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Three Traits of a Leader
If a leader demonstrates competency, genuine concern for others, and admirable character, people will follow him.
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Leadership begins with one person—the leader. A thousand people may be led or a dozen management skills exercised, but ultimately the leadership equation may be reduced to a lone person, one individual whom people follow. At the time of the interview, J. Richard Chase was president of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. Dick was formerly president of Biola University in La Mirada, California. During his twelve-year tenure, enrollment grew from 1,800 to 3,100 students, and graduate offerings were expanded greatly through Talbot Theological Seminary and Rosemead School of Psychology. Some leaders are outgoing; some introverted. Some can talk their way out of any situation, while others perform their way out. So what traits of a great leader are nonnegotiable? What traits can a leader not afford to lose? Since my educational background is primarily in classical rhetoric, I'll start with the old classical questions: What are the dimensions of a person who has the leadership ethos? What kind of person has the manner of life that causes other people to follow him? I would answer those questions by identifying three broad categories: competency, personal character, and genuine concern for others. This threefold concept is primarily associated with Aristotle, but it is also biblical. It is virtually the outline Paul uses in, when he defends his own apostolic leadership. He starts by mentioning his competency, then moves to genuine concern for others, and finally closes with character. Leaders make decisions and take action; and if their leadership demonstrates competency, genuine concern for others, and admirable character, people will say, "I like what that person is doing. I'm going to follow him." Let's start with competency. In the church, pastors are expected to be competent at many things, but particularly preaching. Can the pastor who is not a very good preacher be a successful leader? Sure. I have known thriving churches where the pastor has not been strong in the pulpit. But in cases like that, the pastor was competent in communicating knowledge of the Scriptures in other ways. He might not have been overly articulate or able to put words together well on Sundays, but he was unusually effective in small Bible studies, midweek services, or in homes over a cup of coffee. Often the pastor was competent in putting together a staff. I know one church where the Sunday school staff carried the major load of formal biblical instruction for the church. And what was beautiful was that the pastor in no way felt threatened by these staff members. He chose them. So even though he was not outstanding in the pulpit, his competency in working with staff, in administrating, and in demonstrating genuine concern for people, had made him a dynamic, successful leader. Above all, he modeled biblical qualities of character. |             | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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