Personal Biblical Philosophy of Leadership - Literature review Example

s Leadership is one of the most researched s in the field of management, administration, even psychology and various other social sciences disciplines. The orthodox definition of the concept entailed a generic view implying that any manager who tends to inspire the employees and keep them focused on a task maybe considered as performing the function of leadership. However, with time, the concept also has evolved and therefore, has taken various new dimensions which add to the value of anyone who might be considered as a leader. A leader is no more an ordinary manager overseeing if the employees or the followers are focused and inspired; instead, a leader now has a higher status and responsibility to ensure originality, humility and even will to be inspired in his subjects. In other words, leadership is now equated with a complete transformation in one`s subjects, i.e. influencing the emotional perspective of the subjects to ensuring spiritual satisfaction of the followers. In addition, leadership incorporates all creative as well as affective aspects of personality which maybe influenced. Therefore, to gather a holistic and a more application evidence regarding the subject, a theological aspect may also be added and therefore, Christian beliefs and the life of Jesus may also be taken as a test case to observe how leadership in its truest form may be achieved and practiced. Furthermore, the paper will explore other human aspects and ways to attain true leadership by exploring psychological, spiritual and even emotive aspects of the subject. Lastly, the prospective function of leadership on my own life will also be assessed and elaborated on. To begin with, the life of Jesus maybe taken as a test case to demonstrate how the lessons of simplicity can be turned into valuable lessons on leadership. In this context, it would be imperative to quote the work of Ford (1991) since he reached out to his audience by directly pointing out towards the leadership aspects of the life and struggles of Jesus. The text of his book can clearly be judged for its value on the subject of leadership since it talks about all aspects of the life of Jesus in context to leadership by concluding that by far, Jesus if the greatest leader ever born. Ford (1991) argues that in this immensely dynamic world where individualism has dominated every aspect of human life, there is a dire vacuum calling for leadership. Therefore, the world is facing dearth of a true and a holistic leader who tends to transform the human ways of life and take the humanity towards a positive direction. Though there is no doubt on the fact that there are various leaders functioning in their own specialized fields of influence, however these leaders tend to play around with the particular situation they are in. However, a transformational leader doesn’t merely make the best out of a particular situation; he rather transforms the situation to meet the needs of the community and more broadly, the humanity. Furthermore, while commenting on the life of the Jesus, it may be concluded that Jesus didn’t accept the world as it is, while he certainly didn’t accept the world as it is; rather he took a stand in the favor of world peace and humanity to transform the entire pretext of the world. While the world was engaged in materialism, and people were merely exchanging feelings and information over materialistic needs and desires, Jesus brought a revolution where he focused on the bigger picture, i.e. the long term goals in life which must be drivers of change. Also, while ordinary present day leaders bargain over the given situation, the transformational leaders like Jesus himself strike to the interest of the entire humanity by appealing to the common vision of people. Therefore, leadership in its true essence can`t be achieved unless the preaching of Jesus isn`t relived, which is only possible if another role model emerges on the lines of Jesus, propagating the same transformational style of leadership. Therefore, such a leader would be the one who realizes the multitude of roles a leader must undertake in order to achieve success. That is, the role of a leader as a smart strategist, his role as an innate observer, as a servant of the humanity, one who struggles to transform the world around him and most importantly, the one who strikes the chord of the humanity in order to spread general good and maximize transformational abilities in his subjects. Another work may be cited here in order to further strengthen the argument being made. Scazzero (2014) in his book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality again focuses on the instillation of Christian values to achieve the true essence of leadership. In other words, transformational style of leadership is again advocated in his work; however, he tends to focus on the contemplative spirituality which is deemed as a significant aspect to achieve leadership. The argument that emotional excellence can only be achieved via spiritual well being is further supported by adding that the orthodox Christian values may not be the source of spirituality. Instead, the historic and the orthodox views on Christianity may be inherently wrong since they seem superficial at times. In contrast, spiritual health relates to developing a dynamic and a more realistic relationship with God to enable oneself with a larger than life experience thus enabling emotional well being as well. One`s soul is the true reflection of the internal health of an individual which also acts as a mirror. Therefore, feeding the soul is an essential ingredient for anyone seeking satisfaction in life. For instance, anyone living in the burdens of his wrathful past would never be able to connect with god, since forgiving oneself and transforming oneself is the first step toward the true transformation. Therefore, medieval practices of Christianity would only undermine one`s resolve to achieve emotional balance, since connecting with god would require a real time connection with the higher being. To achieve this, one must first emotionally reach the higher level of secular and psychological understanding to reach the unconscious part of the brain. In this context, a true leader would be one who helps his subjects connect to the inner soul and then help them achieve spiritual balance from a modernistic perspective. Further delving deeper into the concept of leader, it may also be argued that the primal aspect of leadership is the most crucial one since emotional connection is the basic element to bind the individual with a purpose in life (Goleman 2002). In other words, a typical leaders invests a lot of time and resources into devising the right strategies and ensuring the appropriate execution of strategies, yet, in many cases the desired output isn`t achieved. The fault lies in the failure to engage the emotional drives of people and thus failure is directing the emotional energies of the subjects. Many social scientists tend to bracket out the emotional element from leadership challenges since they feel that this aspect personalized the issue, however, Goleman (2002) disagrees with the proposition. Instead, he argues that the most affective leaders are those who can be understood on a deeper level i.e. when an emotional connection can be built. Therefore, contrary to popular belief, a powerful leader has an innate ability to understand and connect with the emotive aspect of the personalities of their subjects which is essential to enhance the moral of the team while ensuring values of commitment in these individuals. Also, this aspect of leadership is the one which adds an element of originality to the leadership style since the most influential leaders are the ones who carry their own emotional appeal to the audience. This is the sole reason why tribal chieftains have always been able to carry out immense leadership abilities since the normative elements attached naturally add emotional value to the bond. Especially in the modernistic needs of times, where emotional imbalance is organization tend to produce toxic results for an organization; the leaders are expected to drive collective emotions of the employees toward a positive direction. In this context, it is crucial to undertake the issue from a scientific point of view as well. Therefore, the study of Kouzes (2010) can be incorporated to analyze the truths or the scientific reasons which he stated in his book. He stresses that a leader is the one who makes a difference by understanding his role in the society. Furthermore, he eventually focuses of developing credibility to enhance the trusts of his subjects in him. However, one of the most significant factors influencing the quality of leadership is the values which the leader believes in. Prior to making other believe in their dreams and commitments, it is critical for the leader to set an example by demonstrating what he truly believes in. Also, the leader must undertake transformational style of leadership as argued earlier in the paper as well, i.e. he must see what sets him apart from others and how he can come up with an excellent team to ensure that his ideas and principles leave a lasting impact on the community. Another crucial element in this regard is the trust element which implies that one must never undermine the worth of a lasting bond where others can rely on the leader. In addition, challenges must have the quality of driving the leader towards greatness which implies that achievements follow challenges. Furthermore, the leader can`t preach what he may not be practicing himself, thus he must be a living example of all the values he`s trying to instill in his followers. Yet, it must not be forgotten how even the best leaders are always in the learning phase of life, and thus, leaders always make the best of the learners. Lastly, leaders can never achieve excellence by engaging superficially with their clients or customers, even employees. Only when the values and the motivation is driven from the heart can the desired results be achieved. Therefore, Kouzes (2010) simplifies the science of leadership by explaining how not any ordinary individual can take up the charge of leadership. Instead certain qualities are crucial to ensuring whether or not an individual is qualified enough to execute the leadership functions with efficiency. Another aspect which seems fit with reference to discussion is that of the level 5 leadership, a concept fashioned by researchers recently. To explicate the point, the work of Collins (2001) can be quoted where he argues that a necessary ingredient which completes the recipe of extraordinary leadership is personal humility which must be coupled with professional will to achieve the desired results. During the era when the work of Collins was published, there were tantamount research studies arguing that leadership, especially in context to CEOs is limited to charisma and high profile figures. However, Collins (2001) broke the myth and gave a few elements of transformational leadership which deserve a mention here as well. ‘Level 5’ leadership refers to an exceptionally high level of leadership by virtue of hierarchies which is characterized by a few qualities. Any leader who elates himself to level 5 has the potential to drive a company or an idea from mediocrity to excellence. These are people with an elated iron will which makes them discreet in their purpose in unique in value. Yet, other factors must also be coupled with the level 5 leadership values to sail the ship of a company towards excellence. The orthodox values of discipline and honestly apply as it may be expected since the basics must never be challenged. An example of an ordinary paper company i.e. Kimberly-Clark maybe quoted here to who was the chief executive of the company during a time when the company wasn’t doing quite well. Yet, within 20 years, as he became CEO of the company he also elated the position of the company to a standard unparalleled for a company of such stature. The company ended up beating the most vicious rivals like Proctor & Gamble while it eventually outperformed itself owing to the efforts and vision of the CEO who exhibited level 5 leadership. Therefore, a transformational leader has the ability to created ventures which may not be envisioned by others thus setting him apart from other leaders of ordinary stature. Therefore, in my view as well, a leader isn`t any ordinary human being who can perform the tasks assigned to him. Instead he is an extraordinary individual who possesses an immense will-power, a strong commitment to basic values like commitment, honesty, integrity and respect, an inbuilt desire to spread the general good and a larger than life vision of life. The Biblical teaching may seem ordinary when seen through orthodox lens and medieval values, however, applying the biblical teaching in a holistic way and further using a secularist lens to connect with god can do wonders for an aspiring leader. As someone who intends on undertaking extraordinary leadership tasks in future, the findings of the study have only strengthened my resolve since now I am aware that a true leader is one who works with the sole purpose of transformation. Therefore, leadership isn`t merely an inbuilt capacity to change a few minds or influence a few individuals; instead it is a commitment to a larger cause in life. Not only does it imply polishing one`s skills and personality, but also it involves investing time in connecting with God and understanding the leadership philosophy of the most distinguished personality of all times i.e. Jesus Christ. While exhibiting utmost standards of humility and simplicity, he still managed to bring a revolution in the world. Therefore, understanding what he preached and what he practices is crucial to achieving leadership goals. Thus, prior to undertaking the task of leadership, I am now aware that I will be required to achieve the highest spiritual level where I would be sure of the fact that my relationship with the higher being isn`t a superficial one, rather a dynamic and a real one. Once I achieve true emotional balance, I would be able to connect emotionally with my subjects which will then empower me to design goals which appeal to common vision of a multitude of people. Thus, leadership must be taken as a continuous process rather than an inherent ability or an ordinary job, since, a true leader constantly reflects and then comes back to the subjects while also engaging himself in introspection and spiritual activities, at the same time ensuing that the interaction with individuals isn`t lost. In other words, leadership is a whole new perspective to life, an experience which requires extraordinary effort couple with a multitude of factors which must be undertaken with seriousness in order to achieve success regarding one`s goals in life. Works Cited: Ford, Leighton. (1991). Transforming leadership: Jesus way of creating vision, shaping values,and empowering change. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.  Goleman, Daniel, Annie McKee and Richard E. Boyatzis. (2002). Primal leadership: Realizing the power of emotional intelligence. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School.  Kouzes, James M. and Barry Z. Posner. (2010). The truth about leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.  Scazzero, Peter. (2014). Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, (2nd ed.). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Publishers.  Collins, Jim. (2001) Level 5 Leadership PDF; Google Scholar Read More