The 7 transformations of leadership, discussed in this month’s Harvard Business Review, will be the fodder for my thinking and writing this week. Mostly, I’ll be writing about you as a leader. Where are you in your leadership? How can you get to where you need to go from where you are? How can you grow as a leader? I hope you’ll chime in as we go.

Those of you who know me have heard me say that followers of Christ know more about leadership, real transformational leadership, than any other humans on the planet. Our knowledge comes to us NOT because of our amazingly rich experience via our complex task as Christ-following leaders, but because of our proximity as followers to the world’s greatest leader, Jesus. The article from Harvard Business reaffirmed what we know: most believers intuitively know more than most Harvard MBAs about the kind of leadership that changes the world.

A word to those of you who may not yet believe: this is relevant for you. While believers who follow Christ are engaged in a mystical, life altering relationship with Jesus, all of us [even those of us who do not yet believe] can walk through the phases of leadership transformation. Beware, though, for that startling moment when you realize that Jesus walks amongst those who risking exploring this path. Here we go.

The key concept in this article is that of the “action logic”. Action logic is how a leader interprets her surroundings and reacts when her power or safety is challenged. Few leaders, Harvard tells us, try to understand their own action logic, fewer still try to change it. Take a moment to reflect and self evaluate. How do I interpret my context, the people I work around, the culture of the institution I work within, when I am challenged? How do I perceive that I react when my power or safety is challenged? How do others perceive that I react in these circumstances?

Tomorrow, I’ll begin to list for you the 7 ways of leading (Action Logics), their characteristics, and their strengths along with my commentary.

Into the Mystic…

Los Angeles, Ca
Alex McManus, 2005 ©