David Murray has done an excellent service by listing more than 200 of the top leadership resources he’s collected over the last few years. They are divided into (1) Christian leadership posts and (2) other leadership posts. As he said, “there is much to learn from both.”

A helpful chapter on speed leading in the book Taking Control of Your Time points out that leading in the midst of highly ambiguous environments requires a different approach than we typically think.

The typical approach for setting direction is geared for relatively known territory. It goes like this:

1. Observe
2. Orient
3. Decide
4. Act

This is basically a “ready, aim, fire” approach.

But in unfamiliar and ambiguous territory, a “fire, ready, aim” approach is usually more effective. Here are the steps:

1. Act
2. Learn
3. Adapt

The essence of this approach is that, since the environment is ambiguous, you don’t have a map and can’t even see very far ahead. Hence, you have to move forward by trial and experimentation — similar to the scientific method. As the article says, “speed leaders experiment in order to advance knowledge.”

Many of our problems in leadership come from trying to use an approach for known territory in the midst of unknown territory.

Here are four principles of leadership we see in Matthew 20:25-28, Matthew 23:8-11 (note: that text is on leadership!), and 1 Peter 5:1-5:

1. Leaders are not an elite class with special privileges (that’s Matthew 23:8-11).
2. Leaders should not see themselves as privileged or entitled.
3. Leaders should not use their power for personal enrichment or to unfairly maintain their power.
4. Leaders are not to approach people from above, as a virtuoso. Instead, they are to take a position alongside, as a fellow traveler, a partner sharing the same burdens. They look across at others, not down. (Note Peter’s approach in 1 Peter 5:1-4.)