It has been a few weeks since I started my studies for my Ph.D. I did not think I would end up at a Christian university and have theology, Christology, anthropology, and missiology as part of my studies. I was unsure of how that would look when speaking of leadership. I have been immersed in the study of leadership for several years now, and that is what my MA is in and and what I teach at Trinity Western University. Although it is a Christian university, I teach primarily international students, and most of them are from China, Taiwan, or Hong Kong - the majority being atheists. While I touch on the Christian worldview, I am not teaching Christianity.

This is why it seemed strange that I would be excited by the opportunity to do a Ph.D. at Kairos University in partnership with Ephesiology. However, in giving up on further studies, I decided to do research and write a book on Transformational Servant Leadership. This is a co-mingling of two styles of leadership and a more well-rounded view of leadership taught at the university I graduated from and teach at. When I found out I could use this as my topic for research, I became excited and wanted to know more. Of course, servant leadership is based on the life of Jesus. If I want to know about Jesus and leadership, I must study Christology. I need to know not only who Jesus was, I need to know what he said about leadership/leaders, what he said about how we should live and lead, and how that applies to today’s culture.

I was asked, “What is your research question?” This is the part I find frustrating. I think Transformation Servant Leadership is the perfect leadership style for Millennials and GenZ. They want leaders who care, who want to change the world with them, and who have strong moral values and ethics. I know in my mind all the things I want to study for this, but the question… ugh. I had the same thing happen for my research for my MA. It took me ages to formulate a question. However, this time around, I have a mentor to help me, and I reached out to him.

Here is what we came up with: How can Transformational Servant Leadership benefit Millennials and GenZ?

So that is the question. Now to do the research.

First, I will be writing an article on this for publication, and then a fuller and more substantial dissertation.

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What do you think? For those who are into leadership as a topic, if you find this, please weigh in. I would love to hear what you have to say. Feel free to critique, make suggestions for research, and suggest articles/books you think I might find helpful.

Thanks for reading. I hope you’ll join me on this journey.

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