Lead Like Jesus Revisited
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Feb 20, 2024
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Lead Like Jesus Revisited: Book Review
Christopher Hamilton
LEAD 510: Biblical Foundations of Leadership
September 2023
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
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ii
Abstract
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1
Concrete Response
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3
Reflection
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4
Action
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4
Bibliography
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7
ii
1
Abstract
In the book Lead Like Jesus: Revisited, we see a perspective of a biblical leader, the heart
of a leader, the being/doing habits, the head, the hands, and various steps to make that shift into biblical leadership. Blanchard’s goal was to illuminate the leadership model to follow Jesus. The book starts with a contrast and comparison of what secular leadership looks like in comparison to
biblical leadership. Ken talks about a holistic approach in this leadership model pointing back to the various points mentioned prior. One of the first ideas we see from Ken
is that “
servant leadership is the only approach to leadership that Jesus validates for His followers.”
1
Through this truth, Blanchard builds on a biblical view of leadership illustrated through Jesus’ life. The first thing Ken challenged the reader to do was to examine themselves with what leadership meant to them. Is the reader influencing others? Who are the leaders in our lives? This is later broken down into different types of leadership such as organizational and life leadership. Regardless of what role in leadership we have, Ken
illuminates the perfect example of that leadership – “Followers of Jesus have more in Jesus than just a spiritual leader; we have a practical model of effective leadership for all organizations, for all people, for all situations.”
2
The biggest take away we can get from Lead Like Jesus is the fact that Jesus displayed His leadership in the style of servant leadership. This model points to the only true form of biblical leadership. Matthew 20:26-28 ESV
, “
26
It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27
and whoever would be first among you must be 1
Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges, Lead like Jesus Revisited: Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role Model of All Time
(Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2016), 2.
2
Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges, Lead like Jesus Revisited: Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role Model of All Time
(Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2016), 12.
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2
your slave, 28
even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a
ransom for many.” This model of leadership is the basis for all leadership. Blanchard
gives us two questions as foundation for a biblical perspective. “Whose am I? Who am I?
”
3
With the first question we can conclude the authority in our life. The second question examines our life’s purpose. Blanchard’s approach to these two realizations allows us to self-reflect and get down to the heart of the matter of leadership. Jesus spent time building trust before He started truly leading others. We are told that preparation is just as important for our ministry of leadership as well. Blanchard later explains those four domains of leading like Jesus – Heart, Head, Hands, and Habits. Our heart should be founded on the motive to serve others. Our head should develop a biblical philosophy. Our hands should act out on our heart and our head. As we craft and act out our mission it should go back to our identity in Christ. Our habits should mirror our dedication to serving others. Servant leadership circles around other people and Matthew 28:19 ESV
, “
19
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” We are given many warnings from the author about our heart. The Bible touches on our heart many times as well. There is much parallel from the warning signs from Blanchard and the
Bible. Jeremiah 17:9 ESV, “The heart is deceitful above all things, 3
Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges, Lead like Jesus Revisited: Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role Model of All Time
(Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2016), 25.
3
and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Blanchard continues to focus on the heart to focus leadership motives back to a biblical source. That source being, loving God and loving our neighbor. Concrete Response
After reading through this book, I am reminded of many examples in my own life with leaders I have looked up to. However, in my own personal practice of leadership, I am brought back to my earlier career in banking. The first opportunity of leadership in my life came after a manager of mine had been let go. The whole team seemed lost with no direction. I happened to be the longest tenured and highest-ranking individual in the branch. Back then, I had little experience in corporate leadership. We had company goals, we were short staffed, and we had little guidance. I knew there were shoes to fill and people to encourage. I specifically remember my teammate Celeste being overwhelmed with responsibilities she had never had to face. Knowing this tension had gotten the best of her, I started adding some of her duties to my own plate. Clients started coming in asking for a manager, and I politely took
that responsibility in assisting them. Sometimes this was even above my training. I was not adequately trained, but I took the initiative. I would say things like, “what can I do to ease the load?” I quickly saw my teammates’ posture towards me change from peer to respect. This was not due to a status, but instead due to the motive behind my assistance. I know this is a corporate example, but it enlightened me to what biblical leadership should look like. I was not near perfect, but I focused my attention on others, and it eventually caught the attention of leadership. So much so, they approached me to take on more responsibility and offered me a promotion into that leadership role. At that point, I began to understand the foundation of servant leadership. When I made it about others, I did not have to work so hard for a position of influence.
4
Reflection
I truly find it hard to be critical of Blanchard’s stance on leadership. Anytime you choose Jesus as the model and give concrete evidence of His leadership, it can be hard to find any fault. Some questions I have are built more around personal experience and application. Questions like
these: How does drive and determination affect motive when seeking a corporate position of higher status and pay? How do we balance corporate goals and biblical principles in a worldly approach to meeting company goals? Can we truly love others if we are put in a position of leadership that drives sales over actually caring for the person? When do we step away from a toxic corporate America? I probably will not have all these answers in my current career. In the banking world, there is a lot of product-pushing, high sales goals, and ‘bucket filling’. I am actively being considered for a church role as a youth pastor. This role has a much higher accountability level at
a significantly lower salary. I can take a lot from Lead Like Jesus and plug that right in to what God has called me to do. This book does well at focusing on leadership in the Christian life, but it can be hard to tie it in to corporate leadership roles. Especially those roles with a profit first mentality. Do we do the best job that we can for the company we serve? Or do we find ways to make goals meet client needs? From experience, I can tell you the balance is not an easy feat. I truly believe Jesus would have not taken a position for monetary profit over customer centrality. It is a hard realization, but reflection is vital for the four domains Blanchard touches on. Action
There are a few action items I will be taking with me after reading through this book. I must make a vocation change. I am not saying that everyone will feel as strongly as I do about the role that I am in. I do, however, feel as if the role I am in generally edifies the
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leader/company rather than other people. Sure, what I do currently disguises caring for the customer as filling financial buckets. I am accountable for the profit, the bottom line, and I must aggressively communicate a message that I do not believe in. God has called for us to make disciples, and I am answering that call into full-time ministry. I take all that with a grain of salt, because there are moments when I have been able to share my faith and stand up for what I believe in. It is so hard to have a corporate job in today’s world with such an identity crisis. When I think of Blanchard’s demonstrations of leadership, I truly do not see what I do as a mirroring image of servant leadership. This is honestly a hard pill to swallow knowing there is good money in what I do. The biggest challenge is that it is so hard to mimic the four domains. I used to think I was, but I found myself being forced into a corner of driving others to chase metrics rather than having conversations that promote the client’s needs. I have been backed into other corners by judging performance on metrics alone instead of motives. I have always heard a good model of productivity is beliefs, behaviors, and results. However, when company beliefs and personal beliefs do not align, it becomes a difficult task to stay on a biblical path of leadership. Blanchard summarizes this battle well, “
Leading like Jesus is not easy. It demands intentionality and commitment as well as an ongoing relationship with the model you are trying to follow.”
4
When we have a model of servant leadership, we find it hard to mesh with any other models that detract from that model. I find myself fighting a corporate battle of ethics and giving it my all. Not saying that I am at fault for doing anything unethically, but I find it hard to sell 15 credit cards just to fulfill a company goal. I find it hard to meet a loan volume if we cannot find the need for it in a rising rate environment. I also find it hard to push my team to have a similar 4
Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges, Lead like Jesus Revisited: Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role Model of All Time
(Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2016), 73.
6
mentality of goals over client necessity. Sure, there are times certain financial solutions make sense, but a lot of times puzzle pieces are forcefully put together to satisfy a corporate desire. My
end goal is to lead like Jesus, and a career shift may be my best route. It’s not like that for everyone, but when God has a specific call in your life, I think most could see this same light.
7
Bibliography
Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges, Lead like Jesus Revisited: Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role Model of All Time
(Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2016)
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