Changing Relationships
Open Leadership by Charlene Li who co-authored Groundswell is essentially a book about transforming relationships. There are 3 main sections. First, she makes the case that giving up control is inevitable and then gives 10 characteristics on what giving up control and being open look like. Second, she unpacks what a strategy to create open leadership looks like. Third, she explains the benefits of being open and how to measure open leadership. Open leadership is not about adopting a new “mantra” or even philosophy. For Li, Open Leadership is an approach to strategy and leadership. It is about changing relationships.
I approached this book with two questions in my mind. First, what is this book assuming about humanity? Second, how can this book help a bivocational pastor become a better leader?
This book assumes that humans are consumers and desire to contribute to the organizations that are providing them the goods and services we consume daily. These goods and services are consumed in the U.S. mostly from private businesses like Dell, Apple, Google, and Proctor & Gamble. However, these goods and services are also consumed from non-profits and government sectors as well. For example, the American Red Cross after a disaster like Hurricane Katrina or the United States Department of Defense. The book also assumes that humans desire relationship and social technologies are making it easier for us to relate to the providers of our goods and services.
Out of the assumption that we desire relationship, Li offers strategies and stories of how to transform relationships by using social technologies. One huge part of any relationship is voice. We’ve talked about this with Hirschman, Friedman and even with The Leadership Mystique. Today’s social technologies are giving consumers a voice that is both loud and easy to share. I have a friend who rents her basement on AirBnB and she says they live and die by their reviews. In other words, her customer’s voice has the power to help or hurt business. Power is shifting in organizations and LI explains how Open Leadership can adapt.
This book is helpful for bivocational pastors. I found her engagement triangle on page 61 to be very helpful. In a way it reminded me of the old 80/20 Rule. However, I appreciate the levels of Curator, Producer, Commenter, Sharer and Watcher. I think a bivocational pastor can apply this to her church as a way to audit who is doing what.
Another helpful concept is the Sandbox Covenant (106). It is hard sometimes for bivocational pastors to define boundaries and create a safe place to play. Bivocational pastors tend to blur boundaries. However, having covenants is an essential part of building trust (109). People who are part of a bivocational pastor lead church need to know what procedures dictate how things will operate in the church. One idea from Li with this is to create social media guidelines. I see this as essential for churches. Two weeks ago I had to have a series of conversations with a Sunday School teacher and a mom and an elder because a person posted on Facebook some negative comments about the Sunday School teacher. It was hurtful and time consuming. Guidelines and a Sandbox Covenant would have helped avoid some of the pain and disappointment.
One huge struggle for bivocational pastors is authenticity. Li has a great section on what authenticity really means. “To be a leader, you must first be a good person with intangibles like integrity, honesty, fairness, respect for people, a sense of humor, and daring” (190). But that is not all there is to authenticity. Li states, “Authenticity is largely defined by what other people see in you and, as such, can to a great extent be controlled by you” (191). To do this bivocational pastors must be true to our values and focus on what we want to accomplish (192). Second, to build authenticity skills we must start small 192).
Her final advice in her Action Plan: Starting The Transformation is to be patient. Although patience does seem to contradict her first step of creating a sense of urgency, I see patience as an essential step to changing our relationships as leaders with those in our churches. The call for patience assumes that generally speaking humanity is not patient. It also aids bivocational pastors by encouraging us that these things take time. I appreciate that we read this book and I have already spent some time on the open-leadership.com site for more materials. Here’s to becoming more open!
About the Author
Aaron Peterson
I am a working priest which means that I am a husband(to Lisa), dad(to four wonderful children), senior pastor and church planter(The Hub Vineyard Church), and high school social studies teacher(Verdugo Hills High School LAUSD). I am currently working towards a DMIN in Leadership & Global Perspectives @George Fox Seminary.10 responses to “Changing Relationships”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Aaron,
Great post. I especially loved the part about authenticity. People don’t always gravitate to pastors, especially the unchurched but they would gravitate to a ‘good person.” I believe that’s the advantage of bi-vocational leaders because the public gets to see them constantly outside of the spiritual arena. It’s easier to be a pastor if the only time the public sees me is on a stage or on church days. However, when you (Aaron) are challenged to remain consistent (as a good person) when a student or parent becomes irrational, it is easier for them to submit your leadership as a pastor. Authenticity in the openness is in full effect because the pastor is seen as a good person outside the spiritual safety (the church).
Garfield
Thanks Garfield. I agree. It seems to me in southern California the church in general is not seen as a safe place spiritually. One of my goals is to create a safe space. Thanks for the reminder!
Aaron
You wrote, “This book assumes that humans are consumers and desire to contribute to the organizations that are providing them the goods and services we consume daily. These goods and services are consumed in the U.S. mostly from private businesses like Dell, Apple, Google, and Proctor & Gamble. However, these goods and services are also consumed from non-profits and government sectors as well.”
With the voice made available to people through social media, and furthering the notion that we can all speak to leadership, do you see any danger that this feeds into Consumer Religion? Does this further consumerism or relationship more?
Your story of the woman posting negative comments about a Sunday School teacher is troubling for several reasons. These days, I am amazed at the lack of discretion in some people as to the appropriate time and place to ‘air the family linen.’
Yes, Marc, I do see a danger. My concern is what kind of voice we use via social media. I have it to be true that so many people use a voice on social media that they would never use in person to someone’s actual face. This is scary.
It is scary. That’s one reasons I think a real relationship takes place with two people in the same room.
Aaron,
Great job on explicating the book and the contextualization.
I was surprised at your statements, “It is hard sometimes for bivocational pastors to define boundaries and create a safe place to play. Bivocational pastors tend to blur boundaries.” And, “The church in general, is not seen as a safe place spiritually.” Could you please unpack those statements for me?
Hi Claire. I can speak personally to that. It has been a long struggle of mine to focus on teaching my students when I am at school teaching. So often I get a thought for church or I find my mind wandering about church issues when I should be grading papers or lesson planning. Also, there are times when I’m doing Hub-stuff and I find my mind thinking about what needs to happen at school. That is what I meant by boundary blurring. On a positive note, I love to be able to pastor people at school, and teach people at church.
Aaron,
You quoted LiI with this quote…“Authenticity is largely defined by what other people see in you and, as such, can to a great extent be controlled by you” How do you control your authenticity? Are you more authentic at school or at church? Or are you the same in both places? If you control that how do you control it at home and in your own private world?
I found this an interesting part of openness. I am as open as I can be but what would push me to be truly open?
Just some thoughts as I was reading your blog.
Thanks
Kevin
Hi Kevin. I have tried for the last decade to seek to be more authentic in both contexts. By this I mean, I want to just be one person; the same at school and at church. It’s not particularly easy, but it is a path I strive to be on.
Aaron,
I enjoyed your blog and your approach identifying the assumptions of the book. I was left wondering, how did you deal with the Facebook post about the Sunday school teacher?
Pablo