I for one have grown tired of the talk of “growing as a leader” in Church circles when the majority of the information is derived from non-functional business principles.
There is nothing in the least wrong with business principles.
I am an avid reader of many business writers – not to assume anything falsely, but it would be tough to read more than me of the writings of Tom Peters, Seth Godin, Guy Kawasaki and most of all Peter Drucker (the list thins out quickly after these writers – commentary welcome… yes, I have read lots of others… no, most of them are one-shot wonders or smoke and mirror writers who have passed under the radar without being noticed as “business theory savants” who have not actually worked – have only attended school after school and then began to consult…).
There is much wrong with pastors who have never done anything other than lead churches who have convinced themselves they are amazing leaders simply because their churches have grown to some thousands…
… and they now think they are tantamount to business leaders
… or more disappointingly, they are convinced the challenge at hand requires the intrusion of Proctor and Gamble’s trickle down leadership pyramid in order to be effective.
Again, nothing wrong with learning from P&G. I for one don’t grow weak in the knees when someone who is a mid-level manager or higher on the leadership ladder from there (or wherever) introduces themselves. Been there, done that.
The best of leadership is dealing with the unique challenge that lies before us in a thoughtful, reflective way. In a way that is action-oriented – dropping the idea of long meetings that get nowhere that have a mere appearance of progress. Progress is accomplished when real leadership is present.
