By: Digby Wilkinson on November 21, 2018
Further back than I care to remember, I wrote a dissertation titled, Interpreting the Text: The Gulf between Trained Clergy and the Laity.[1]The motivation came at the end of my first year in ordained ministry. What surprised me was the cavernous gap spanning the way I viewed scripture and society in contrast to the people…
By: Rhonda Davis on November 17, 2018
This week did not go as planned. Unfortunately, I came face-to-face with my humanity and how quickly my seemingly indestructible super-suit can be rendered inactive. I have been nursing a knee injury for weeks now, but a bad encounter with a staircase this week has left me down for the count, awaiting the orthopedic surgeon’s…
By: Jason Turbeville on November 17, 2018
Have you ever had one of those moments when you realize you have been working in the completely wrong direction? (read that in Andy Rooney’s voice) This happened to me on Thursday, I was about to start writing my blog post for this week, and per usual, I started to glance at the other posts…
By: Nancy VanderRoest on November 16, 2018
Before you can lead someone else, you must be able to lead yourself. That includes your sense of purpose, your self-actualization, discipline and humility. But the question is: how does one truly become a good leader? The answer is to read and steal from others! According to Adler in How to Read a Book, reading…
By: Digby Wilkinson on November 16, 2018
I have just returned from leading a retreat for people who will be ordained in our denomination this Saturday. They will be Priests ordained to lead and care for the people of God. The themes are always centred on spiritual formation, self-awareness, prayer and so on. Invariably we do a session of leadership, and this…
By: Tammy Dunahoo on November 16, 2018
Having read more books on leadership in the last thirty-seven years of pastoral ministry than I can count, editors Nohria and Khurana’s Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice was a breath of fresh air with its scholarly research rather than popular opinions. Searching the word “leadership” in Amazon results in over 90,000 titles made available.…
By: Kyle Chalko on November 16, 2018
What it’s about. This is in line with emotional intelligence, and developing social awareness and human behavioral management abilities that the rest of the semester has also focused on. It’s the “working with people” problem that people never seem to be able to get away from. What I liked Many business leaders and many who…
By: Trisha Welstad on November 16, 2018
After reading Edwin Friedman’s Failure of Nerve, I have not stopped pondering the influence a leader has, whether or not they are near those they lead. The idea that a leader can have a major impact on an organization or family system indirectly is profound, especially that the effect can be just as much or…
By: Greg on November 15, 2018
An image that has haunted me, not only from Hong Kong but also from the many temples that I have visited, is of a mother or father that are pushing their child to kneel, incense in hand and bowing before a golden image that is so beautifully decorated, immaculately polished yet unable to provide the…
By: Jean Ollis on November 15, 2018
I’m pleasantly surprised again this week! Kets de Vries has written a poignant leadership book – Leadership Mystique – full of practical and culturally competent leadership wisdom. Even better, Kets de Vries is a psychologist and “speaks my [social work] language”. There are so many parallels to past themes in prior readings in Kets de…
By: Karen Rouggly on November 15, 2018
My work is in the middle of a tornado. Honestly, I’m expecting a cow to fly by my office window at any second of the day (Twister, anyone?)[1]. At least it feels that way. Every day is a new adventure in learning to lead and be led in the midst of trial. In fact, many…
By: Wallace Kamau on November 15, 2018
The African Continent is highly endowed with resources, from natural mineral resources, big water bodies and rivers traversing the continent, wild life and great geographical diversity and beauty that present great opportunities for tourism, vast stretches of land with good climate that favors agriculture, opportunities for harnessing renewable energy, and more. The African continent also…
By: Dan Kreiss on November 15, 2018
No, Really. The title is for you. Don’t stop here, keep on moving to a blog with something to say. The whole thing was just a struggle this week. Thoughts are disjointed and unclear. For some reason, though I usually really enjoy writing, it is just not working this week. I encourage you to skip…
By: Shawn Hart on November 15, 2018
“ Using the clinical paradigm he describes the dysfunctional behaviors of a leader as a dramatic, suspicious, detached, depressive or compulsive personality and the resulting, potentially dysfunctional organizational culture.”[1] This was an interesting read on leadership, especially when combined with a video series led by Francis Chan titled “Letters to the Church[2];” which takes a…
By: Chris Pritchett on November 15, 2018
The Leadership Mistique: leading behavior in the human enterprise By Manfred Kets De Vries In his book, The Leadership Mystique, Manfred Kets De Vries is concerned with what causes leaders to fail and become corrupt. Why are so many leaders self-destructive? Why don’t leaders get the best out of their people? Why do so many…
By: Mary Mims on November 15, 2018
Moving to the Washington, DC area from the Midwest of Michigan presented a different perspective of leadership. Leadership in the blue-collar states of the Midwest for me was represented by hard work and dedication to a company. Many believe if you work hard for a company, you will gain new knowledge, and move up in…
By: Jay Forseth on November 15, 2018
In my stewardship role, I was often surprised at lending institutions when they made churches going through building campaigns take out massive life insurance policies on the lead pastor. The longer I am in leadership and financial circles, the more it makes sense. If something happens to the Lead Pastor, there is a high probability…
By: Colleen Batchelder on November 15, 2018
Kets De Vries envelopes me within his text and dares me to go beyond the surface – He challenges me to question the WHY of my WHAT. For years, I have been compelled by the cries of my generation. However, ministering to Millennials and Gen Z is not the same as working alongside them. It’s…
By: Rev Jacob Bolton on November 15, 2018
As our cohort continues to learn, read, and share, we have been able to also learn quite a bit about one another. Many of us are proud of the geographic in which we live. I know it is very fun for me to share stories with Mary and Nancy about our Michigan histories. Jenn and…
By: Mike on November 15, 2018
Manfred Kets de Vries’ The Leadership Mystique is a behavioral self-discovery guide for aspiring global leaders. As a distinguished professor and author of over 40 books and 350 academic papers Kets de Vries is a scholarly voice to hear from concerning leadership. I have been a student of leadership for over 30 years and look…
