Leadership and Graciousness,

[Bob Evans]

Can a person be a great visionary leader and still be gracious in there dealings with all the people in the organization their leading?

[Kevin Rector]

Yes, but it is important to differentiate between graciousness and acquiescence. Sometimes God has given the leadership of a church a vision and others are not able to see that vision. That doesn't mean that the leadership should abandon the vision, just that they must deal well those who disagree, and never get petty or vindictive.

[Tami Martin]

Not only can they. Should they. Yes to both.

And I agree with Kevin. Being gracious does not mean just being a yes man.

[Bill Evans]

I suspect there is a specific reason you are asking this question. I also wonder if a leader's theological inclinations (bias???) will have an impact upon their behavior. If there is a specific leader implied in your question, I wonder if they might be part of a tradition with less of an emphasis on grace and more of an emphasis on works or obedience.

[Scott Sherwood]

An emphatic YES.

While I am not extremely visionary or gracious, I found in ministry here that "my" vision and the "church's" vision really melted together over the course of our first 3 years here. By that time, we had been through enough victory, loss, celebration, and grief together that "they" and "me" were now "we."

I like "our" vision now better than "my" vision when I moved here.

[Kevin Rector]

John Bowling wrote a book called Grace-Full Leadership (http://www.amazon.com/Grace-Full-Leadership-Understanding-Christian-Leader/dp/0834117754/ref=sr_11_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1204562148&sr=11-1). I have not read the book in it's entirely, but I've read enough of it to know that it addresses this issue and is a very good read and probably something every Christian leader should probably consider having in their library.

[Billy Cox]

Can a person be a great visionary leader and still be gracious in there dealings with all the people in the organization their leading?

Can a person be a great visionary leader and not be gracious in their dealings with all the people in the organization their leading?

When one looks at the polar opposite, the answer is still 'yes'...as is common of a softball question.

A visionary leader could be utterly Machiavellian, leaving a trail of nameless faceless human wreckage behind them, yet be highly effective and win all of the awards at District Assembly. Success in this case is evidence that a long line of people extended more grace than they received - by choosing flight over fight.

[Billie Goodson]

Can a person be a great visionary leader and still be gracious in there dealings with all the people in the organization their leading?

It is possible to be such. It is not required to be thus.

I can think of many examples of visionary leaders that were dealing with change that required them to not always be gracious with all levels of their organization. In those cases they often were fighting against intolerance or hatred and were required to cause the members of the organization to engage in honest self-inspection to overcome the issues.

Someone who may not be considered gracious: Herman Boone


That said, there are examples of great visionary leaders that were extremely gracious in dealing with all people in their organization. I do not believe it is an either/or/always question. There are many factors that would have to be confronted.

Someone that many would consider gracious: Gandhi? or Martin Luther King?