Leadership Development—A Field for Public Theology?

Is it possible to ‘develop’ ‘leaders’? And, should it be possible, does Public Theology have role to play? In this article, I argue that it is possible to develop leaders, provided leadership development is understood as more than a technical process aimed at transferring skills. I come to this conclusion by constructing and expanding on a minimal definition of leadership. This definition has two elements, namely: (i) leaders emerge and function in groups, and (ii) leaders exert legitimate influence. I argue that Public Theology can contribute to developing at least two leadership competences, namely collaborative and critical competences.