Reviewed by Brooke Gerber
John MacArthur is an esteemed figure in the religious circles of American society. Although he is best known as the as the pastor of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, MacArthur is also the voice of Christian radio program, Grace to You, the founder and president of The Master’s Seminary, and a best-selling author. In The Book on Leadership, MacArthur offers a description of what the ideal leader looks like, maintaining that a true leader is a person whose “life and character motivate people to follow.” His argument, although based largely on Christian principles, contains practical advice for anyone in a position of authority, whether it is a mother raising a child or a CEO aiming for higher employee productivity.
Drawing inspiration from the powerful example of leadership set by Paul in the Bible, MacArthur’s picture of effective leadership looks vastly different than the conventional view held by the majority of today’s society. Rather than being a proud and self-promoting person who demands respect, MacArthur believes that a true leader should be a willing servant who naturally commands respect. He says that the majority of corporate leadership manipulates people with a system of “external pressure and coercion.” They use “threats and rewards” to get what they want, but having the ability to force people to follow you doesn’t make you a leader by any means. Contrarily, a true leader seeks to “motivate people from the inside” by showing genuine concern for their growth and success. Furthermore, MacArthur says that when people are confident that you have their best interest at heart, they will trust you, and this is vital because people in leadership cannot be effective if they are not trusted. He says, “People whose motives are selfish end up leading nobody because everyone abandons them,” but genuine leaders are easy to recognize because they are “surrounded by gifted, capable, diligent, effective people who are devoted to their leader."
On the other hand, MacArthur recognizes that not every honest, servant-hearted person is cut out to be a leader. Instead he writes that leadership is synonymous with influence, and that influence is derived from strong character. In fact, The Book on Leadership outlines the “26 characteristics of a true leader,” all of which pertain to character in some way. For example, the first five principles are that a leader is trustworthy, takes initiative, uses good judgment, speaks with authority and strengthens others. Although all of these traits are good for a person in authority to possess, most people would agree that they are not novel ideas. What makes MacArthur’s argument unique is the fact that he takes character traits such as these, which are often undervalued in the corporate world, and prioritizes them above qualities like experience, style or technique when assessing leadership ability. For example, if MacArthur were conducting interviews for a management position in a company, he would hire a person with little experience and a great record of integrity rather than an extremely experienced and professionally successful candidate with questionable personal veracity.
Although MacArthur’s approach to leadership looks excellent on paper, I am not sure how well it would play out in the real world. Granted, it would be wonderful if people were selfless and prized the success of others above their own. It would also be nice to live in a society where leaders always maintain moral integrity, thus earning our trust and respect. However, I’m afraid it is unrealistic to expect that every person in a position of authority could adhere to such high standards. The fact is that everyone makes mistakes and even the best leaders with the most admirable intentions will sometimes let their followers down. Even so, there is no doubt that society is in desperate need of morally responsible leaders and MacArthur’s approach to leadership is a step in the right direction. Every person who is in charge of managing other people would benefit from striving to be the kind of leader MacArthur describes.
For this reason, I would not hesitate to recommend The Book on Leadership to another public relations student. If nothing else, it offers an alternative to the distorted picture of leadership that is unfortunately so prevalent in a corporate culture marked by dishonesty, greed and deception. It is refreshing to hear that true authority does not come from “power of prestige, personality, or position society,” but from influence gained by character, and that moral fiber is still a vital component of leadership despite the fact that the line of integrity in American business is becoming more and more blurred. I think that MacArthur’s character emphasis has the potential to do a tremendous amount of good, whether it is applied by the manager of a local restaurant or implemented throughout an entire corporation.
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