Running Head: LEADERSHIP AUDIT
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Leadership Audit Analysis 1
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Introduction
The concept relating to leadership has always enthralled one and all. One of the
reasons for this is that these individuals have the power to influence others and bring about
a change. According to Aubrey Malphurs, leaders have the ability to move others out of
their comfort zone and urge them to make a difference around them (Malphurs, 2003, p 9).
Leaders play an extremely vital role in all aspects of life such as business,
households as well as churches. It is necessary to understand the fact that there exist
certain differences between a secular leader and a Christian leader. One might think that
the role of a leader is the same irrespective of where he is exhibiting his leadership
approach. But Malphurs has pointed out that Christian leaders are different from the other
leaders in many contexts. As per the definition that has been provided by the author, the
Christian leaders are the servants who possess the capability and credibility to influence
individuals to move in God’s path (Malphurs, 2003, p 10).
The paper will fundamentally shed light on various traits and features and thus
discuss how these elements help to shape a Christian leader. The writing that has been
presented here is the result of surveys that have been carried out on the topic of leadership.
The objective is to explore the concept relating to the servant leader. One of the surveys
will be assisting to identify the spiritual strength of the individual and discuss how these
spiritual gifts can be used for the purpose of growing God’s kingdom. Different elements
of the questionnaire have been designed to help in understanding various aspects of
Christian leadership. For example, a few questions in the questionnaire will help to explore
the passion in the area of ministry. The leadership audit that has been presented here
would shed light on his character and actual behavior.
Christian Leader
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In the leadership audit, the first thing that was asked was whether the student cum
author had complete faith in Christ. The question was designed to comprehend whether he
believed that Christ was his ultimate saviour. The answers to the question ranged between
‘true’, ‘more true than false’, ‘more false than true’ and ‘false’. Every option had been
assigned a numerical value which ranged between 1 and 4 where 1 was true and 4 was
false. In the case of the student, the answer was true (Malphurs, 2003, p 173). The student
cum author genuinely placed his trust on Jesus. He accepted Jesus since his very
childhood. While growing up he had strayed from the path but then he had a life changing
experience during his adolescence stage which brought him back to the Lord. At present,
the student has complete faith in Jesus and in fact, he is grateful to him as he is the one
that gives him the opportunity to see a new day.
The next statement that was asked was “I am a committed follower of the Christ.”
This answer was also true for the student as he is a sincere follower of the Christ. The
commitment towards Christ was strengthened on June 20, 2002 when God showed the
work that was to be completed. The student-author has complete trust on Jesus and there is
a strong belief that Jesus will do the ultimate good for one and all.
Servant Leader
There are a number of places where an individual gets the opportunity to serve
others and be good to others. For example, while going to a local grocery store, one can
get numerous opportunities to help people who are in need of assistance. For example, one
can open the doors for others, help women and elderly person to load their grocery items
in their vehicle and help people to find the items that they are looking for in the store
(Malphurs, 2003, p 180). Such a kind of selfless behaviour can have a major implication
on people in the current times. When the servants of Christ help and assist strangers who
are not known to them others might wonder. As they are not aware of the servant who is
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serving them in a dedicated manner, they will not be able to praise the, Thus the ultimate
motive of the servants can be achieved as they can serve others in a selfless manner.
In this particular audit relating to the servant leader, the student-author scored low
points. It implies that he is a strong servant who does not need any kind of praises to serve
the Lord and people around him. Getting praises from others is not what matters to him
but he simply intends to do something good for others genuinely. Thus the student is
serving others in a whole hearted manner so that he can create value for others and not to
get praises.
Credibility
Credibility is something that cannot be achieved in an instance. It is something that
can be achieved with time and by showcasing consistent results. In the scenario of the
student cum author, he completely surrendered himself and his entire life to the calling of
the Christ in the last couple of years. Within this short span of time in the ministry, he has
been able to establish a strong bond of trust with the people of church (Malphurs, 2003, p
182). The main reason for this is that he has succeeded to interact and engage with others
on a personal level. Such an approach has helped him a great deal to comprehend how he
can act as a leader and serve others at the same time. His very first leadership role was he
was able to participate in a state-level sports tournament. Then with the passage of time, he
got further opportunities to work in his leadership capability. For example he was in a
number of leadership clubs during his academic life. In the professional front, he took the
role of an assistant departmental manager in a reputed organization. All these experiences
helped him to be a good secular leader but he did not get the chance to be a Christian
Leader.
Spiritual Gifts
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In ministry, the spiritual gifts are the ones that have been given by God, the
Almighty. It is possible to be successful for a Christian by identifying the spiritual gifts
and ask God about where to utilize them. In order to make their optimum use, it is
necessary to identify them and use them in the best possible manner. Since leaders plat an
extremely important role it is vital for them to use available resources and create a positive
impact on the kingdom of God. The student has taken a number of spiritual gifts in his
life. The top gifts are leadership, evangelism and modesty.
Natural Gifts
The student comes from a humble background. He lived in the city outskirts where
his patents were involved in farming activities. Because of his rural background, one might
think that he could easily become a farmer and look after his farmland and cattle. But as
his parental grandparents were involved in electric work, he was taught about electricity
(Malphurs, 2003, p 184). While growing up into a young man, he was exposed to various
kinds of activities relating to plumbing, mechanical works, carpentry and others. By being
exposed to these areas, he was able to learn as an individual. After his schooling was
completed, he realized that his wormer works would not help him in the long-run. So he
shifted his interest towards business-related areas. During his high school he showed keen
interest in subjects on business and excelled in the subjects.
Passion
For any leader passion is an extremely important variable that can have a major
influence on the leadership approach that is adopted by him. The student author has
defined passion from the perspective of an individual who did not know the important role
that Jesus Christ would play in his life. While the individual was growing up, he did not
have any role models to look up to who could help him to shift towards the path of Jesus
(Malphurs, 2003, p 193). While visitng church during his childhood and adolescence stage,
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he did not interact with many individuals who were very passionate about Christ. In spite
of this, he had a keen interest in the Almighty and his experiences helped him to get closer
to the Lord and serve him with sincerity. He along with his wife intend to help children,
youngsters and young couples to get the necessary knowledge and resources so that they
can get closer to God and serve him in the best possible manner. d
Character Audit
For each and every individual, character is an extremely important thing. When it
comes to a leader, a strong character is a fundamental ingredient which can help him to
strengthen his trustworthiness, reliability and credibility. In ministry, the character of
leaders plays an extremely vital role so that they can influence others and help them in the
path to move closer to Christ (Malphurs, 2003, p 195). The student cum author was given
a plate where it was mentioned ‘there are no stains on your name. It is only you who can
improve your name or reduce its quality.’ It implied that one always needs to think before
making a move as it might have long-term implications in the future. The plate was given
to him by his great grandmother and he still kept it and remembered the quote that was
written on it.
Relational Skills
Aubrey Malphurs has identified a number of relational skills that are based on
General Commandment (Matt. 22: 36 – 39). They have been identified as the ‘critical
people skill-sets’ that are necessary for leaders so that they can be strong, above average,
below average or weak. The strong skills can help a leader in ministry. While serving the
men and women of God, it is necessary for a leader to control and manage the weak areas.
I rankled myself strong in six relational skills and below average in five relational skill
areas. In other areas, I was above average (Malphurs, 2003, p 201). My spiritual gift in
leadership definitely gives me an edge as I exhibit strong leadership skills. The other areas
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such as conflict management and motivation are also my core strengths. My strong area
was also my ability to take risks and solve problems with a calm head.
Task Skills
Malphurs has identified a set of task skill-sets that leaders need to possess in her
task skill inventory. Just like the Relational Skills Audit, the Task Skill inventory
encourages leaders to make the optimum use of robust task skills in varying situations in
ministry while keeping a tab on the weakness areas. In a majority of the task skill areas I
ranked myself strong. But there were also areas where I was below average. Over the
years, I have been working on my core task skills. But I believe that there is further scope
for me to work on these skills so that I can sever in the best possible manner in the
ministry. One of my strong task skills would be vision development. I focus on any given
task in an integrated manner so that the most feasible and appropriate solution can be
arrived at. Similarly, I also develop mission by taking into count all the involved people or
stakeholders so that the action will be beneficial for the majority of the people.
Leadership Style
Aubrey Malphurs’s leadership style inventory was an extremely important part of
the leadership audit. A total of four statements were designed and the statement which was
“most like me” or “least like me” to be selected based on the provided circumstances.
There were instances where multiple statements which sounded like me (Malphurs, 2003, p
205). At the same time, there were other statements as well which were nowhere close to
me. My primary dominant style can be said to be ‘inspirational’ in nature. The secondary
dominant style is that of diplomat. The result of this audit was quite shocking for me as I
am an individual who focuses on the tasks that are in hand. I would agree with the fact
that I am an inspirational-diplomat by nature.
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In the ministry circumstances, inspirational leaders are believed to be extremely valuable
and useful as they have the ability to influence, motivate and inspire one and all in
different kinds of situations and circumstances.
Structure
The “effect of the ministry’s structure of power” that has been presented by Aubrey
Malphurs in her book was extremely enriching and valuable as it shed light on the core
area where there is substantial scope for improvement. Two key options have been
identified by the author including a centralized ministry structure and a decentralized
ministry structure. In the former structure, the entire power is arranged in a vertical manner
and a chain of command is followed (Malphurs, 2003, p 214). In the latter model, the
power of a ministry is arranged in the horizontal fashion. The specified ministry has a
decentralized structure where power and authority is spread from the leaders who take up
the top position. It flows to the others who are involved in the ministry.
Values
Aubrey Malphurs has presented a couple of audits in her book which can assist in
comparing and contrasting. These elements are the core values of the leader and the core
values of the church. In my specific scenario, I am involved in a parachurch ministry
(Malphurs, 2003, p 215). Thus in my personal scenario, the audit relating to the core value
of the church are quite different from the audit results relating to the individuals who serve
at the church. Some of the most crucial core values of the church are community, team
ministry and fairness towards all. Some of the values of the church that are the least
important ones are initiative and innovation.
Circumstances
The audit relaying to circumstances was also very useful at the personal level. This
is because it helped in the comparison and contrasting of the ideal ministry situations of a
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leader with the circumstances of the ministry that is being served. In my personal situation,
a majority of the ideal scenarios were aligned with the parachurch ministry that was being
served. Some of the key differences that were seen include I hive higher priority to an
innovative organization whereas the ministry does not believe in the concept of change
(Malphurs, 2003, p 219). Similarly, I put more trust in the already established leaders
whereas the ministry puts more faith and trust in new and budding leaders. The personal
ratings that have been arrived at in this audit section are more to do with me personally. I
believe that in the present times I am working in ministry because of God’s wish. This
audit has played a vital role and helped me to comprehend the importee of circumstances
in the ministry context.
Fit
The ‘Pastor-Organization fit’ that has been presented by Aubrey Malphurs has
helped to ascertain the extent to which a leader is considered to be the appropriate match
to the ministry that he or she is serving. This audit basically sheds light on some of the
most vital beliefs and values that help to comprehend whether a leader is fit for a ministry
or not. My personal score was ten (Malphurs, 2003, p 225). It indicates that I am in the
middle range but I am a good match for the ministry which I am currently serving. My
working association with the individuals whom I led ay different level is pretty strong.
But there is a lack of ample communication and interaction which could enhance the fit.
Conclusion
The leadership audit sheds light on how God has assisted me to serve others by
working in the parachurch ministry. M spiritual gifts have helped me to serve others
without focusing on my personal interests.
One of the action points that I want to focus on is to use my inspirational leadership ability
to strengthen the sense of unity and community among volunteers and people who visit the
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church. The other action point is to interact and engage with others at a deeper level to
help them at the time of their needs. Such an approach will help to serve maximum people
in the best possible manner.
References
Malphurs, A. (2003). Being leaders: The nature of authentic Christian leadership. Baker
Books.
