Leadership Approaches in World Vision International

Running Head: LEADERSHIP
LEADERSHIP

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Introduction
The purpose of the present essay is to demonstrate different theories and approaches
included within a Christian worldview. “Christian worldview is important for Christians for
successfully engaging and influencing their culture." A Christian worldview is referred to as
a framework or the beliefs and ideas held by the Christian community for interacting with the
world.1 There is much organization which leads from a Christian Worldview and follow
biblical principles within the spheres of professional practice. World Vision is one such
organization which have been chosen to study within this essay and discuss how the leaders
communicate with the values, mission and vision for the company. Also, the essay will
outline several steps that can be considered for motivating others towards the values, mission
and vision of the organisation.
Body
World Vision International is an Evangelical Christian humanitarian aid, advocacy
and development organization. The organization was established by Robert Pierce in 1950 as
a service-based organization to meet with the emergency needs of missionaries. The company
is currently active in 100 countries which collects revenue including product, grants and
foreign donations of two billion dollars2. Also, the company believes in presenting itself as an
interdenominational organization however employ its workforce from non-evangelical
Christian denominations.
Mission, Vision and Values of World Vision
World Vision is a global Christian humanitarian organization and their mission is to
partner with children, families along with communities to help them reach their full potential
by tackling the causes of injustice and poverty. Further, the mission statement of the company
is set by an international partnership of Christian who follows the Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ in order to work with poor and oppressed for promoting justice, enable human
transformation, and bear witness for the good news of the God’s Kingdom3. This mission is
achieved through holistic, integrated commitment towards community based and sustainable
transformational development especially for children, emergency relief to the people affected
1 Wagner, Richard. "The World Health Organisation: a time for reconstitution." In Fighting
the Diseases of Poverty, pp. 267-326. Routledge, 2017.
2 https://www.worldvision.org/about-us/mission-statement#1470680944790-0d7368bb-0679

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by disaster, promoting justice among the poor, partnering with churches for contributing
towards social and spiritual transformation and witnessing to Jesus Christ by deed, life, word
and sign which encourages people to respond to Gospel.
The vision statement of the World Vision organization is given by "Going to the ends.
Where no one else goes. Because Jesus is alive in the hardest places to be a child." Also, the
company sets its value by stating "We are a Christian organization working to help
communities lift themselves out of poverty. For Good." Every member of the organization
holds a strong value by believing all people are created and loved by God. As a result, they
give priorities to the people before money, systems, structure and any institutional machinery.
Furthermore, each member of World Vision acts in ways that respect uniqueness, dignity and
intrinsic worth of every person including the staffs, volunteers, boards the donor and the
poor's4. They believe in celebrating the richness of diversity in human culture, personality and
contribution.
Leadership theories communicating with the model of values, mission and value of World
Vision
Following the leadership style of the company, it can be related to various leadership
theories. The most common type of relatable theories is transformational leadership,
democratic leadership and servant leadership. Transformational leadership is a style where a
leader simultaneously engages and motivates members while assisting them in their
leadership development. These leaders empower and inspire other people to engage in
achieving organizational objectives and provide with their suggestions and insights about
how to achieve the objectives5. This is a reason due to which leaders are able to create a high
level of trust among its employees and motivate them to achieve a shared end goal. World
3 Wagner, Richard. "The World Health Organisation: a time for reconstitution." In Fighting
the Diseases of Poverty, pp. 267-326. Routledge, 2017.
4 Ademola, E. O. "Application of reframing model to a religious organization." IOSR Journal
of Business and Management 18, no. 11 (2016): 11-20.
5 Carleton, Erica L., Julian Barling, and Melissa Trivisonno. "Leaders’ trait mindfulness and
transformational leadership: The mediating roles of leaders’ positive affect and leadership
self-efficacy." Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du
comportement 50, no. 3 (2018): 185.