By Joseph J. Bucci ——Bio and Archives--August 5, 2024
American Politics, News | CFP Comments | Subscribe | Email Us
It seems that hardly a week passes where a new leadership trade publication comes hot off the presses. According to two sources, each year approximately 4.8 billion leadership books are written (Francis, 2023; Carlson, 2020). Ten years ago, a notable business consulting company wrote that US companies alone spend almost $14 billion annually on leadership development (Gurdjian, Halbeisen, and Lane, 2014). And yet, there is still a scarcity of leaders (Amdur, 2023; Rosebush, 2012).
Huizing (2011) cites Beeley and Britton (2009) describing the surge of interest in leadership theory as a recognition of the absence of real leadership in both the church and in society. Even in Scripture, the Lord of Heaven searches for someone with the heart to lead His people (1 Samuel 13:14). In the church in particular, each generation produces new problems and with them opportunities for a new group of leaders to guide and come alongside their congregations (Beeley and Britton, 2009). And yet, there is still a scarcity of leaders (Amdur, 2023; Rosebush, 2012).
Originally, in the development of management science, leadership and management were two sides of the same coin. Management theory considered the five functions of management, and leadership was not even mentioned separately (Fayol, 2013). It was never meant to be a separate subject in the theory. In 1985 Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus published Leaders: The Strategies for Taking Charge; followed by On Becoming a Leader in 1989. Ever since then we are digesting voluminous perspectives for how the world should work, how we should lead our business or our family or our country. And yet, there is still a scarcity of leaders (Amdur, 2023; Rosebush, 2012).
There is one fundamental thing that is being overlooked. While everyone has their definitions of leadership – an influence process (Northouse, 2013; Maxwell, 2007); a relationship of power [usage] for a specific purpose (Fairholm, 2001; citing Burns, 1978); etc. There is one thing that true leaders provide which is not being discussed. This is what exposes our glaring scarcity of leaders. That one thing is CLARITY.
Leaders bring clarity to situations. Yes, leaders influence people; and yes, leaders use power carefully to achieve their goals. But underlying all of these functional attributes of leadership, a true leader brings clarity to a situation. That gives followers the opportunity to know where they are, and therefore they can be influenced and directed to where they need to go, what they need to do and what a good job looks like.
The reason Jesus Christ is one of the greatest leaders of all times, according to Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges (2003), is because Jesus was able to bring clarity to situations that no one else could bring. In the Gospel of John chapter 3, Jesus encounters Nicodemus at night and calls him out for not understanding the reality of the Kingdom of God (John 3:3-9 ESV). Jesus uses great candor to bring clarity to the inquisitive visitor by challenging him: “Are you a teacher of Israel and don’t know these things” (John 3:10 ESV).
Jesus does the same for the woman at the well (Gospel of John Chapter 4). He tries to do it for the Pharisees throughout the gospels, but their leadership is more of a positional leadership as John Maxwell describes it (2007). They are more concerned with positional power and not with clarity. If only they would have listened and received the clarity that Jesus was providing, their hearts might have changed.
This is something that all true followers of Christ can say: at some moment, there was clarity about my own painful and lost condition. I clearly saw myself as a sinner who needed God‘s grace and mercy and its abundant provision (Romans 3:23-24). That’s clarity. That is what leaders do. That is the reason today that there is a scarcity of leaders.
Change and growth demand moments of candor and moments of accountability (Maxwell, 2007). Within the framework of personal and corporate development, employees must recognize that new business requires new thinking and new thinking requires growth – and this growth begins with clarity. As modeled in the book, Winning (Welch and Welch, 2009); and in a famous HBR article (O’Toole and Bennis, 2009), there is a time for transparency and candor about the issues organizations face, but there is also a need to hold workers accountable to achieve corporate objectives or to consider other employment.
It is clarity and accountability for results without excuses that are the hallmarks of a healthy organization (Wakeman, 2017).
When we look at the current political environment, we see attempts to whitewash and disguise people’s backgrounds, to minimize the problems we face and the avoidance of the tough choices that need to be made. People sitting at their kitchen tables, trying to make ends meet, need clarity on what to do next. People who have lost their business or have had to declare chapter 11 to survive need clarity on what the next steps might be for them.
So clarity is what we need; and this actually makes the choice of who can most effectively lead our nation an easy choice: this will be the leader who is able to provide clarity and direction that bears witness to the hearts of those struggling and looking for hope. Let us pray that some candidates will rise to this occasion, and that this scarcity of leadership will finally come to an end.
View Comments
Joseph J. Bucci has served as a Pastor, Author, HR Director, Director of Training, Professor and Consultant. He teaches in the College of Arts and Sciences at Regent University in Virginia Beach. He has written two books and numerous articles on the theme of integrating faith with life and our work. You can contact Dr. Bucci at: Joseph J Bucci