In the first part of this series on transformational leadership, we discovered that the transformational leadership of Barak Obama is failing due to its inability to institutionalize change. It started out with a definite view of the need for change and a vision that led to Obama’s election as president but as the institutionalization of the promised changes fails to occur, the fervor for change is waning evidenced by falling polling numbers.
In part two we discovered that the transformational leadership of Ronald Reagan succeeded because instead of mandating change on the public, it empowered the public. This sense of empowerment made institutionalization of change easier resulting in the desired results. In part three, we will look at who I believe is the most influential and successful transformational leader in history, Jesus Christ.
The connection of Jesus with mankind did not start with his birth in Bethlehem but began at creation. John 1:1-3 tells us that John “In the beginning the Word already existed. He was with God, and he was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 He created everything there is. Nothing exists that he didn't make” (NLT). This scripture also tells us that Jesus is God so when mankind fell Jesus was there as well.
He also knew of God’s plan for him to restore or redeem man back to his position of fellowship with God. We find this in Genesis 3:14 “From now on, you and the woman will be enemies, and your offspring and her offspring will be enemies. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." (NLT). This is the first mention of God’s plan for his son that he would be born of a woman and strike down Satan. The first act of the transformation had begun the recognition of the need for change (Tichy & Devanna, 1990).
The next act of the transformational leader is creation of a vision for change. In 2 Peter 3:9 we are told the following “The Lord isn't really being slow about his promise to return, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to perish, so he is giving more time for everyone to repent” (NLT). Jesus wants all fallen men and women to repent and come to him but since we all have a free will, this will not occur but this scripture tells us that he is delaying his return so everyone will have a chance to repent.
Jesus understood that institutionalizing change works best when the choice is left up to each individual. In this case, the choice to accept the transformational change offered by Christ is up to each individual. Individuals who make the choice view the choice as theirs and thus easily buy into it and make it part of their lives.
Jesus also empowered his followers by first taking the death penalty for their sins “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8, NLT). Jesus also spent three years teaching his disciples so they would be equipped with the knowledge they would need to carry on his ministry. Finally, he empowered them with the Holy Spirit so they would be motivated to minister even under the threat of death for their belief.
The prime example of the success of the transformational leadership of Christ is Peter. Peter, who three times denied even knowing Christ in his moment of greatest need, was now empowered to speak out, under threat of death, because of the transformation that had occurred in his life. Jesus also promised to return, giving his followers hope to get them through difficulties they would encounter (Acts 1:9-11).
The transformational leader greatly increases his or her chance for successful institutionalization of change by making the change personal. When individuals realize that the proposed changes will be beneficial to them, their resistance to change lowers and institutionalization of the transformation can begin. Those that benefit from the changes will also be empowered to share it with others. This insures the continuation of the benefits of the changes. The Church that started spreading the gospel, or good news, of Christ is still being spread around the world and since Jesus has not returned, there must still be people in need of his transformational change in their lives.
Next week we will begin looking at the greatest challenge faced by the transformational leader, the natural human resistance to change. The transformational leader who learns how to help others overcome this resistance will experience great success in implementation of change.
Reference
Tichy, N. M., & Devanna, M. A. (1990). The transformational leader: The key to global competitiveness. New York: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
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