Everyone who influences someone else is a leader. Whether you lead at home, at work, at church, or in another community organization you are a leader.
In Lead Like Jesus Ken Blanchard (coauthor of the One Minute Manager®) and Phil Hodges argue that Jesus is “the perfect One to follow as you seek to lead others.” (xi)
Who & Why?
“Who benefits from your leadership?” Blanchard and Hodges want you to know. That question is a key to understanding Jesus as leadership model. If you only want to increase your own personal power and prestige you can stop reading. If you want to lead others for their benefit, this may be a book for you.
The Exam
Lead Like Jesus challenges you to examine your leadership based on context, motivation and rationale. You’ll examine how you lead yourself and others. You’ll examine how you use your heart, head, hands, and habits as you discover the Four Domains of leadership. You’ll also learn why you should prefer a servant-leader model and why Jesus is the one you should choose.
2 Arguments
The authors make a good argument for modeling your leadership after Jesus’s life. The follow-on argument is equally well made: if Jesus is the role model for your life, then servant-leadership is the only available path. That is…if you are already a Jesus follower.
Impressions
Rationale
Lead Like Jesus has a weak rationale for the non-Christian reader. I would like to have seen a broader argument for Jesus as a life model and leadership model that would appeal to both the Christian and non-Christian reader. I think Jesus’s appeal as a servant leader can serve as tool for beginning conversations across the spectrum of belief. (Hint: way to introduce people to Jesus.)
Disciplines
I found the discussion of spiritual disciplines to have an identifiable flavor. The discussion will at once be familiar to many North American evangelical Protestants. They aren’t “wrong” or “harmful,” just presented in a way that may not engage some readers. I would like to see a somewhat broader flavor put forward. Spiritual disciplines are far too valuable in making room for God to work in our lives to be presented in limiting ways.
No Primer on Salvation
Some criticize the “live just like Jesus” perspective citing confusion between salvation and the transformation process in the life of a Jesus follower. Lead Like Jesus is not a primer on salvation. It is about the positive impact that you can have in your leadership spheres if you model your approach on Jesus’s life. It won’t make you “more saved,” but it will help you lead with greater integrity and build deeper relationships.
Rating
My rating: 4 stars +
Community
If you you liked the book, you might also be interested Lead Like Jesus training and resources available at leadlikejesus.com
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Disclosure: While I do review books which Thomas Nelson Publishers provide to me at no cost, I bought this book just like you can from a major bookseller.
Similar Posts:
- Book Review: What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do
- What’s Christian About Christian Leadership?
- A Case for Spiritual Formation
- Why Jesus? : Preacher
- How Expensive are Your Values?
I hope you enjoy your time on the site and that something in these pages encourages your journey along the Way of Jesus. All thoughts here are my own and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts of others or of organizations with which I am affiliated. 
You made some good points there. I did a search on the topic and found most experts on this topic agree with what you said.
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Danny,
Thanks for your feedback. I’ll take a look under the hood and see about the comments…
/jmt
Best you could change the webpage title
Lead Like Jesus by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges | Faith + Life to something more generic for your blog post you create. I liked the blog post yet.
Thanks for reading!