Wednesday, April 20, 2011
The Death of the Charismatic Leader (And the Birth of an Architect)
The article in Inc. (October 1997) by Jim Collins, The Death of the Charismatic Leader (And the Birth of an Architect), states, “Building mechanisms is one of the CEO's most powerful but least understood and most rarely employed tools. Along with figuring out what the company stands for and pushing it to understand what it's really good at, building mechanisms is the CEO's role—the leader as architect.” An architect is trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. I have practiced architecture for nearly 30 years. Collins states, “However hard the transition to architect might be, there are three issues, affecting every CEO, that encourage it—and eventually may even force it. One: time for creativity. Two: time span. And three: scale.” A charismatic leader must have the vision to prophetically see the design and construction of a structure before it is manifested in the earth. A charismatic leader should plan and chart each phase of the construction with a contingency plan for any unexpected turn of events. The charismatic leader should inspect what he expects. Lastly is scale, which is determined by the budget. Luke 14:28 KJV, “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?” The Savior teaches the endeavor should be attempted in full view of the enormous cost of it. “The CEO is…designing the mechanisms that reinforce and give life to the company's core purpose and stimulate the company to change.”
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I appreciate these comments, Norman, but I am curious if you think that architect leadership is appropriate for Church leadership. What mechanisms can be built in churches to help them grow that are also built in business enterprises? Is there enough overlap between the nature of corporations and churches that leadership models and mechanisms can fit them both?
ReplyDeletePersonally, I do not see the church as a business. I find it difficult to see how business models for company structure or leadership are helpful in church settings. Businesses have one reason for existence: to make a profit. This should be the last thing on a church’s mind. The church exists to bring heaven to earth and spread the kingdom of God. Similarly, business leaders represent the corporation, a non-personal entity, to those they lead. Leaders in churches represent Christ, the personal and living Lord of all. Goals and strategies must be completely different! Finally, I do not believe that Luke 14:28 is appropriate to cite in regard to “scale,” or budgeting. In this passage, Jesus is talking about the cost of discipleship, namely, everything one holds dear, even life itself. He is not talking about the costs of building a ministry or a church in a fiscal sense.