A Case Study: The Leadership Philosophy of Jesus Christ

The Hypothesis

Over the past couple of years, I have developed a hypothesis. My hypothesis is that the more I can emulate Jesus Christ, the better leader I will be in my career - and any other leadership role, for that matter. To test the validity of my hypothesis, I chose to dedicate a portion of my personal time, over the past several months, to re-reading the Gospels of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). As I read, I took notes and assigned various “leadership tags,” which helped me to better understand the values that drove Jesus’s leadership style and develop a rough estimate of how many times Jesus displayed a specific leadership value, throughout his mortal ministry. The leadership analysis below is a culmination of my findings (Please note that my references are by no means an exhaustive list).

Leadership Values Displayed the Most

First, I want to call out the leadership values that Jesus displayed the most. By my estimate, Jesus displayed the value of “Not Seeking for Glory,” at-least twenty-one times throughout his ministry. By “Not Seeking for Glory,” I mean that his guiding motivation for his actions were not glory or recognition. Jesus taught this value to his disciples through both example and his many sermons.

To teach this value through example, the Gospels document numerous times when Jesus performed a miracle and then commanded his disciples, or the person ministered to, “tell no man,” about the miraculous deed (See Matthew 8:4, Matthew 9:30, Matthew 16:20, Matthew 17:9, Mark 1:44, Mark 7:36, Mark 8:26, Mark 8:30, Mark 9:9, Luke 5:14, Luke 7:9, Luke 8:56, Luke 9:21). Additionally, Jesus sought to shift the glory to his exemplar, God, instead of taking the glory for himself (see Luke 17:18), which he easily could have done.

By way of sermons, Jesus emphasized to his disciples the value of “Not Seeking for Glory,” in Mark 9:33-35. After finding that his disciples disputed among themselves, “who should be the greatest,” Jesus taught them that “if any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.” Meaning, a desire for rank should hold no place in the desires of a leader. Serving should be a leader’s true desire, and those who desire leadership positions for power, or glory, will ultimately find themselves lacking those things. Another example of Jesus teaching this principle comes in Matthew 6:1, in the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus taught, “take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen by them.” In this, Jesus taught us that we should do our deeds, not for the glory of man, but for the good intentions of our hearts, and the benefit of those we serve.

Another leadership value that Jesus portrayed numerous times (by my count 16 times) throughout his ministry is, “Meet Them Where They Are.” By this, I mean that Jesus did not sit in his office and wait for people to come to him. Instead, Jesus ministered directly to those he served, where they needed him. He went to the people’s villages (see Mark 6:6, Mark 6:56, Luke 17:12), he entered into their homes (see Mark 2:1, Mark 6:10, Mark 7:17, Mark 7:24, Mark 14:3), their places of worship (see Mark 3:1, Luke 6:6), and even their workplaces (Mark 1:16, Luke 5:3, Luke 6:1). In these intimate places, he talked with them, and helped resolve their concerns (See Luke 4:40).

Leaders should adopt this “Meet Them Where They Are” methodology to their mentoring, coaching and problem solving responsibilities. Expecting people to come to the leader, will likely result in the leader becoming detached from the actual state of the organization, and thus making it harder for them to solve problems as they arise.

While not a value of leadership, the notion that opposition will surely arise in one’s leadership journey is portrayed many times (at least 15 times) throughout Jesus’s ministry. Jesus faced opposition from those who did not agree with his teachings, and stood to lose power, due to his meteoric rise in prominence (See Mark 5:39-40, Mark 11:18, Mark 14:65 Luke 5:18, Luke 6:7, Luke 11:53-54, Luke 13:13-14, Luke 22:71, Luke 23:2). Jesus faced opposition from his own disciples, those he should have been able to rely on (See Mark 14:68, Luke 22:3, Luke 22:47). And, he faced opposition from non-human factors, such as lack of resources (see Luke 9:13) and hazardous weather conditions (See Luke 8:23-24). And yet, Jesus overcame all (See John 16:33), thus teaching the leadership value of “Overcoming Opposition” through perseverance (See Matthew 24:13), humility (See Luke 18:14), and servitude (See Luke 22:26-27). Leaders and future leaders should expect to face opposition. But, through these three values, they too can overcome opposition.

Leader’s Values For My Personal Application

While these values showed up the most throughout my reading of the Gospels, the two leadership values Jesus taught, that I want to start applying to my personal leadership journey, are “Better Oneself,” and “Better Others.”

Again, Jesus taught these two leadership values through both example and his many sermons. While we believers understand that Jesus was perfect in every way, we recognize that even Jesus bettered himself, especially early in his life. According to Luke 2:52, we learn that he “grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” And despite his humble beginnings as the son of a carpenter (see Mark 6:3), Jesus became who mankind, and his Father in Heaven, needed him to be. We too can grow in wisdom and stature, and in favor with...man. As an early careerist, developing my wisdom in my chosen trade, and growing my sphere of influence should, and will, be at the top of my priority list.

Jesus bettered himself, and he instructed his disciples to do the same. In Luke 6:42, he taught that in order for us as leaders, and future leaders, to help others, we first need to make sure that we better ourselves. If we fail to better ourselves, Jesus cautioned that the repercussions of such negligence may turn out to be devastating to both us, and those we lead (See Luke 6:39). But, if we succeed in bettering ourselves, we are promised that our light will shine before men, and they will see our good works (See Matthew 5:16).

Draw back on your own experience! Haven’t those leaders that have continually sought to better themselves in wisdom, perseverance, humility, and servitude, been the leaders that have shone brighter than all the others? Don’t you inherently want to follow them? Now, contrast that leader to a leader that is only in it for the glory, or money (See Matthew 6:19, Mark 10:31, Luke 18:22-24).

The Gospels are rife with examples of Jesus “Bettering Others.” But I want to home in on the mentoring relationship between Jesus and his chief apostle, Peter. Despite Peter’s flaws, namely that he sought for rank (Mark 9:33-35) and even went so far as to deny Jesus’s role and mission (See Matthew 16:22-24 and Mark 14:68-72), Jesus still developed Peter into the leader he needed to become - the leader that would carry on Jesus’s teachings, after his death. He saw Peter’s true potential, and eventually helped him reach that potential (See Matthew 16:18). The main way that Jesus “betters” Peter, is by inviting him to step out of his comfort zone to experience truly life-changing experiences.

Matthew 14:28-31 gives a fantastic example of this mentoring technique. In these versus, Jesus is seen walking on the Sea of Galilee. Peter, on a boat, called out to Jesus asking, “Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.” Jesus beckoned Peter to walk to him and miraculously, Peter does it! Amazing! But, when Peter saw how boisterous the wind and waves were, he became afraid and began to sink. Immediately, Jesus reached forth his hand and caught him, just before he was lost to the sea. Afterwards, Jesus taught him that the reason why he failed was his lack of faith. This experience between Jesus, the mentor, and Peter, his mentee, demonstrates a very powerful pattern that we as leaders can follow in “bettering others.” The mentor invites the mentee to try something new and difficult. The mentee accepts the challenge. The mentor is with the mentee every step of the way. Not to do the work for the mentee, but to be there to catch them if they lose their way or become disheartened. If the mentee does fail, or experience opposition, the mentor is there to tell them where they went wrong and return them to the correct course of action. I believe that if we follow this pattern, we as leaders, and future leaders, will better be able to develop the talents and capabilities of those we serve in our leadership capacities (See Matthew 17:1-13, for another application of this principle).

Jesus’s Leadership Philosophy Vs. Modern-day Leadership Philosophies

Many of the principles utilized in modern-day leadership philosophies can be seen on full display in Jesus’s leadership. The main philosophies I want to highlight are: Servant Leadership, Coaching Style Leadership, Transformational Leadership and John C Maxwell’s 5 Levels of Leadership.

First, Servant Leadership. The key attributes of this philosophy are, 1) A Serve-First Mindset, 2) Talent Development, 3) Listening to Understand, 4) Encouragement, and 5) Trust. While Jesus displayed each of these key attributes, I want to highlight the first. In Luke 22:26-27 we read:

“…but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? Is not he that sitteth at meat? But I am among you as he that serveth.”

Clearly, Jesus understood that a leader’s number one priority should be to empower and uplift those they are over, and he demonstrated this principle of Servant Leadership time and time again.

Second, Coaching Style Leadership. The key attributes of this leadership philosophy are: 1) Support & Guidance, 2) Asking Questions, 3) Being Supportive, 4) Facilitating Development and 5) Applying Tools & Feedback. Again, I would argue that Jesus displayed each of these key attributes, but I wish to highlight the second. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus asks over 100 questions (See Table below for many of them) (Pope, 2012). Undoubtedly, Jesus understood the inherent power that lies in asking questions. Questions cause one to stop, listen, ponder, and think of an answer. They stick with a person, more than any other kind of statement can, because to answer a question requires first an internalization, and then a back and forth (except Rhetorical questions, which Jesus does employ), something a one-way lecture struggles to accomplish.

Questions asked by Jesus in the Gospels

Matthew: 5:47, 6:27, 6:28, 7:2, 7:16, 8:26, 9:4, 9:15, 9:28, 11:8, 11:6, 12:11, 12:29, 12:34, 12:48, 14:31, 15:3, 15:34, 16:8, 16:13, 16:15, 16:26, 17:17, 19:16, 20:22, 20:32, 21:42, 22:18, 23:17-19, 23:33, 26:10, 26:40, 26:53, 26:53, 27:46

Mark: 2:8, 4:21, 5:30, 5:39, 7:18, 8:12, 8:17-18, 8:19, 8:23, 9:33, 9:50, 10:3, 13:2, 14:37

Luke: 2:49, 5:22, 6:46, 8:25, 8:30, 8:45, 10:15, 10:26, 10:36, 11:40, 12:14, 12:26, 12:57, 14:31, 16:11, 17:18, 18:7, 18:8, 22:27, 22:46, 23:31, 24:17, 24:26, 24:41

John: 1:38, 2:4, 3:10, 3:12, 5:6, 5:44, 5:47, 6:5, 6:61, 6:67, 7:19, 8:10, 8:43, 8:46, 11:9, 11:26, 13:12, 14:9, 18:4, 18:11, 18:23, 18:34, 20:29, 21:16, 21:22, 21:2

Third, Transformational Leadership. The key attributes fostered by a transformational leader are: 1) Intellectual Stimulation, 2) Individualized Considerations, 3) Inspirational Motivation and 4) Idealized Influence. I want to focus on the fourth, but again, I would argue that Jesus displayed each of these key attributes. Idealized Influence means that transformational leaders should become, or seek to become, role models to those they serve. As mentioned previously, Jesus taught the values and principles of his gospel through example and encouraged his followers to “be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (see Matthew 5:48).

And finally, John C Maxwell’s 5 Levels of Leadership. This leadership philosophy walks individuals through five varying levels of leadership and why people follow that leader. The Levels of Leadership are as follows: 1) Position, 2) Permission, 3) Production, 4) People Development and 5) Pinnacle. And, surprise surprise, I could argue that Jesus displayed attributes of all five of these levels of leadership, most notably that of the Pinnacle leader. A Pinnacle leader is someone who is followed because of who they are and what they represent, rather than because of obligation or reputation. Indeed, millions have chosen to learn and apply the teachings of Jesus, whether they believe him to be their Savior and Redeemer, or not. Why? Because they have found the legacy of this Pinnacle leader to bring them lasting value.

Jesus Built His Credibility As A Leader Through His Values

Through the values stated above, “Not Seeking For Glory,” “Meeting Them Where They Are,” “Overcoming Opposition” (through perseverance, humility, and servitude), “Bettering Oneself” and “Bettering Others,” Jesus built his credibility as leader. Some, including myself, would argue a perfect leader. Through his mortal ministry, Jesus solved problems that were thought unsolvable, bettered the lives and capabilities of those he served, and ultimately pathed the path for every person, including us, to achieve success not only in our respective leadership journeys, but in our life.

The Hypothesis

So, was my hypothesis correct? Well, I can speak for myself. Having completed this study, I can now with surety confirm the validity of my hypothesis. As I seek to emulate Jesus Christ myself, through my actions and interactions with others, my capacity as a leader will grow. And, I have confidence that those who seek to validate this hypothesis themselves will come to the same conclusion.

References

King James Bible. (2020). King James Bible Online. Retrieved from:

https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org

Pope, C. (February 2012). WordPress. 100 questions Jesus asked and you ought to answer.

Retrieved from: https://blog.adw.org/2012/02/100-questions-jesus-asked-and-you-ought- to-answer/