Around Christmastime we hear the term “incarnation” more and more. Jesus…incarnate. And we have come to know the meaning of the term as “God with us.” As one encyclopedia put it:

The central Christian doctrine that God became flesh, that God assumed a human nature and became a man in the form of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the second person of the Trinity.

So, I was a little surprised to see the term “incarnational leader” in the book by my friend Dr. Brent Taylor. Brent is a pastor, teacher, author, speaker, historian, and generally good guy. In his new book, Presidential Leadership, Dr. Taylor titled the first chapter, “George Washington, Incarnational Leadership.” As the first president of the United States, Washington made his mark on the new nation and on the world. One of his close friends, in eulogizing General Washington, said of him, “First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.”

How do you attain accolades like that in one of the most challenging tasks for a man leading a new country? Brent Taylor would say it is incarnational leadership. Let me explain. In Taylor’s mind, an incarnational leader is one who is with the people. And that leader is one who reflects the very nature of the organization or entity that they head up. The Oxford English Dictionary says of the word incarnational, “…to be an expression of or the tangible or viable presence to an idea, quality or feeling.”

We often identify a leader by what they do…what they accomplish. Yet Taylor says that first and foremost the incarnational leader is all about being. Therefore, things like values and character are not mere buzz words, they are central to their life and leadership. Brent Taylor spells it out this way:

“Good leaders know what they believe, why they believe it, and how to put those beliefs into practice.”

It is a good idea to look at the difference between a leader and a manager. Steve Jobs is quoted as saying, “Management is about persuading people to do things they do not want to do, while leadership is about inspiring people to do things they never thought they could.”

So, an incarnational leader is not a manager. Nor is he just a boss. The 26th U. S. President Theodore Roosevelt said, “People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. The leader leads, and the boss drives.” Dr. Taylor points out that leaders “…view themselves as fellow team members who are helping the entire team accomplish their goal.”

I hope you are getting the picture of what true incarnational leadership is all about. Author Kenneth Blanchard says in his book, Lead Like Jesus, “Leadership is not about power. It’s not about control; it’s about helping people live according to the vision.”

Remember the words of Jesus to His disciples. On several occasions these Christ-followers missed the point on true leadership. Jesus had to set them straight on the topic.

“Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.” Mark 9:35b NLT

Incarnational leadership had as an example the man who led America as it was being formed, and did it most often by example, with the people, in humility, as a servant.

The best example of this kind of leadership is, of course, Jesus Christ. He was the incarnational leader, the servant leader, and the One who shows us what true leadership is.

We should take stock in how we lead…and see how we measure up.