“Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?”
Matthew 13:55
Nothing about the life of Jesus was random or purposeless. His birth, death, and resurrection fulfilled messianic prophecy and thereby testified to a divine and perfectly executed plan. And, as with every aspect of His life, it was not by chance that Jesus spent thirty years in obscurity, learning all that God wanted Him to know while working as a carpenter. Evangelist Henry Drummond said, “What was Jesus doing in the carpenter’s shop? Practicing.”1
What was the significance of this season of practice and preparation? In what ways did working as a carpenter help prepare Jesus for His role as Messiah and, among other roles, performance coach?
We sought similarities between the work of a good carpenter and the work of a good leader, similarities that we could learn from and apply to our own leadership. Here is what we discovered:
• Good carpenters and good leaders must be able to envision something that does not yet exist and then commit to do what it takes to create it. Good leaders must have a compelling vision that they are passionate about and that provides direction for those who follow.
Application: Have you established a clear direction for your people? Do they understand what business the company is in (the purpose), where it is headed (the picture of the future), and what will guide the journey (the organization’s values)? Have you established goals? Have you communicated clearly enough that people know what to focus on right now?
• Good carpenters and good leaders must be good judges of raw material.
Application: The raw materials of leadership are people; therefore, good leaders must be able to assess both the current condition and the future potential of their people. How well do you know the people you lead? When was the last time you consciously updated your knowledge of them? It is easy and often convenient to operate under outdated assumptions about people, to instead focus time and energy on immediate concerns despite their short-term results. Investing regularly in your people, however, will have long-term positive results.
Also, the longer you rely on assumptions about people, the more prone you are to becoming isolated from the truth about them and ineffective in your leadership. What are some of the assumptions you have that, if inaccurate, could harm your working relationship?
• Good carpenters and good leaders must consider the cost before the work begins. Good leaders are realistic about the price of success, and they themselves must be willing to pay it, in full, before asking others to do the same.
Application: Jesus never downplayed the cost of following His leadership: He talked about dying to self, picking up a cross, and being persecuted. In His own acts of sacrifice and obedience, Jesus demonstrated His willingness to pay the price. Good leaders never ask anyone to do something they are not willing to do themselves.
• Good carpenters and good leaders have a carefully defined plan for producing specific results. A good leader serves the mission and values of the organization by focusing the means, materials, efforts, and development of people on the achievement of a specific goal and the fulfillment of a clearly communicated purpose.
Application: The plan Jesus has for producing the highest good remains the same two thousand years after He walked this earth: transform, inspire, and equip people to go forth into the world in His name, guided in love by the Holy Spirit, to make disciples of all nations.
• Good carpenters and good leaders apply accurate measurements and standards of success to their work. Good leaders accept responsibility for setting standards that reflect a balance between producing practical results and building healthy relationships.
Application: For Jesus, the measurement of His success was both to glorify His Father and to obey His Father’s will. Public perception of leadership performance does not tell the whole story: few would have seen a man hanging on a Roman cross as the supreme example of servant leadership. A true test of leadership, however, is the impact the leader has on the spiritual well-being of those he or she influences.
The standard to which Jesus calls all His followers in the relationships they have with one another is their relationship with Him yesterday, today, and forever: “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34).
• Good carpenters and good leaders must be able to master the use of a variety of tools and know when and how to apply them to get the best results.
Application: A good performance coach realizes that people are not all at the same level of development. Some need a lot of direction, others need a lot of support, and still others need both direction and support.
• Good carpenters and good leaders must be willing to be both lifelong learners and lifelong teachers.
Application: Leaders who maintain a teachable spirit and stay alert to changing times and conditions will also maintain their effectiveness in guiding others. The resource Jesus provides to all His followers is access to the indwelling and counsel of the Holy Spirit. The challenge to all who lead in the name of Jesus is this: Are you willing to listen and learn?
• Good carpenters and good leaders know when their work is completed.
Application: In John 16:7 Jesus said to His disciples: “It is for your good that I am going away.” Jesus knew He had completed His season of earthly leadership, and He commissioned His disciples to carry on His work.
How did Jesus’ leadership of His disciples line up with these insights about carpentry and leadership? First, Jesus did indeed develop a compelling vision for His disciples that motivated them after His physical time on earth ended: “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).
Second, Jesus saw beyond current credentials to the long-range potential of those He called to become fishers of men. Getting to know His people was a key element of His leadership. Although He spent time teaching crowds of people and interacting with all sorts of individuals, Jesus spent most of His time with those who would comprise the next set of leaders in the movement He inspired. The Bible tells how Jesus walked with them, ate meals with them, and got to know their strengths, their weaknesses, and their individual personalities. As Jesus learned about His followers, they learned about Him.
People are not born good carpenters or good leaders. They need someone to help them grow and develop. Jesus Himself learned carpentry skills from His earthly father, and He learned to be a Master Carpenter from His heavenly Father. He also learned leadership skills He would need to develop in His disciples—not to help them become good carpenters, but to help them become fishers of men.
Our next chapter highlights the fact that leaders are made, not born. It will help you become an even better performance coach as you learn about the variety of leadership styles Jesus used to help His disciples accomplish what He was telling them to do.