True transformational leadership is of a spiritual kind

In his famous Pullizer prize winning book Leadership, the historian McGregor Burns (1978) theorized that high-quality leadership witnessed throughout history typically takes the form of ‘transforming’ leadership. When leaders and followers reach this form ecstatic leading-following momentum, this high-quality leadership experience is transformational in kind. It is transformational because leaders and followers raise each other to higher values. At the same time, Burns (1978) argued, the typical outcome or quality criterion of such leadership is social change. That is, positive and productive change in the various societal systems (government, business, education, family, etc.). Since Burns (1978), this idea of transformational leadership has gone ‘viral’, especially after Bernard M. Bass turned this articulation of high quality leadership into a measurable ‘leadership style’. It became shorthand for effective leadership quite generally, well-positioned at the helm of the full-range model of leadership which provides a continuum of leadership approaches from ineffective, laissez-faire, leadership to charismatic-transformational leadership at as the most effective. Measurements of this type of leadership emphasized leader’s inspirational communication (e.g., visionary speech) and idealized influence (exemplifying higher moral values in the eyes of others). An impressive body of research done on ‘transformational’ leadership measured in this way, shows that such leadership, for instance, increases the motivation of followers, such that they do more than formally required, yields higher supervisor ratings of task performance among followers, and results in higher levels of organizational performance.

However, not long after the articulation of transformational leadership it also became clear that this leadership style also has a fake duplicate, especially when the semblance of such leadership is used instrumentally to manipulate followers to further the leader’s own agenda, rather than the community purposes. This forced Bernard to Bass and Steidlmeier back in 1999 to write a response piece which distinguishes between ‘true’ transformational leadership and quasi-transformational leadership. Interestingly, their explanation of what makes for ‘true’ transformational leadership is full of reference to Scripture (the Bible).

Here in this piece I argue that, indeed, there is a spiritual layer that explains in a much deeper spiritual reality behind transforming/transformational leadership. Shortly, leadership is truly transformational when God transforms the leader’s heart from and ‘old’ (sick, weak, sinful, selfish, earth-minded) self into a ‘new’ (godly, restored from above, spiritual, originally designed and purposed) self. Rather than earth- or self-minded, this type of leadership is concerned with the things, purposes and the laws of God and, ultimately, with seeing the Kingdom of God as it is carried out in heaven into the spheres of influence on the earth. In that sense, James McGregor Burns was quite on point when he said that the ultimate criterion for such leadership is seeing the Kingdom of God manifest on the earth in the form of positive, social change. Followers have an intuitive tendency to follow leaders that have such quality.

The spiritual transformation of king Saul upon his anointment as king

It is a spiritual transformation that underlies the execution of leadership that is truly transformational leadership versus its corrupt semblance (‘quasi-transformational leadership’) which is basically the ‘old’ self pretending to be the (much more effective) ‘new’ self in order to manipulate and enslave followers for self-interested ends. This high-quality versus corrupt tendency is not an invention by Burns or Bass and Steidlmeier (1999), but documented three thousand years ago in the Bible. In 1 Samuel 8 it is written that the elders of the nation of Israel – led by God-appointed prophets and judges until that time – wanted to have a king such that “we may be like the nations, and that our king may govern us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.” (1 Samuel 8: 20). God’s response via the prophet Samuel to this request is interesting as it shows the inherent danger of leadership when led from the above described ‘old’ self:

“This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants (or: ‘slaves’).  And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day.” Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us.

This is quite a deadly qualification of what a leader will typically do to the people. When God then allows the people of Israel to have a king, he anoints Saul as king over them. Interestingly, though, right after the moment that the prophet Samuel anointed Saul as king of Israel an interesting thing happens to him. Importantly, Saul meets a company of prophets coming down from a sacred mountain with harps, tambourines, flue and lyre, all prophesying. And then it says that the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him and God transformed Saul’s heart to become a different heart (1 Samuel 10: 9) and he began to prophecy along with the company of prophets. It says that he would, as a result of this godly intervention, become a different man. The two chapters in 1 Samuel 8-10 illustrates quite effectively how God views leadership when done from an earthly minded, the weak, sinful, self-absorbed self (i.e., ‘old’ self) versus the required ‘new’ self illustrated in this supernatural spiritual transformation of Saul.

The heart in its degenerated state is ill, weak, sinful and full of trickery (Jeremiah 17: 9). This passage in Jeremiah uses the term “anosh”, which is a word used to describe humanity in its sinful, weak and (spiritually) ill state. It effectively describes the state of humanity without God. With regard to leadership, it is that quasi-transformational leader: the corrupted and fake semblance of good, but factually full of dark tendencies, as “the formation [imagination / strong desire] of his heart is evil, from his youth onwards” (Genesis 8: 21). If followers are led from this type of self, the results can be harmful (see our episode on the ‘dark side’ of leadership). It is quite a deep spiritual lesson that, it is indeed absolutely necessary that a leader like Saul begets a ‘new’ heart before he acts as king.

Further clarification of the nature of this mysterious ‘new’ following a spiritual transformation is found in the book of Ezechiel 26: 25-26, where God speaks through the mouth of Ezechiel: “Then I will sprinkle pure water upon you and you shall be cleansed from your impurities; and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart I will give you, and I will take away the stony heart, and give you a heart of flesh instead. And I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and you shall heed My ordinances and do them.” Apparently, the heart is renewed to be soft and humble (opposed to stone) toward God and others, and it loves to perform the law and purposes of God. How amazing! And it is done supernaturally: by water and spirit.

This brings us to the fulfillment of this principle in the New Testament. In a conversation that Jesus had with Nicodemus, who was a head teacher of Israel at the time, Jesus says the following shocking statement for the time (John 3: 3-7: “Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit....don’t be amazed by what I say: all of you must be born again.” There is the reference to ‘water’ and ‘spirit’ again.

How does this spiritual transformation come about?

Right before this supernatural transformation happened, Saul met three men on their way to make an offering to God by the oak of Tabor. Samual prophesied that Saul is supposed to take participate in their offering by taking some of the bread. This nicely illustrates that a changed heart begins with a participation in offering our own lives in service of God. The same coupling of self-sacrifice and spiritual transformation can be found in Romans 12: 1-2 (AMP translation), where the apostle Paul says to the Romans: “dedicate your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and pleasing to the Lord. This is your reasonable (i.e., rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world (this age; adapted to its earth-minded, external, superficial customs) but be transformed by the [entire] renewal of the mind, so that you may come to prove for yourself what is the will of God: that which is good, benevolent, and fulfilling its true destiny.” To become transformed starts with our willingness to dedicate our lives and bodies to His service. Jesus freely gave His life for us, as a sacrifice to atone for our sins, so us returning the sacrifice of our own lives to His service is indeed reasonable. It is, in fact, the most rational thing a man can do.

After all, everyone is looking for comfort, happiness and fulfillment, but no one truly finds it, because it is only truly found in God. The Greeks were obsessed about happiness, and our secular culture is as well. But Jesus said in John 12: 24-25: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains to itself; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”

God promises to everyone who is willing to take the plunge to follow Jesus in this way, surely his ‘old’ self will die out, but a new self miraculously is born. A new, spiritual life is born anew from heaven. A life that is God-minded, sold out to Jesus, loves to see the King of Heaven manifest on the earth, a life that truly transforms not only leaders and followers, but also the systems of earth (government, family, religion, business, media, arts & entertainment, education) to their highest purpose and destiny. That kind of leadership is truly transformational in all the meanings of the word.