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Leadership Musings (2)
As part of the evaluative sessions about famous leaders, my team of
leadership students and I reviewed a documentary on the life of Jesus. As
was the case with previous reviews, the assessment was based solely on the
subjectÆs leadership skills, and not on who or what he represented. The
intention was not to praise or condemn this leader, but rather to review his
leadership style, his characteristics, and the determinants that occurred
during his emergence toward the great soul he became.
Our concentration areas were:
1. What correlation could be found between the leader, the followers,
and the situation?
2. What were this leaderÆs perceived positive qualities?
3. What were this leaderÆs perceived negative qualities?
4. What outstanding traits could be detected within this leader?
According to the documentary reviewed, Jesus was from humble beginnings. Not
that this was an unknown factor, as the story of ChristÆs birth is one of
the most famous worldwide. However, the authorities interviewed in this
program stated that, unlike in the famous Christmas story, Jesus was
probably born in Nazareth, the hometown of his parents, Josef and Maria. The
sources claim that Jesus was presumably raised to become a carpenter, just
like his father. He was Josef and MariaÆs oldest, but not only child. He had
several siblings: at least 3 brothers and a few sisters.
Little is known about the first half of JesusÆ life, except for the incident
in the synagogue at age 12, where he impressed the elders with his
intellect. In general, most of the sources assume that Jesus generally led
an ordinary life as member of an ordinary Jewish family. The sources also
assert that he may have had some exposure to life outside his hometown at
various occasions. These encounters may have planted the seed for his
roaming years later on.
JesusÆ first experience with inspirational leadership may have been his
confrontation with John the Baptist in the Jordan. If perceived from a
leadership perspective, we can conclude that John the Baptist became JesusÆ
mentor, igniting within him the stimulation to become a transformational and
motivational leader. Whether as a follower of John, or individually, Jesus
apparently interacted with a multitude of people after that. However, his
whereabouts in this timeframe are mainly based on speculations. Fact of the
matter is, that when Jesus returned to his hometown, Nazareth, his fellow
citizens did not appreciate the change he had undergone and even felt
threatened by the stranger he had become in their eyes.
As usually happens with people who grow out of the proportions of the small
environment they were raised in, Jesus was soon chased out of his hometown,
after which he started collecting followers on his journeys through other
cities. This is where he made his name and fame: he held speeches in
synagogues, was widely praised for his eloquence, wisdom, and healing
powers, and continued to gather crowds of devotees everywhere he went.
One can question whether the miracles that Jesus performed during his
lifetime, such as changing water into wine, walking on water, and
resurrecting the deceased, were acts of mass hypnosis, mass suggestion, or
real miracles, but his popularity was undisputable.
No wonder that he became a clear and present danger in the eyes of the
assigned contemporaneous leaders. JesusÆ case is a clear illustration of
community (unofficial) leadership versus assigned (official) leadership. And
as his influence grew, so did the fear of King Herod for being overruled by
this strange inspirational figure.
So, what could we learn from Jesus as a leader?
1. The correlation between Jesus and his followers was one of
inspiration. Most of his admirers were initially attracted to him by the
stories of his supernatural powers, and they wanted to experience these
powers, either for themselves or for their less fortunate loved ones. Once
JesusÆ name was established through word of mouth, the crowd kept on
swelling. Like fans around a celebrity.
2. Some of JesusÆ positive qualities were:
a. The contents of his message, with non-violence, respect, and
empathy as some of the highlights.
b. His self-confidence: the first registered manifestation of this
quality was JesusÆ conversation with the elders in the temple at age 12. His
many verbal explanations of being the Son of - and the only way to - God,
may further serve as examples of his high self-perception.
c. His capability to inspire: he gained followers wherever he went,
and he must have been a charismatic person.
d. His intelligence: he was never shy for words. On the contrary: he
always managed to formulate answers that could be interpreted in multiple
ways.
e. His determination: even when he realized after the murder of John
the Baptist that he might soon suffer the same fate, he continued his
mission, and traveled back and forth to Jerusalem until he got arrested and
killed.
f. His faith in his mission: He believed that everything happens as
it is written, so it is no use to fight against it. One can rather do his or
her utmost in executing whatever he or she believes in, for as long as one
is given the time to do so.
g. His influence: He changed the lives and perspectives of many. It
turned out that JesusÆ legacy grew immensely after his death, while he had
his share of opponents and ridiculers - like any leader û during his life.
3. Some of JesusÆ negative qualities are:
a. His emotional outbursts at times when he perceived injustice, such
as the temple market, which he fiercely condemned by smashing the tables
where the trading was done.
b. His stubbornness, which drove him forth long beyond the point of
carelessness. He knew he ran the risk of getting killed, yet he firmly
continued his mission. One can, of course, question whether this is really a
negative quality, or just a positive quality stretched beyond its
boundaries. But risk-taking can be responsible or irresponsible. Jesus drove
his risk predilection to the point of no return.
c. His over-confidence: he was uninhibited when it came to
intellectual encounters.
d. His unwillingness to compromise: Jesus simply did not accept any
other vision than the one he was proposing. That may seem like an "ItÆs
either my way or the highway" mindset.
4. Some of JesusÆ outstanding traits were:
a. His physical flexibility, which enabled him to adapt to various
difficult situations, such as the fasting in the wilderness for a
respectable amount of weeks.
b. His obvious energy: considering that traveling in those days mainly
happened by foot or donkey, Jesus must have had a decent dosage of vibrancy
to withstand this.
c. His strong will: JesusÆ ability to rise above the mediocrity of an
average life in an average town to become one of the greatest and most
influential leaders of all time proves this.
The question remains whether Jesus, had he not taken the risk of being
assassinated, would have also risen to the immortality that he now enjoys.
Of course his appearances after his death remain unexplainable, but, like so
many other leaders after him, his legacy really skyrocketed after his
passing. Jesus of Nazareth has proven that leaders donÆt have to be born:
they can be made.
Joan Marques, Burbank, February 1, 2004
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About the Author:
Joan Marques, holds an MBA, is a doctoral candidate in Organizational
Leadership, and a university instructor in Business and Management in
Burbank, California. You may visit her web site at www.joanmarques.com
Joan's manual "Feel Good About Yourself," a six part series to get you over
the bumps in life and onto success, can be purchased and downloaded at:
http://www.non-books.com/FeelGoodSeries.html
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It is better to live in serene poverty than in hectic abundance. Everything
has a price. The price for nurturing your soul is turning away from
excessive stress, destruction of self-respect, and the constant strive in
lifestyle with the Joneses. But itÆs worth it.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]