Augustine articulated that “all truth is God’s truth.” When a true leadership principle is discovered in the marketplace, the author of that principle is God Himself, whether the people who discovered the principle recognize its Author or not. Ironically, the world often recognizes marketplace leadership principles long after they have been revealed in Scripture. For example, the groundbreaking leadership book Servant Leadership by Robert Greenleaf (1977) shared the revolutionary insight that the best leaders are actually servants — nearly 2,000 years after Jesus taught that serving is the path to greatness.
At the same time, there are some marketplace leadership insights (even ones that are widely accepted as wise) that don’t translate fully and should not be applied to a local ministry context. The ministry leader is wise to look at all learnings from marketplace leadership through the lens of God’s Word and His heart for His Church.
Not All Marketplace Leadership Works in the Church
Here are four common marketplace leadership sayings that don’t fully apply in local church ministry:
1. Focus on your strengths
Marcus Buckingham and others have challenged leaders to focus on their strengths. Those who lead teams know that this counsel is wise, as God has gifted people differently. To embrace the gifting one has received is liberating for the person and helpful for the team. It is wise—but with some disclaimers. While we want people to find their gifts and embrace the unique ways God has designed them, there are two downsides to focusing exclusively on your strengths—especially in a ministry context. First, weaknesses need to be brought above a threshold so they do not become debilitating. If “organization isn’t your thing,” you still have to be able to answer emails. If you are “more task-focused than people-focused,’’ you still have to be able to talk to someone. Second, “focusing on your strengths” must submit to being a servant. Focusing exclusively on our strengths can take our eyes off focusing on people and joyfully stepping outside our gifting or job profile to serve others.
2. “Who before what”
Jim Collins made the “who before what” phrase commonplace in his classic (and very insightful) leadership book, Good to Great. He was challenging leaders to focus on who their team would be before focusing on what their team would accomplish. While the focus on who most assuredly applies to ministry leaders, it is often the what that helps gather the right who. The what of our beliefs and our mission serves as a filter for building the who—the team committed to the same mission of making disciples, rooted in the same faith delivered once and for all to the saints. Healthy ministries are led by healthy leaders, so the who matters greatly, but we won’t build the right who without a clear what.
