The Genesis of Leadership

Nathan Laufer

Description

The rich lessons of the Bible can be your leadership guidebook.

Successful leaders don’t rely solely on natural charisma and organizational authority as their tickets to success. Successful leadership is a learned art form and a developed discipline. You can master the art of leadership by examining the pitfalls and achievements of past leaders and penetrating the stories of our cultural and religious heritage. The Bible is the ultimate resource for learning by example: its stories of family relationships, political beginnings and even divine encounters provide valuable lessons about leading effectively.

In this empowering guidebook, Nathan Laufer walks you through the stories at the very beginning of the Bible to examine the portraits of leadership success—and failure—they contain. He reveals the life-affirming values that the Bible uses to measure its leaders beginning in the Garden of Eden; analyzes the ups and downs in Abraham’s, and later Joseph’s, leadership journeys; and scrutinizes the many challenges faced by Moses—and God—in the books of Exodus and Numbers.

Laufer draws out from Bible stories the lessons we can use every day—lessons not only of exemplary leadership, but also of failing to lead, leading with no direction and leading in the wrong direction or to a destructive destination. Through Laufer’s interpretive lenses, these ancient stories come alive to inform and inspire our leadership today and offer us direction for the future.

“Nathan Laufer helps us see the stories of the [Bible] in new ways, he turns them into universal paradigms that relate to situations we all face every day, and he distills his insights into practical and powerful guidelines. There is no algorithm for leadership, no cookbook recipe, but it is hard to imagine a leader at any level of an enterprise whose capabilities will not be enhanced by studying this book.”
—from the Preface by Dr. Michael Hammer

Foreword xi Preface xv Acknowledgments xix Introduction 1 Book I: In the Beginning … : Relationships, Responsibility, and the Primacy of Values in Leadership 7 Defining Leadership 9 Leadership, Trust, and Responsibility 11 Three Circles of Responsibility 12 God, Adam, and Eve 14 God and the Human Condition 17 Know Where You Are Going: The Importance of Foreseeing the Consequences of Your Leadership 22 Heroes Who Fail to Lead: The Case of Noah 24 Self-Reflective Leadership: God and the Flood 27 Misguided Leaders: Babel's Builders 29 Leaders Are Made, Not Born: The Story of Abraham 32 The Advent of True Leadership: Becoming Your Brother’s Keeper 36 The Long-Term Rewards of Leadership 39 Discerning Leadership 42 The Sacrificial Element of Leadership 43 Becoming the Stranger’s Keeper 44 Leaders Make the Same Mistakes Twice 47 Losing Focus as a Leader 49 Taking Responsibility for the Next Generation 49 Managing Conflict Responsibilities 52 Leadership by Deceit: Jacob and Esau 54 The Sins of Leaders Visited Upon Their Successors: Jacob and His Family, Joseph and His Brothers 62 Leaders Need Mentors: Tamar and Judah 67 The Crucible of Leadership: Joseph in Egypt 69 The Abuse of Leadership: Joseph and His Egyptian Brethren 77 Conclusion 81 Book II: The Ten Guiding Principles of Leadership 83 Leading Change 87 Principle 1: Create Urgency! 89 Principle 2: Care Deeply and Act Courageously 92 Principle 3: Develop Double Vision 99 Principle 4: Recruit a Guiding Coalition 107 Principle 5: Establish Positioning to Secure Legitimacy and Authority to Lead. Build Credibility and Trust by Promising and Delivering 111 Principle 6: Communicate, Communicate, Communicate! 121 Principle 7: Implement the Vision 125 Principle 8: Establish the Vision by Codifying the Values, Policies, and Laws Necessary for Actualizing the Vision 136 Principle 9: Institutionalize the Vision by Building Sacred Space and Carving Out Sacred Times 144 Principle 10: Protect the Vision by Dealing Decisively with Detractors 156 Book III: The Challenges of Leadership 165 Why Leaders Are Responsible for Their Followers’ Decline 167 Challenge 1: To Not Abandon the People Like "a Flock without a Shepherd" 172 Challenge 2: To Halt Losing Streaks ASAP 181 Challenge 3: To “Hold” the People and Not Falter or Otherwise Communicate Indecisiveness in Their Presence 188 Challenge 4: To Fulfill Our Promises and Explain Sudden Strategic Changes 197 Challenge 5: To Maintain the Sense of Urgency 204 Challenge 6: To Not Overmanage and Underlead 207 Challenge 7: To Avoid Unnecessary Hierarchies, Nepotism, and Even the Appearance of Impropriety 212 Challenge 8: To Compromise, Be Flexible, and Not Become Pharaoh 216 Book IV: The Legacy of Leadership 225 Evaluating Leadership Success 227 Ceding Power and Appointing Successors 234 Assuring Multigenerational Leadership 235 Establishing Self-Sustaining Systems of Governance 238 Recording Your Legacy 240 Conclusion 245 Notes 247 About the Author 261

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Biblical criticism
• Exegesis
• Judaism
• Book of Genesis
• Religion

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 22 octobre 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 13
• EAN13: 9781580235341
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Genesis of Leadership:
What the Bible Teaches Us about Vision, Values and Leading Change
2006 First Printing
2006 by Nathan Laufer
Foreword 2006 by Joseph I. Lieberman
Preface 2006 by Michael Hammer
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
For information regarding permission to reprint material from this book, please mail or fax your request in writing to Jewish Lights Publishing, Permissions Department, at the address / fax number listed below, or email your request to [e-mail] .
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Laufer, Nathan, 1957-
The genesis of leadership : what the Bible teaches us about vision, values, and leading change / Nathan Laufer ; foreword by Joseph I. Lieberman ; preface by Michael Hammer.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN-13: 978-1-58023-241-8 (hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-58023-241-8 (hardcover)
1. Leadership-Biblical teaching. 2. Bible. O.T.-Criticism, interpretation, etc. 3. Bible. O.T. Genesis-Criticism, interpretation, etc. 4. Leadership-Religious aspects-Judaism. I. Title.
BS1199.L4L38 2006 296.6'1-dc22 2006014154
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Manufactured in the United States of America
Jacket Design: Sara Dismukes
For People of All Faiths, All Backgrounds
Published by Jewish Lights Publishing
A Division of LongHill Partners, Inc.
Sunset Farm Offices, Route 4, P.O. Box 237
Woodstock, VT 05091
Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone]
www.jewishlights.com
To Sharon, for standing by my side
Contents
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Book I: In the Beginning : Relationships, Responsibility, and the Primacy of Values in Leadership

Defining Leadership
Leadership, Trust, and Responsibility
Three Circles of Responsibility
God, Adam, and Eve
God and the Human Condition
Know Where You Are Going: The Importance of Foreseeing the Consequences of Your Leadership
Heroes Who Fail to Lead: The Case of Noah
Self-Reflective Leadership: God and the Flood
Misguided Leaders: Babel s Builders
Leaders Are Made, Not Born: The Story of Abraham
The Advent of True Leadership: Becoming Your Brother s Keeper
The Long-Term Rewards of Leadership
Discerning Leadership
The Sacrificial Element of Leadership
Becoming the Stranger s Keeper
Leaders Make the Same Mistakes Twice
Losing Focus as a Leader
Taking Responsibility for the Next Generation
Managing Conflict Responsibilities
Leadership by Deceit: Jacob and Esau
The Sins of Leaders Visited Upon Their Successors: Jacob and His Family, Joseph and His Brothers
Leaders Need Mentors: Tamar and Judah
The Crucible of Leadership: Joseph in Egypt
The Abuse of Leadership: Joseph and His Egyptian Brethren
Conclusion
Book II: The Ten Guiding Principles of Leadership

Leading Change
Principle 1: Create Urgency!
Principle 2: Care Deeply and Act Courageously
Principle 3: Develop Double Vision
Principle 4: Recruit a Guiding Coalition
Principle 5: Establish Positioning to Secure Legitimacy and Authority to Lead. Build Credibility and Trust by Promising and Delivering
Principle 6: Communicate, Communicate, Communicate!
Principle 7: Implement the Vision
Principle 8: Establish the Vision by Codifying the Values, Policies, and Laws Necessary for Actualizing the Vision
Principle 9: Institutionalize the Vision by Building Sacred Space and Carving Out Sacred Times
Principle 10: Protect the Vision by Dealing Decisively with Detractors
Book III: The Challenges of Leadership

Why Leaders Are Responsible for Their Followers Decline
Challenge 1: To Not Abandon the People Like a Flock without a Shepherd
Challenge 2: To Halt Losing Streaks ASAP
Challenge 3: To Hold the People and Not Falter or Otherwise Communicate Indecisiveness in Their Presence
Challenge 4: To Fulfill Our Promises and Explain Sudden Strategic Changes
Challenge 5: To Maintain the Sense of Urgency
Challenge 6: To Not Overmanage and Underlead
Challenge 7: To Avoid Unnecessary Hierarchies, Nepotism, and Even the Appearance of Impropriety
Challenge 8: To Compromise, Be Flexible, and Not Become Pharaoh
Book IV: The Legacy of Leadership

Evaluating Leadership Success
Ceding Power and Appointing Successors
Assuring Multigenerational Leadership
Establishing Self-Sustaining Systems of Governance
Recording Your Legacy
Conclusion
Notes
About the Author
About Jewish Lights
Copyright
Foreword
SENATOR JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN
What does it take to make a great leader? Vision, creativity, charisma, a way with people, courage, opportunity, and luck all play a role in forming a leader and enabling success. Still, the bedrock of leadership is found in character and values. This is the lesson of the very special book that lies before you.
In the United States of America there is currently much debate and some confusion about the proper role for religion and values in public life and leadership. This confusion stems from our history. The founding generations of Americans separated church and state in order to achieve full equality among its citizens with their many faiths and denominational backgrounds. In recent decades, some have argued that political leaders should not draw upon religious values for fear they will impose their particular faith s principles on others. The regrettable result is the oftenheard claim that religion should not be a factor in the societal conversation or in the formulation of public policy. But creating such a vacuum would weaken one of the strongest foundations of democratic values and human dignity: the faith that undergirds democracy and strengthens conscience. Those values are one of the best ways leaders link the people to one and other in community and inspire action to achieve public purposes, such as protecting our natural environment.
The inner link between leader and values, between the character of the leader and the leadership role, is superbly illuminated in this book. Rabbi Nathan Laufer has brilliantly spelled out the Bible s portraits of leadership as tools meant to inspire us to elevate ourselves and reach for the biblical standards of responsibility. Thanks to his role in shaping and guiding the Wexner Heritage programs in Jewish community leadership, Rabbi Laufer is one of the important Jewish educators of our time. In this book, Rabbi Laufer expands his personal teachings from the Wexner Heritage program to forge a book of deep insights into the nature of leadership and how character drives-or blinds-leaders to the tasks before them. He sketches the three concentric circles of responsibility that every person must accept to become a good leader. The innermost circle is to take responsibility for our own actions (or inactions) toward others, and the consequences of those actions. The second circle of responsibility involves the welfare of those with whom we have relationships-family, friends, colleagues, and coworkers. The outermost circle of responsibility is for all who cross our path or whose lives are touched by our leadership role. Laufer argues-and illustrates-that according to the Bible, taking responsibility is the most important value for leaders to learn and practice. In the end, he argues, leaders are ultimately responsible for the success and failure of their followers.
This message should not be misinterpreted as leaders dominance over their followers. Just as the Bible teaches that perfecting the world is the outcome of a partnership between God and humanity, so is leadership-political, economic, and spiritual-the outcome of a partnership between leaders and followers. Great achievements and a better world are the outcome of such a partnership when it works. Accomplishments come from a harmony between values and policies, and the interaction of character and opportunity.
Rabbi Laufer also makes clear that the true measure of a leader s greatness is not success or failure. He offers an unforgettable portrait of the greatest Jewish leader of all time, Moses-of his character, of his growth, and of his failure to create a free people out of a cohort of emancipated slaves. He shows how Moses s inability to achieve entry into the promised land is the personal outcome of his life. His falling short stands side by side and is interactive with his extraordinary liberation of a people and creation of a life-affirming tradition. Laufer has accomplished an act of leadership himself in his portrait-distilled from the Bible-of God as leader and teacher of Israel.
Reading this book will enrich lovers of the Bible with an understanding of its guidelines for leaders. This writing will equally excite students of leadership with its feast of Biblical teachings and life s wisdom.
I want to add a word of personal testimony. In my years as a public servant, I found myself irresistibly drawn to the wells of my tradition for guidance and inspiration. My faith has offered a sustaining moral anchor and inner gyroscope. My wife, Hadassah, has added the dimension of meaning and values exemplified by survivors of the Holocaust and their children. These values, drawn out of the fire of suffering, as well as this character forged on the anvil of the Holocaust, were unbreakable. Through success and defeat, by helping us face down the temptations to sell out or run away from our commitments, this faith helped us come to the realization that the biblical promise is true: Those whose character cleaves steadfastly to the Lord and to eternal values are drawn to the side of life. They find the strength to lead and to rise above defeat and hopefully lead again.
We all owe a debt to Rabbi Nathan Laufer for opening the doors to wisdom for all willing to enter and learn. This is a gift for l