Elemental Leaders

All healthy and effective organizations are marked by four basic traits: Integrity, Passion, Servanthood & Imagination. Elemental leaders are those who recognize that they must infuse, maintain and guard a healthy balance of these critical values in the churches, organizations and teams they lead. With insightful clarity, speaker, author and mentor Dave Workman offers pathways and tools to bring out the best in leaders and their organizations.

For the sake of simplicity and retention, Workman metaphorically uses the foundational elements of ancient Greek philosophy: Earth, Fire, Water and Air. Earth is used to represent Integrity. There’s something solid, rooted and grounded in the elemental leader’s character. What’s more, they build a similar integrity in the organizations they lead. They are driven by principles and values and a deep desire for praxis in their personal lives, their teams, their organizations and practices. Fire is symbolic of the leader’s Passion. This catalytic element fuels inspiration and energy; elemental leaders bring heat in order to make ideas and dreams combust and catch fire in followers. Every successful leader has a fire in their belly for a mission that ignites a sense of empowerment and accomplishment in others. Water stands for Servanthood…the idea of being poured out for others.

Elemental leaders deeply understand that the organization is not about them; they innately grasp they’re part of something bigger than themselves. They regularly fight with and shake off any sense of entitlement, giving life rather than expecting it. They, and their organizations, are outward-focused in mission and vision. Last, the Air element represents Imagination. There’s a certain amount of “blue sky-ing” that elemental leaders enjoy with their teams. They have no problem grilling up sacred cows or questioning organizational methodologies; there’s a “what-if” factor that fires their neurons. Imagination is typically an overlooked and under-utilized element, but in today’s high-speed culture, organizations that don’t innovate are tomorrow’s fossils. With reflective questions, assessments and links to further resources, this is an indispensable and pragmatic guide to effective leadership.