December 20 - Good to Great

Introduction. The value of Collins’ Good to Great for the future of any leader is how the book shatters myths about leadership in not only businesses but also organizations in the social sector. Ministry is significantly poles apart from business in that it defines success differently, has a less authoritarian leadership structure, endures greater constraints in hiring and firing, has no profit motive, and develops organizational momentum differently. To surpass these differences, in the context of ministry, a leader can extract more value by reading Good to Great in conjunction with Collins’ new monograph Good to Great and the Social Sectors.

Level 5 Leadership. The understanding of great leadership in Good to Great is resolute humility. Many times in leadership books, leadership is described as all-powerfulness, bathed in bold visions that they cast like seed, with egos not far behind. In short, something far from Jesus. Yet Collins explicitly questions the value of such models, asserting that “Level 5 leaders embody a paradoxical mix of personal humility and professional will … ambitious first and foremost for the company, not themselves” (Good 38). I cannot imagine anything more Jesus-like. However, this leadership is based on an “executive” business model, instead of the more “legislative” model of leadership required in the social sectors (Social 11). So in the future, I am going to jettison false images of the successful executive leader and be more confident in whom God has made me, develop a more legislative model of leadership and rely less on executive models.

First Who … Then What. God calls me to plant a new church. As I prepare, one temptation is to depart of a form of legislative level 5 leadership and embrace what Collins would call a “genius with a thousand helpers” and possibly setting up my successor for failure (Good 47). Another temptation will be to develop a vision for the new church, independent of the people involved. While a general framework vision is possible beforehand, a detailed vision must wait. This is the principle that Collins calls “first who … then what” (62). In the new church, detailed vision and personnel (whether members or staff) must be dynamically developed together.

Brutal Facts. Church planting is difficult and intuitive. Problems happen. Initiatives fail. Evaluation must happen in a “climate of truth” (88). Vision is built by confronting “the brutal facts” (89). Like the dynamic between detailed vision and personnel, there is a dynamic between truth and vision. The truth of a given ministry situation, regardless of how dire or negative, is balanced by “absolute faith that you can and will prevail in the end” (88). In my future leadership I will use this principle to create an environment of continuous improvement where self-motivated, passionate people can flourish and the unmotivated can be guided to other vocations.

Hedgehog Concept. The Hedgehog concept in Good to Great is the intersection between what your people are passionate about, what they can be the best in the world at, and understand what drives the economic engine of the organization (118-119). However, a church does not have a business economic engine. It has a “resource engine” consisting of “time” [how much time people are willing to volunteer to the church], “money” [how many resources flow into the church from charitable donations and business revenues], and “brand” [the “goodwill” that one earns in the community] (Social 18). Why this is helpful in my future leadership is that it tells me that the new church needs more than a vision, it needs an intimate connection with its capabilities, its passion, its people, and it’s calling. Only then will any vision be attainable.

Discipline. Building a great organization, according to Collins, lies in focusing on one’s Hedgehog Concept with discipline. Further, greatness is found in collecting self-motivated people who will be disciplined in following the Hedgehog Concept as well. The key word here is focus. This will be a great challenge to me as a leader, as I sometimes lack focus. The guidance found in Good to Great and the Social Sectors will help increase focus and build a great church.

Collins, Jim. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … and Others Don’t. New York: HarperCollins P, 2001.

Collins, Jim. Good to Great and the Social Sectors. New York: HarperCollins P, 2005.