Equipping Tomorrow’s Leaders
by Matt Kaminski, Co-Program Director of Applied Leadership
Are you someone who draws people together and loves to lead a team, but building a budget and creating a marketing strategy feel awkward and foreign? Or perhaps you are someone who is talented with numbers and ideas, yet you feel lost and exhausted when dealing with the people on your team, who look to you for guidance and support.
It is often said that a person is either a leader or a manager… as if a person cannot be both. And while this may be true in some cases, we at Columbia, and specifically within the Applied Leadership Program, believe that leadership and management are two sides of the same coin and that a person ought to be equipped in both. If you are good with numbers, concepts, and spreadsheets, you will still need to interact with, and at times lead, people. If you are relationally gifted, you would still do well to learn how to read and build a budget. A well-rounded leader ought to be aware and capable of both sets of skills.
The Applied Leadership Program at Columbia Bible College aims to do just that, and more. Applied Leadership is a hybrid degree that includes the “soft skills” of leadership, the “hard skills” of management, built on a strong Biblical foundation that centers on the person of Jesus. Each class within the program is practical and hands-on: Application, not just theory.
We strive to equip people to be authentic and competent, transformational, servant leaders. We want people to understand who God has created them to be and then lead from that place. We want people to desire transformation, in themselves and in those they lead. We want people to lead in a posture of service.
Our goal is to provide students with a greater awareness of how Jesus led, with the hope that His example influences their understanding and practice of leadership, ultimately reflecting Jesus to the world.
According to John Maxwell, “Leadership is influence.” But you have to consider the type of influence that you want to have in your family, your workplace, and this world. At Columbia, and within the Applied Leadership Program, we desire that our students will know Jesus and redemptively shape their communities by “seeking first the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33).