Leadership & Emulsification
There were several ‘ways in’ to this week’s text for me. Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice is a welcome addition to my personal library as it provides a dense overview of leadership as an academic discipline. I found the sections on hard and soft power and identity-based leader development especially helpful. But I was intrigued most when the authors gave an overview of section five entitled: ‘The Development of Leaders: Knowing, Doing and Being.’[1]Woah.
Did they know my own struggle and story? Did these academic researchers know how painful it has been for me to include ‘being’ along with all my ‘doing’? And how I am now deeply convinced these things are irretrievably connected and essential for any leadership challenge?
I tired some time ago of my approach of one-dimensional, formulaic leadership development, which seemed to overemphasize doing without paying proper attention to being or knowing. But this was not always so. I cannot delve into all the ways my strong preference for doing was cemented in formative, developmental years but suffice it to say that is complex. Even without forces from my Pentecostal church heritage, home dynamics, or American cultural values, my own personality brings enough inclination. As an enneagram three type (achiever), we experience the world as a place that only values people for what they do and accomplish and not for who they are.[2]
I was encouraged to read that ‘In contrast to knowing and doing, scholars who focus on “being” highlight that leadership is perhaps more importantly a matter of developing the identity of a leader—a self-concept that enables someone to think of himself or herself as a leader and to interact with the world from that identity or sense of being.’[3] Yes. This is helpful for my personal research insofar as it raises the connection between these things, not that it answers where our identity or sense of being originates from. But I am grateful that at least some scholars assert how critical the inner world of leaders are and how much suffering there is when we fail to attend to it.
I continue to contemplate on an illustration Dr. Jason Clark offered during a lecture in Hong Kong. He posited that we should see being and doing as an emulsion that once whipped together could not be separated. I have found that it is wasteful of precious energy to attempt to compartmentalize them and it is better to receive them both into our lives. Surely the solution is not to cut out or necessarily decrease the doing – what would that even mean or look like? How long can one just ‘be’? In contrast though, and considered much less in general, how long can one just ‘do’?
I have wondered for some time if contemplatives have more to teach the modern, evangelical leadership community. They have certainly taught me. But I had to find them on my own due to my pain and later in life than I would have liked. And definitely later in life than I want for the generations behind me. Do they know something about deep rest, reflecting on the love of God and daily examination of the human heart, with its mixed motives, that profoundly impacts our leadership? I think so.
And while I struggle to articulate and unpack this pivotal shift for me, I know deeply that leadership was not sustainable for me with its excessive emphasis on doing and lack of space and respect for knowing and being. I need it all and I desire the emulsification process to continue. But for emulsification to work, it needs more than one ingredient. And I will probably have to pay attention to this recipe for the rest of my life.
It has been helpful to now understand that contemplation and self-reflection does not lead to inaction or laziness. It actually leads to better, healthier action and less unexamined reactions.[4] Perhaps academia is recognizing this as well? ‘The willingness and capacity for individuals to be self-reflective…must also be recognized as crucial to the development of leaders. Indeed, developing this capacity for disciplined and honest self-reflection may be essential.’[5]
I conclude with a quote from Evelyn Underhill, an early nineteenth century mystic, that I have been sitting with for a couple of weeks:
“We mostly spend [our] lives conjugating three verbs: to Want, to Have, and to Do… forgetting that none of these verbs have any ultimate significance, except so far as they are transcended by and included in, the fundamental verb, to Be.”[6]
I am optimistic about the future of church leadership development especially as we make space for knowing and being, alongside all our doing.
[1]Nitin Nohria and Rakesh Khurana, Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice (Boston: Harvard Business Review Press, 2014).
[2]Cron, Ian, writer. “Part 1: Don Miller on Directing Your New Story (Enneagram 3) [S02-014].” In Typology. November 1, 2018.
[3]Khurana and Nohria, Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice, 21.
[4]Rohr, Richard. Immortal Diamond: The Search for Our True Self. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2013, 71.
[5]Khurana and Nohria, Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice, 22.
[6]Underhill, Evelyn. Spiritual Life. Place of Publication Not Identified: Martino Fine Books, 2013.
About the Author
Andrea Lathrop
I am a grateful believer in Jesus Christ, a wife, mom and student. I live in West Palm Beach, Florida and I have been an executive pastor for the last 8+ years. I drink more coffee than I probably should every day.9 responses to “Leadership & Emulsification”
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This is deep. First, I hear you in this blog. It’s written in the voice that comes from your being. It’s almost like you’re talking the words to me over some sushi in Hong Kong. I appreciate that about this blog, especially because I think it comes from such a deep place of your being. The articulation of your thoughts is insightful and really good. Thanks for sharing!
I agree with Karen. Very deep. Also, very poignant. We all need more self reflection, but often make that sort of activity the last thing on our “to do” list.
What would leadership, academia, the church, look like if we first focused on being . . . then on wanting, having, and doing?
Karen & Jacob – thank you for your encouragement. This week’s writing took a bit more courage from me than normal because I was determined to ‘use’ this text for exploring my dissertation direction. I noticed it takes more courage to be true to who I deeply am instead of writing in a safer way – not sure this makes sense. But your kind words are encouraging.
I appreciate you pointing out the idea of “deep rest” as you share it here; and the importance of being. I think as leaders we go about our day going a hundred miles an hour in all directions. There are still days when I feel that way. I used to think this was the way to to get noticed by my bosses who ultimately will give me promotions. It’s tough because you want to succeed and that’s what gets you promotions.
Then we burn out, we ultimately lose the very thing we were striving for in the first place. So that in the end is futility.
I’m reminded of our Lord and how he kept himself from burnout. He prayed; and prayed a lot. He knew where his source of power and purpose came from. Luke 5:16, one of those easily memorizable verses says “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” The startling thing about this verse is what immediately precedes it. Jesus response to a large crowd who needed healing and the good news of the kingdom was apparently not “doing” but “being.” He was connecting with the source of his power — the Father. So instead of taking care of immediate business, Jesus withdrew to pray.
That’s almost unthinkable in our modern vision of ministry and church — and that is a sad commentary. Could you just picture this: You have a conference and had enough seating for 400; and you’ve never organized one that had over 350 attend. For whatever reason, and unexpectedly 1,200 show up and are lining out the door. What would you do? I know what Jesus would have done.
Andrea,
Thanks so much for the reminder of Dr. Clark’s illustration of seeing being and doing as an emulsion that will not become separated. I believe your post title has hit upon a working truth. Leadership development within ourselves and those we influence, is constantly in an ongoing state of emulsification (oh how I love this word!) While I am sorry for the painful lessons you have experienced, I praise God and bless you for redeeming these experiences through your newfound discovery of leadership emulsification (there it is again!) You are a living example of a leader called by God to live out your faith as he redeems all of your life experiences for your good and the good of those you influence. Blessings, H
Andrea, I like the analogy of emulsification to capture the knowing, doing, and being of leadership. As we are pursuing advanced degrees, do ministry, and lead our various roles, we need the grace of God to help us get through it all. So thank you for this reminder, Andrea, that I need to emulsify all that I am doing to create something beautiful. It can be done!
Hi Andrea. That was a great reflective post contrasting the different between doing and being. I wish more church leaders would attend to it, but it is a little confronting. Spiritual directors talk about the conflict between our inner and outer lives and the dis-integration that comes into being when we compartmentalise. About 20 years ago i began suffering from precisely that and it nearly destroyed me. I read Henri Nouwen’s fabulous books on living the integrated life. His story of giving away his flourishing academic career to would in the L’Arche communities with the profoundly disabled struck at the core of my own ego centred ministry – it was profoundly uncomfortable telling the truth about my motivatations that generally fed my fears, but it was also the moment at which I began to recover myself in ministry leadership. Ironically, despite preaching about the prodigal from time to time, that crisis and reflection was he beginning of my own prodigal moment: I was back in the arms of God as my own vulnerable, capable and often lost self. It remains a great deal better than living behind the facade. Leadership is only good leadership when it’s happening at the hands of a person growing their own integrated life. I guess that’s the aim.
There’s an old philosopher question, are you a human being or a human doing? This is generally a quip but one with some depth. I love your (or Jason’s mediated by you) of being and doing being an emulsification. I love this because an emulsification can break, which is so often what happens when we’re trying to combine our being with our doing. But when we get it right, it’s an amazing thing. Thanks for the post.
Excellent inner work going on! I shared with you a little of my own journey so you must know how loudly I am applauding you right now. The sense of being, the inner journey, is actually what gives depth of soul for the doing to flow out of. The doing has a shallow root system without the knowing and being. Stay friends with the mystics and they will guide you into the love of God. You will most likely find a new definition of leadership on this pathway.