The stakes are high when it comes to leadership. Reggie McNeal believes bad leaders “are a form of evil” because “they curse people by diminishing their life” and they “rob people of hope.”
The world is in desperate need of great leaders, and the need for great spiritual leaders is stronger still. Practicing Greatness attempts to assist leaders in their spiritual development by revealing seven disciplines that are vital to a spiritual leader’s life.
1. Self-Awareness
McNeal begins with self-awareness, a discipline he sees as foundational to the other six. Great leaders know where they’ve come from, what makes them tick, how they come across to others, and why they make the decisions they do. They are aware of their mission and their calling in life. They are well acquainted with their own failures and flaws, their sinful tendencies and recurring temptations.
2. Self-Management
Next, McNeal turns to the discipline of self-management. Great leaders know how to manage their feelings, whether they come in the forms of depression, anger, hostility, grief, loss, fear, or bitterness. They also know how to manage expectations – both their own expectations of themselves and the expectations others place of them. Self-management guides leaders in their efforts to stay healthy, both physically and spiritually.
3. Self-Development
The third discipline is self-development. Great leaders are marked by a posture of lifelong learning. They know the importance of building on their strengths, not focusing all their attention on shoring up their weaknesses.
(I would add a word of caution to this advice of focusing solely on one’s strengths. Recent studies show that a leader who is below average in certain areas will lose credibility over time so that their strengths are undercut.)
4. Sense of Mission
Next, McNeal speaks to the leader’s sense of mission. Great leaders are not defined by their role or task, but by their life’s mission – what they hope to accomplish. A great leader is captivated by a great vision, a mission that is not invented but discovered.
5. Decision-Making
The fifth discipline is decision-making. Great leaders know how to make decisions, when to make them, and what the right decision is. They learn from mistakes and successes alike by building in opportunities to debrief with others about their choices.
6 & 7. Belonging and “Aloneness”
The final two disciplines seem, at first sight, to be at odds. One is about belonging, and the other is “aloneness.” Put together, these disciplines create a needed balance.
Great leaders are not loners. They need to have their family and home life in order. They need friends, coworkers, mentors, and followers.
That said, some aspects of leadership can only be learned through a wilderness experience, an uncomfortable climate where we are alone with God. McNeal recommends leaders build the rhythm of Sabbath, extended prayer times, fasting, and journaling into their lives.
Strengths
Practicing Greatness is a good book on leadership. McNeal manages to inform and inspire, and he illustrates the principles with helpful “real-life” examples of people in various situations.
None of these principles seem inaccessible to average leaders seeking to steward their various gifts and talents. Pastors and church leaders will find it easy to implement McNeal’s insights because they translate well into various ministry or business settings.
Weaknesses
Without detracting from its overall helpfulness, I believe the book could have been strengthened by a stronger emphasis on a leader’s handling of money. As it stands, there is only a brief section placed in the chapter on “self-management,” but considering how many leaders self-destruct because of an inordinate desire for money or mismanagement of funds, it would be helpful to include more material on this subject.
The only other quibble I have with the book is McNeal’s tendency to stretch some of the biblical parallels beyond their original meaning. For example, Jesus’ asking the disciples “Who do people say that I am?” is used as an example of a leader who knows how to seek out good information. Seeking biblical examples to correspond to leadership principles is a common exercise in many books like this, but I find that when the examples are stretched, they become more of a distraction than a help.
