This week’s episode builds on Monday’s article of the same name, “The Theory Behind the Theory.” Here is the transcript of the podcast:
Have you ever struggled with trying to figure out whether or not a leadership principle was good? I have, and on today’s episode, that’s the question we are going to explore. In fact, early in my leadership experience, I noticed that some leadership principles and practices seemed to ring true to me, or seemed to particularly resonate with me, but at that time, I wasn’t thinking about why that was so. That eventually led to my own wrestling with how to know what principles and practices were good ones, which in turn led me to the idea of the theory behind the theory.
I shared the story in the article that I posted earlier this week about the experience that led me to the realization that there is “biblical theory” behind any good theory proven to be true. It started when I read a book by Margaret Wheatley called “Leadership and the New Science.” (if you want to hear the story, you’ll have to listen to the podcast!).
When you start from the presupposition that the Bible is true, that God is real, and that He is the Creator of the universe, it shapes your foundational beliefs. One of those beliefs is the understanding that, as the Creator of the universe, of the world we live in, and of you and me, it makes sense that He knows best how everything should work, and how everything should work best. He created with intentional design, and there is order that governs the internal operations of all things (these become the laws of science). Therefore, when something works well, it is because of the God-created design behind it.
What that means for me is that I now understand that when there is a leadership principle that is effective, that means that behind it is a truth based on God’s intentional design. It works because it stems from how God created things to work. So if something works well, I can learn and see God’s design behind it – this is the theory behind the theory.
Here’s what you need to take away: as a leader, understanding leadership theory is important. When I was researching for my dissertation, my advisor kept stressing that I needed to identify and communicate the theory behind what I was saying. Understanding the theory – or, the why – is important to becoming effective and growing, because theory translates into practice. However – and this is what I kept saying to my advisor – I can see deeper theory – God’s truth and design – behind any effective theory. As a Christian leader, you will be better if you study God and His Word to such an extent that you recognize biblical truth behind any good leadership theory and practice.
The bottom line is that good leadership has biblical truth behind it, even if that is not recognized by the leader. My challenge to you is to become so knowledgeable of and intimate with God that you recognize it; that you see the theory behind the theory.