Imago Leadership Consulting defines leadership as participatory, relational, and transformational. It is primarily a vocation to join in God’s redemptive work by cultivating wholeness (shalom) within people, teams, and systems. It is about faithful presence and communal discernment, expressed through integrity, courage, and relational depth. Leaders shape culture not only through strategic direction but also through their presence and practices. Effective leadership teams embody transformative leadership practices in the context of a community on mission.
We believe leadership is a social dynamic that develops as a community focuses on a shared mission. Leadership is not primarily about the strengths, skills, or influence of individual leaders. It is about how they participate in a leadership community. Leadership is tested and strengthened through collective discernment practices as the community navigates continual change. Ultimately, it manifests in the ability to build trust, manage complexity, and advance shared ownership of the mission. The result of such leadership is shalom: leaders growing closer to Jesus while the communities they serve flourish.
Leadership, in practice, is the ability to promote direction, alignment, and commitment (DAC) within a team or organization. Direction means the group shares a clear and compelling sense of purpose. Alignment ensures that people are coordinated and using their strengths toward that purpose. Commitment reflects the shared ownership and mutual accountability that drive sustained effort. Effective leaders foster environments where these elements develop naturally through relational trust, shared vision, and meaningful engagement, empowering teams not just to perform but to transform.
Leadership-in-Community
It’s amazing how different kinds of plants can survive in vastly different environments. Some require soft, fertile soil. But others have adapted to some of the harshest environments. Take the giant sequoias. They thrive in high elevation in only one location on planet earth. These massive trees grow to an average height of 50-85 meters, and they only grow between elevations of 1,400 to 2,000 meters. Yet they are among the oldest living organisms on the earth (the oldest is approximately 3,200 years old). What is the secret to their success? First, their bark is fire resistant. They can survive fires that burn off other vegetation that competes for the resources they need for growth. Second, and most importantly, they grow in groves with massive root systems. They support one another by sharing resources holding each other up!
How can such beauty and life grow out of different environments, some of which we might think are even inhospitable for growth? These plants are amazingly…
- Complex and adaptive systems…
- Designed and organized to thrive in their unique environments, and they…
- Draw from the diverse resources available to them so that they can produce beauty and life.
Leadership-in-community is a way of understanding leadership that welcomes every team member to participate in the mission of the team. Together, as they share their various resources together, they can…
- Read their environments well,
- Decide wisely how they can/should respond, and
- Create a culture in which the mission can thrive in the environment.
This website is a complement to my book, Leadership-in-Community: The Missiology, Community & Ethics of Missional Leadership. I trust that both will be incredible resources for you and your missional leadership teams as you navigate a complex and chaotic world that God still wants to save through the death, resurrection, and reign of Jesus Christ. Through podcasts, blogs, leadership development tools, and other engaging materials, the Leadership-in-Community website will be a guide to your team as you proceed on mission together.
