Leadership - Part 1
Continuing on from yesterday’s post, I want to spend a bit of time in some of my next few posts talking about leadership. Whether you are a leader or not, I’d love to invite you to join in with the conversation and share you own thoughts. Feel free to disagree with anything I say, as well as adding your own experiences and reflections.
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I think too much emphasis with leadership has been on knowing exactly where you are going, all the time. You know, have a clear five, ten, even fifteen year plan. There can be a place for these, but I think it is more important that leaders have a healthy relationship with the people they are leading and that there is trust in the leaders ability to lead, even when they don’t know where they’re going. Trust such that, even if the leader only has a compass and not a map, the leader can handle the compass and lead through whatever terrain or obstacles may come along. And the truth is, there are no maps for the world that is emerging.
Life is full of the unknown. The world we live in is moving faster and faster. We can’t predict the terrain leaders will be guiding people though tomorrow. Today’s world requires leaders who are fluid and flexible, comfortable with change and uncertainty. Leaders need to be able to handle pressure and react appropriately to the circumstances that emerge. And the more consistently leaders do this, the greater the trust will be in those leaders. Trust is earned. It doesn’t matter what title a leader has; leaders have to earn the trust of those they lead.
Leadership is much more of an art than a science. It is about feeling rather than formula. There are things that all leaders can learn to improve their leadership, but is largely instinctive. It is about learning to trust those instincts too. And yes, there’s trial and error in that. Mistakes will be made. But great leaders are not those who never get anything wrong; great leaders are those who learn from their mistakes. Pretending it wasn’t a mistake or plain denying it completely undermines trust. People are more forgiving of a leader who admits mistakes than a leader who tries to cover them up.
What do you think? Is trust in a leader more important than the leader knowing where they’re going all of the time?
January 26th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
I agree with much that you say but think best leaders are those who are not just dependent on themselves - I think Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu is a great leader. He had wisdom and courage and a clear sense of God’s call to his leadership role. He could see the President in his office and greet him as a brother and then tell him- what you are doing is wrong. He received a lot of hate and threats to his life and that of his family but trusted God and did not hate. In fact if you meet him you find he overflows with love- which may explain why those who met him could no longer hate him.
The secret power is of course his life of prayer. Spending time listening to God as well as interceeding for all those he was leading.
I conclude from this that a leader has vision about the direction to go , humility, courage even if he is unpopular, and open to the promptings of God–and thus able to listen to people and treat all with respect.
January 26th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
I think you’ve got some good thoughts here about the emerging or missional leader.
In his book, ‘Relational Leadership’, Walter Wright claims leadership can only be exercised in an atmosphere of forgiveness. As we keep moving on there will be many mistakes made - as you suggest - and there will be many comparisons to be made with the all-competent leader of “days gone by”, but then I would have to ask how many risks the seemingly omni-competent leader has made.
There is certainly pressure from within church communities to be clear about what lies on the road in front of the journeying community, and I recall what Erwin McManus said about people expecting him to have sight like an eagle’s but really he’s more like a bat!
I have absolute confidence that there’s an amazing confidence in the future but I don’t know what it looks like yet or exactly how I, and those I’m working with, will get there, but I’m moving towards it.
January 26th, 2007 at 2:39 pm
oh….don’t get me started on this topic Sam…! I am passionate about leadership, and even MORE passionate about how to lead God’s way..!
Lots of good points have already been made, here’s my top three.
1 Humility - a good leader needs to recognize they are not ‘all that’. Their gifting is no more important than somebody else’s. A good leader has to recognize who brings wisdom, who brings encouragement etc. etc. etc. and value those sources.
2 Relational - a leader who can’t relate to each person individually is not a leader. You can’t lead somebody if you don’t take time to understand them. A leader who uses a compass, needs the support of his team to adjust to changes. They are more likely to respond to change if they feel the leader has considered them in the process. A good leader uses and builds on the strengths of the people God has placed around them.
3 God-Led - a good leader CAN’T not be in front of His Lord, on his knees over and over and over. And not the ‘God help me’ kinds of prayers, but the ‘God fill me, use me, guide me, teach me’ kinds of prayers. Many people in leadership don’t find ‘the time’ for this most important step. They need to trust that if God gifted them, he will line up the pieces…leaders need to take time to be with him to adjust the compass.
I look forward to the rest of this discussion…!
V.
January 26th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
What does it look like to build this kind of trust? Is it being dependable? Is it not screwing up? Is it following through? Is it answering all of the questions?
My leader is one whom I trust. I follow him even when I don’t agree. I question if he knows where he is going but I don’t question his heart. He is honesty with I don’t know is more trust building then an avoided question. The leadership principle he is trying to hammer into me is “the art of lowering anxiety.” Carrying yourself in a posture of minimal anxiety allows people to see clearer and follow.
Looking foward to part 2
January 26th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
Jean, thanks for visiting my blog. The thoughts that you share are spot on, and Archbishop Tutu is a wonderful example of a great leader. Humility and courage - what a powerful combination.
Geoffrey, I agree completely that forgiveness has got to flourish if great leadership is going to happen. And that forgiveness needs to flow both ways. I think that great leadership emerges in an enviroment of graciousness and encouragement. Graciousness in the sense of love and forgiveness flowing constantly, and encouragement in the sense of imparting courage, calling each other towards greatness.
Vivian, I shall very much try to get you started! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Humility is undoubtedy right at the heart of great leadership. Lowering our selves for the benefit of others. Even suffering for the benefit of others. Leadership is not the top rung of the ladder, it is underneath the lowest rung, serving others, equipping them to become all that they were created to be.
You are right too about the importance of relationships. And it is in an enviroment of healthy, meaningful relationships that trust emerges. And the stronger that bond, the greater the potential to make a significant difference.
And again, walking closely with God is essential in any form of church/missional/spiritual leadership. Leaders are called to lead only under God’s leadership. Submission is about coming under the mission of God. If leaders are not hearing from God, they are leading people astray.
Marty, thanks for your thoughts and questions. One thing about trust is that there are no shortcuts. Trust emerges through shared experiences, journeying together. Humility, courage, integrity…these are some of the things that build trust. Great leaders make your feel stronger, empowered. Great leaders inpire you to pour yourself out for a greater cause. I’m not sure necessarily whether leadership is always about reducing anxiety, but I do think great leaders foster an environment where anxiety fuels action rather than cripples people into passivity.
Thanks for all your thoughts so far…lets keep this conversation going!
January 26th, 2007 at 5:43 pm
I like what I’m reading and so much resonates with what I’m reading at the moment.
Picking up on trust - Erwin McManus (Soul Cravings) talks about how we’re looking for someone who is trustworthy: Jesus didn’t say, “Here is the truth”, but “I am the Truth”.
Then take what John Burke (No Perfect People Allowed) shares about truth being humble, rational, incarnational, and practical. Although he is primarily using these in the context of sharing the good news with others, I wonder how these descriptors might be used of the trustworthy leader others may place their trust in. As has been said, this can only take time.
I’m also reading the opening chapters of Joshua, where he’s taking over leadership from Moses. Three times God says to him that he must be strong and courageous - presumably because he feels neither strong nor courageous. The third time God says this, he promises that he will be with Joshua - the trustworthy one.
The fourth time Joshua is told to be strong and courageous it is by the Israelites. They seem to be willing to have this guy lead them who needs a lot of encouragement; the one thing they won’t compromise in is the relationship Joshua has with God: “Only may the LORD your God be with you as he was with Moses” (1:17).
January 27th, 2007 at 8:44 am
Interesting post Sam. I liked the post but the comments it evoked are what struck me. I read your post before I saw the comments…then I thought I clicked the wrong link. Nothing in the post was about God or the bible but nearly all the comments were.
It made me think how we contextualize the message to our circumstances and how easy it could be to assume everyone else heard the same thing.
The ‘leadership’ thoughts struck me as a business leader, and as one who leads people through hardship.
To answer your question, from my perspective:
> “Is trust in a leader more important than the leader knowing where they’re going all of the time?”
People will follow the leader they trust more than the ‘know-it-all’ - everytime.
Leaders must be willing to step forward into the unknown, assured that they will find a way through the uncertainty. Draw the best from those you’re leading, you don’t have to have all the answers. You simply need the courage, the audacity, and the awareness that those you’re leading will contribute to the journey if they believe there is someone to follow.
January 27th, 2007 at 10:28 am
Steve, you’re dead right. I know that a lot of people who follow my blog are not connected to any church and their context is very different from many who have commented so far. It was my intention when writing my earlier response to comments to ask that we keep this dicussion more broadly about leadership in any context without narrowing it solely to the subject of spiritual leadership. It can certainly include that, but not to the exclusion of other leadership arenas such as your own. So thanks for doing that for me!
I love what you say about leaders needing audacity. I love that word, and so true in the arena of leadership of any form.
January 27th, 2007 at 1:17 pm
I stand guilty.
I am someone who has lived in the corporate leadership world and am transitioning to ………..? Knowing God orchestrated those circumstances I have been assuming there is a spiritual calling behind it.
This post makes me think….
(now it has made me think about how I might be viewing my life in a tunnel and forces me to stop pigeonholing myself)
thanks again for raising the topic Sam (and the red flag Steve!) - let’s keep going!
V.
January 27th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
Well I’m fast learning that leadership as a modernistic expression is becoming like the clutch of my car… Its wearing out! Everytime I see someone lead in this fashion my tolerence for that style is begining to grind like my gearbox. However, the emerging leadership style also makes me nervious because we don’t really know what it looks like! It make me feel vunrable as a “Leader” which is a good thing because “vunrability” will be a great sign of a “emerging leader.” Maybe this is what it means to live by faith? Thankyou Sam for making me feel even more nervious! ha ha.. Its a good thing because It means I can’t do leadership on my own. I can only join the journey and within that journey my contribution that was once absolute will now have to be one of inspirational. Heres to continual learning! Adam