Becoming A Redemptive Leader

Predators, Protectors, and Redemptive Business:

Most business schools and books assume the biggest leadership problems are “out there”—market forces, competition, talent shortages, regulations, or the complexity of growth. But scripture and neuroscience remind us that the greatest challenge is actually inside every leader. As Dr. Jim Wilder writes in his book, The Pandora Problem – Facing Narcissism in Leaders & Ourselves, “Our brains are born already wired to see the world through predator eyes.” This means every one of us—entrepreneurs, executives, small business owners, team leaders—begins life seeking to consume all that we want. It’s natural to protect our interests, defend our image, secure our advantage, and pursue success at the expense of relationships.

You’ve felt this in yourself. You’ve seen it in others. Predator wiring shows up in business all the time:

• Pressuring people to meet your expectations because you’re anxious about results.

• Centering discussions around what you want instead of what the team needs.

• Using your title to win arguments.

• Reacting defensively when someone challenges your idea.

• Expecting loyalty while withholding empathy.

• Seeing people as obstacles or tools rather than image-bearers.

These behaviors are common—but they are not Christ-like. And they are not the kind of leadership that builds joy, belonging, or trust. This is why Wilder warns us: A spiritual life that does not change predators into protectors is not an effective spiritual life. And he adds, “While everyone is born with the brain wiring needed to be a predator, training in the gentle–protector skills are needed to form godly character.”

If you want to build a redemptive business—the kind Praxis partners Dave Blanchard, Andy Crouch, and Scott Kauffmann describe in their book, The Redemptive Business – A Playbook for Leaders, as fueled by sacrificial love—you must first become a redemptive person. In other words: You must work on becoming a protector-leader.

This is the most important leadership development journey you will ever take.

A Redemptive Business Requires a Redemptive Leader

Praxis defines redemptive business as work done for creative restoration through sacrifice. That sounds inspiring, but it’s impossible to sustain unless the leader has matured from predator to protector. Because predators don’t sacrifice; predators take, control, and dominate. Protectors, however, use their strength to protect weakness and help others flourish.

This is why Praxis says, “We surrender our personal ambition to God and seek first the good of others.” Only a protector can say that honestly.

A predator says, “I seek my ambition first, and everything else will fall in line.”

But a protector says, “I lay down my ambition so others may thrive.”

This is the core difference—and it shows up everywhere: in identity, decision-making, culture, partnerships, hiring, conflict, and strategy. You cannot lead a redemptive business if you have not first become a redemptive person. You cannot build a healthy business with an unhealthy soul. 

This is why a leader’s spiritual formation is not a private matter—it is a business matter. Because predator-style leadership, even when dressed in professionalism, competence and results, cannot produce a redemptive culture. It can only produce compliance, fear, and burnout.

Protectors create safety, joy, and trust. They value people over preferences and relationships over results. They steward power for the good of others—not for the elevation of self.

The Leader Shapes the Culture

Consider a CEO I once worked with—let’s call him Mark. He loved his business, but what he loved most was winning. Success wasn’t just a metric; it was his identity.

His team felt it. Meetings were tense. People chose silence over honesty. The culture was efficient but brittle. His predator wiring – his ambition, urgency, self-protection, and need for control – filled the room, and everyone knew that crossing him, even unintentionally, was costly.

During a quarterly session, one brave leader finally spoke: “I don’t feel safe around you.”

That moment stopped him in his tracks. He didn’t know how to handle the comment because no one had ever been so brave to declare it. And it revealed a truth he had avoided: he was leading through his childhood, predator self.

Mark didn’t need a better KPIs, systems, or talent. He needed a better self – a more mature, protector-self.

If only he had received the message and begun maturing into protector mode—listening more, slowing down, sharing leadership, seeking others’ well-being. Rather, he ignored it. 

Three weeks later that leader resigned.

A predator can run a profitable company. But only a protector can lead a redemptive one.

Now contrast that with a leader I'll call Sarah. Her company was growing, but she noticed strain in her team. Instead of tightening the reins or demanding more output, during an annual session she called the team together and said: “Your well-being matters more than our pace. How can we help?”

No defensiveness. No urgency. No fear.

As tears of frustration and despair flowed from others, she listened with joy and curiosity—what Wilder calls the marks of a relationally mature brain. Her next question sealed it: “What would make this a place where you can thrive?”

That is a protector question.

By the end of the second day, seats were shifted and roles were clarified, workloads were restructured. The team reengaged. Turnover dropped. Creativity returned. Performance went up because fear went down.

Sarah wasn’t just building a better business model. She was building a better business because of who she was becoming.

Why This Matters for Redemptive Business

Praxis teaches that leaders of a redemptive business sacrifice: We surrender our personal ambition to God and seek first the good of others, not ourselves. And only protectors can sacrifice consistently.

Predators will always protect their ambition. Protectors protect people and their weaknesses.

Predators create anxiety. Protectors create joy.

Predators extract value. Protectors cultivate value.

A redemptive business requires a redemptive leader. And a redemptive leader is, by definition, a protector. 

This is why your own emotional maturity is not secondary to business strategy—it is the strategy. Culture follows character. Safety follows presence. Joy follows maturity.

And transformation flows outward: from the leader → to the team → to customers → to families → to communities.

The Invitation

Ask not: “How do I build a redemptive business?” 

Rather, ask: “Am I becoming the kind of person who can lead one?”

You were born with predator wiring. But through joy, community, spiritual formation, and practicing brain skills, you can mature into a protector—the kind of leader people trust, follow, and thank God for.

As you become that kind of leader, building a redemptive business becomes the natural overflow of who you are.

Ready to grow? Contact: bstromwall@odigos.llc.