Demonstrating the Right Leadership Values – Nu Leadership Series

“Any committee is only as good as the most knowledgeable, determined and vigorous person on it. There must be somebody who provides the flame.”
Lady Bird Johnson

Let’s explore another value issue. T.S. Blake was a dynamic preacher. His congregation loved him as their pastor. Yet, this church didn’t progress because the pastor refused to communicate his vision. Often, Pastor Blake found himself taking aggressive actions to accomplish his vision without any church input. His critics called him a dictator while his supporters called him a visionary leader. Each aggressive deed caused greater strife. No one could figure out the key problem.

Vision and core values must be aligned in organizations. A leader who tries to be Superman moves ahead of his followers with a vision. This becomes an issue if open communication isn’t promoted. Malphurs, a value-based guru, maintains that a church’s core values are a vital part of its character. Wall, Solum, and Sobol, authors of the Visionary Leader, postulate a new paradigm shift where a vision is based on communication, free flow of ideas, and motivation of employees’ full human potential. Authority is then shifted to frontline workers. Workers are a reflection of their leaders. If leaders aren’t communicating with followers, do you think communications will be any better between members? Organizational leaders should align their visions with organizational values and communicate them to followers.

References:

Malphurs, A. (1996). Values-Driven Leadership. Grand Rapids, MI: Bakers Books.

Wall, B., Solum, R. and Sobol, M. (1992). The Visionary Leader.
Rocklin, CA: Prima Publishing.

© 2006 by Daryl D. Green