The Inspired Leader: 101 Biblical Reflections for Becoming a Person of Influence (29 page)

Brent Garrison, Ph.D.

Director of CEO Relations, CEO Forum

From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows, and armor

NEHEMIAH 4:16 (NLT)

WE ARE FAMILIAR
with the storyline of the book of Nehemiah and its powerful leadership lessons. Nehemiah demonstrates great wisdom in assigning team-specific duties to the men so the construction on Jerusalem’s walls could continue, while protecting them against the threats of Sanballat.

It’s easy to see the value of teamwork when watching athletics, for if a teammate misses a block it is on video for everyone to see and critique. However, talent isn’t enough to win a championship, for we know teams that win with less raw ability than losing teams possess. So what allows teams with less individual skill to win? It occurs when people work well together, as a team. In fact, a player with superior talent may prevent people from gelling together into a team. The same thing can happen in the marketplace.

Why is it sometimes difficult for a group of talented people to work together effectively as a team? It makes perfect sense when we look at the problem through the lens of Scripture. The Bible declares we are all sinners. When we put a group of “sinners” into leadership positions (add the dynamics of quotas and money), there will be conflict. People can (and will) be selfish, jealous, petty, and stubborn, for that is their nature (Ephesians 2:1-22). It is therefore understandable that there will be challenges when people work together. Even redeemed people manifest inappropriate characteristics as they struggle with the flesh and the spirit.

While working with people can be challenging, doing so is definitely worth the effort. That is because, being made in the image of God, people have intrinsic value. As followers of Christ, we should look at each colleague and employee as having profound worth, and pray that each person would come to Christ through faith. People in the marketplace need leaders who will authentically care for them and demonstrate Christlike leadership rather than treating them as if they are merely a means to an end.

You might be thinking, “He doesn’t know my team!” OK, so the team you have is challenging. Remember, they are sinners and will therefore manifest selfish behavior, but they are invaluable in God’s eyes. He sent His Son to die for them and they need you to care for them and believe in them in the same manner. You might be the first person who has demonstrated concern for them, and that just might change their life. You may have to make the tough decision to release the contrarian for the sake of the team, but do so with a heart that cares.

Creating an effective team is one of your most important tasks for a business leader. It will often be difficult to develop a team that gels, but realizing that teamwork is challenging because of our nature might give you that understanding spirit to pray for and care for that difficult team member.

Lead well this week (Romans 12:8).

REFLECT FOR A MOMENT

1. Are you presently leading a team? If you are, rate its current effectiveness on a scale of 1-10.
   

2. If you are presently working on a team, are there people with whom you are struggling to work with? If so, why is that? What might you do to help your colleagues?
   

3. How do you see “sin” affecting your team dynamics? What might God do to address that problem?
   

Marjorie Dorr

Retired Chief Strategy Officer, Wellpoint;

Retired CEO, Anthem BCBS Northeast

ARE YOU SEEKING to serve or be served? Matthew 20:25-28 says, “
Jesus called them together and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.
Not so with you
. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever want to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.’”
(NIV)

These verses highlight
Jesus’ admonition to not lead as others do but to focus our attention on a more excellent way. There are many leadership programs and techniques in the market today for business leaders to follow. However, for those who claim to follow Christ, Jesus gave us a mandate to be servant leaders. Leading like Jesus is an expression of obedience to the Lord whom we love.

Learning to lead like Jesus is, at its essence, learning to love like Jesus. Millions of dollars are spent to train people in leadership skills—changing people from the outside—which has proven to be largely ineffective. However, Jesus, asks us to lead from the inside—to change our heart from self-serving leaders to servant leaders. We must alter our heart to first love God and worship Him—not money, not power, not appreciation, not success. For this to happen, our hearts must be attached to the vine (John 15:5). One way for us to maintain that connection is to spend time in solitude, meditating on God (Psalm 1:2). So how did Jesus model this?

He consistently withdrew from the demands of His schedule to pray. Mark 1:35 says,
“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”
Luke 11:1 reminds us that
“One day Jesus was praying in a certain place.”
And Mark 6:31 shows the importance of solitude as Jesus calls the disciples to,
“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest”
(NIV)
Jesus understood the demands of being a leader—the constant pressures of people 24/7—the conflicts, the exhaustion. Jesus knew that leaders need to replenish their spiritual energy or else they will be crushed under the pressure. If Jesus took the time in solitude for rest and replenishment with the heavenly Father—why don’t we? Sin leaves no room for God in our heart. When we edge God out through busyness and neglect we often become prideful and think we can lead on our own (EGO). Or we lead by fear refusing to trust God and walk by faith.

Jesus did not neglect intimacy with His father. Where or what most fosters an atmosphere or attitude of solitude for you? Are you willing to invest more time in solitude in order to lead like Jesus?

REFLECT FOR A MOMENT

1. Would you say that you are currently “leading like Jesus”? Why or why not?
   

2. What is one thing you could change about your leadership that would enable you to lead more like Jesus would? What is preventing you from making that change?
   

FEW THINGS IN our world have been tarnished by sin as much as have relationships. As soon as evil entered into humanity, alienation, deception, and murder began occurring. Sin causes us to be selfish. It makes us look at people in terms of what they can do for us, rather than what we can do for them. It causes us to justify our harmful behavior toward others and to nurse every grievance others commit against us. Sin leads us to treat people in the exact opposite manner in a manner than God intends.

The apostle Paul described the way we should treat others, “
And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ, forgave you”
(Ephesians 4:32). We are to be kind and thoughtful toward those around us. We ought to be quick to forgive faults committed against us. We should relate to others in ways that make people better because they are associated with us.

It is easier to be kind to some people than to others. But God expects us to act in a Christlike way to each person you relate to. What does loving your spouse as Christ would look like? How would Christ love your child or colleague or boss? Christ set a high standard for loving others. He laid down His life for them. He expects nothing less from us (Ephesians 5:25).

CLARK KENT WAS famously mild mannered and inauspicious at work, but he would transform into a superhero when off duty. Unfortunately, the opposite is true for many business leaders today. At work they accomplish seemingly superhuman feats, overcome every challenge, build winning teams, solve every problem. But when they return home at day’s end, they morph into Clark Kent—tired, distracted, and disinterested in building a team or addressing problems.

Cornelius Vanderbilt leveraged his railroad and shipping interests to become one of the world’s wealthiest people. Yet he was extremely embarrassed by his son Corneel. Vanderbilt viewed his offspring as lazy and irresponsible. He grew so estranged from him that Vanderbilt refused to see Corneel even when he was on his deathbed. After he was largely ignored in his father’s will, Corneel spent his final night gambling away his remaining assets and then shot himself to death in a New York City hotel room he could not afford to pay for. Vanderbilt had been slightly less scathing of his other son, William, whom he denigrated as a “blatherskite.”

Winston Churchill, one of the twentieth century’s greatest leaders, experienced regular frustration with his son Randolph. After his son had a benign tumor surgically removed, Churchill mused, “What a pity to remove the one part of Randolph that is not malignant.”