ is the motivation behind their leadership style. Without the confidence of a strong identity in Christ there is an area of vulnerability exposed that allows doubt to overcome the fears one might have to lead in difficult times.
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