Leadership Style Stewardship Discussion Reply

DB Post #1 (300 words) (in-text citations are a must) (must incorporate scripture in response) (2 apa citations)

• Using leadership theory and scripture define the leadership style of Jesus. (Leadership Style: Stewardship)

Discussion Board Reply #1

(300 words) (in-text citations are a must) (must incorporate scripture in response) (2 apa citations)

1. The leadership style of Jesus was of many styles, a good example of a leadership theory showcased would be situational leadership.  The theory was created by Dr. Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard in 1969. The model of the situational leadership theory is broken into four leadership styles that are, directing, coaching, supporting, and delegating (Kelleher, 2020). The situational leadership style is a flexible and adaptable style based on the situation and individual to determine the right way for the leader to lead whether directive or supportive based on the needs. Situational leaders would modify themselves to create better outcomes (Baker, 2022). 

While there are many great examples of exemplary leadership shown in the bible, I will be focusing on the situational style of leadership shown by Jesus. In the book of John, the bible says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs, John. 3.16). This scripture shows how Jesus showed situational leadership skills. Jesus, God’s son did not want God’s followers to perish and needed to find a way to get them to see God’s vision so that they could enjoy what was awaiting them in the afterlife.

Another example in, which Jesus showed situational leadership was when Jesus knew that the disciples needed direction and support. When they were feeling down, Jesus knew the disciples would face huge trials and tests. Tying with the verse from the book of Luke, Jesus encouraged the disciples by teaching them to pray and to not lose sight by never giving up (New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs, Luke. 1-8). 

Both verses show the influence of situational leadership, that was appropriate for the situation instead of utilizing authoritative power. Situational leaders grow their influence amongst a group of those practicing situational leadership to build influence. This influence entails fostering trust and buy-in, which ultimately makes people want to follow that leader instead of being followed due to force (Baker, 2022). In my interpretation, Jesus did not force anyone to follow or believe in their preachings. They were won over through actions, deeds, and a buildup of trust over time. This influence goes hand in hand with the situational leadership style as it was the tactic necessary to gain a following and bring individuals to God. 

Discussion Board Reply #2

(300 words) (in-text citations are a must) (must incorporate scripture in response) (2 apa citations)

2. Of the remaining leadership styles/theories, the one I think also captures the essence of Jesus is adaptive (Value-based) leadership according to Heifetz. What is adaptive leadership? Leaders anticipate challenges up ahead and perform root cause analysis, recognize what risks are worth taking, and avoid wasting the organization’s time on things that do not contribute to the overall goal of the organization. 

Research has found that people who are more tolerant of ambiguity and are more cognitively complex are better transmitters of information, more sensitive to internal (nonsuperficial) characteristics of others when evaluating their performance at work, and more behaviorally adaptive and flexible under ambiguous and overloaded conditions than less tolerant and less cognitively complex individuals (Whetten & Cameron, 2020, p. 59). Jesus modeled the greatest adaptive leadership tool ever used when he washed the disciples’ feet (John 13:1-17). Clearly, Jesus’ leadership was adaptive more than technical. Jesus practiced open-ended servant leadership by constantly yielding to the whims and vagaries of life and the ever-occurring poor decisions of his closest followers (Mcclendon, 2013).

Jesus was a master practitioner of adaptive leadership. He challenged the priorities, beliefs, habits, values, and loyalties that marginalized vulnerable populations, provided cover for the weak, and turned up the heat on the powerful so they could see their misalignment with God’s priorities and drop their stones (Brothers, 2022) Jesus’ teachings discuss how we take hold of the internal values we have claimed and apply them to real leadership situations. He defines leadership as the ability to help employees learn to solve problems and provide important answers for themselves. But for this to happen, the leader must be honest with him or herself, and compassionate with others. This is vintage Jesus (Deyoe, 1999, p. 186). Also, the Bible it says, “Of these, we speak–not in language which man’s wisdom teaches us, but in that which the Spirit teaches–adapting, as we do, spiritual words to spiritual truths.” (Bible Hub).