There are a number of very significant shifts taking place in the world of leadership. Some of this shift is due to the reality of massive culture changes. As culture changes, so do paradigms of leadership.
One such shift is moving away from looking at the GREAT LEADER and toward thinking about GREAT TEAMS.
Warren Bennis is just one of the leadership savants who is talking about this particular shift.
It is part of the American myth and "hero folklore" that we put so much emphasis on the superstar leader who saves the day.
The reality is that it is great teams that do the most for organizations and behind every great leader, there is most certainly a great team that is not getting too much credit but standing in the shadow of the leader.
I think it is kind of a sickness in our culture in general and it has its own expressions in the evangelical sub-culture as well.
The Level Five Leader that Jim Collins talks about (ironically a truly great leader) recognizes and values the contributions of others on the team and gives credit to the team for their accomplishments.
In the Bible, we think about great leaders, but sometimes fail to remember the great teams they had.
Moses had a great team (in part - Caleb, Joshua, Aaron, the 70 elders and more).
David had a great team - his mighty men, Nathan and more.
Nehemiah had a great team - those overseers who coordinated the work of rebuilding and the work of vigilant, armed resistance against their enemies.
The 2008 Giants had a great team this year.
And my favorite NBA team, the Celtics, once again have a great team that is reminiscent of the Larry Bird years (when Bird was the lead player on a team of truly great players). Yes I know I'm biased.
Take a few minutes and answer these questions:
- Who is on your team?
- Have you affirmed and encouraged them recently?
- What are you doing to give them opportunities for even more leadership influence?
One of the things I am excited about is that Leadership ConneXtions International is building a great team of international partners and U.S. based partners. I'm grateful.
Brian Rice