By: Akwese on March 15, 2024
In “Leading Out of Who You Are: Discovering the Secret of Undefended Leadership,” Simon Walker invites us to engage leadership on a more personal level, seeing it as a journey of self-awareness that’s fundamentally “about who you are, not what you know or what skills you have.” With this as the foundation, he says that …
By: Jennifer Eckert on March 15, 2024
In his interview with Simon Walker, former British Petroleum executive, Lord John Browne said, regarding the work environment, he wanted to ensure that “people are who they are when they come to work and not spending half of their brain being someone else.” [1] He went on to share that for many years, he led…
By: Kari on March 15, 2024
Self-assessments, personality tests, and self-help methods are things I like to explore. I enjoy learning, especially new theories and trends. I go through phases, learning what I can, sharing with those who may seem interested, and finally applying what is relevant before I move on to a new subject. As I started to read Leading…
By: Elysse Burns on March 15, 2024
For those who have visited Rockefeller Center in New York City, you might remember a large statue of the ancient Greek Titan Atlas holding the heavens on his shoulders. Something fascinating about this statue is that depending on the angle from which Atlas is viewed, spectators might come to different conclusions concerning this Greek Titan.…
By: Joel Zantingh on March 15, 2024
I am often working with high-calibre and high-level leaders from the Canadian church landscape. Reflecting on thousands of conversations I have participated in as a friend, coach, director and consultant, I think the call to ‘lead out of who one is’ is both quest and struggle. I know firsthand the real battle of reactivity to…
By: Erica Briggs on March 14, 2024
When I was a child, I used to sing. My mother was my manager, booking gigs at local bars and theaters. I sang a range of musical arrangements from the blues (Billie Holiday’s “Good Morning Heartache) to pop (Donna Summer’s “On the Radio” – I was actually wheeled out on stage sitting on a giant…
By: Chad Warren on March 14, 2024
There is only one answer to the question, “How is your church doing?” It’s one word long: “Great!” In the last week, various people have asked me that question. One was a fellow pastor in my area, another was a mentor, and another was a congregation member. To say anything else, to be completely honest,…
By: Julie O'Hara on March 14, 2024
Reading Leading Out of Who You Are reminded me of picking at scabs. It sort of feels good to pick around the itchy edges and knock away some crusts, but go too far and there is risk of opening a partially healed wound and bleeding all over. It was just so awkward, to use my…
By: Chris Blackman on March 14, 2024
First, to my cohort and leaders, I have been suffering from a strange and sudden bout of vertigo for the last 24 hours. I’m not sure what’s going on. I am doing my best to create a blog that flows and makes sense. I hope I am achieving that—this is the best I can come…
By: Daren Jaime on March 14, 2024
Leaders are formed and not appointed. Simon Walker’s Undefended Leader addresses in detail how to rediscover leadership formation from the inside out. Using research and history as a backdrop, he highlights how a leader overcomes the battles within as the blueprint for success. Using a front stage/backstage analogy, Walker highlights how superior leaders are by…
By: Ryan Thorson on March 14, 2024
“I’ve watched my dreams all fade away And blister in the sun Everything I’ve ever had is unraveled and undone I’ve set upon a worthless stack Of my ambitious plans And the people that I’ve loved the most Have turned their backs and ran This is the good life I’ve lost everything I could ever…
By: Graham English on March 13, 2024
In Leading Out of Who You Are, Simon Walker locates the development and response of the ego in how we experience trust in our most formative years.[1] Our experience of trust manifests in one of four ego types, all of which are unhealthy and require defending.[2] Thus the defended leader is always working out of…
By: Nancy Blackman on March 13, 2024
“In order to become myself I must cease to be what I always thought I wanted to be, and in order to find myself I must go out of myself, and in order to live, I must die.” — Thomas Merton[1] The concept of undefended leadership is new to me. I appreciated how Simon Walker,…
By: Adam Cheney on March 13, 2024
For the first few weeks of living in a village house along the coast of Kenya we did not have any curtains on our windows. We were like fish in a fishbowl with everyone looking in. Though we always had an audience watching us, not having curtains allowed for the breeze to provide a little…
By: Debbie Owen on March 13, 2024
I was a drama mama. For five years, during our daughter’s first year in high school, and all four of our younger son’s years, I was backstage for the two major productions each year. I confess that I was at least partly living out my own unrealized teenage dreams of being in a play, experiencing…
By: Shela Sullivan on March 12, 2024
“Prove it through the alignment between your words and your actions. Prove it by standing up for what’s right. Prove it through measurable tangible signs of progress. Prove it through your own experience. Prove it through your phenomenal successes. Prove it through your glorious failures. And prove it all on these three levels: Prove it…
By: Diane Tuttle on March 12, 2024
Throughout this semester we have been looking at leadership from the different lenses of selected authors. This week Simon Walker brings the Undefended Leader to our attention in his book Leading Out of Who You Are, Discovering the Secret of Undefended Leadership. Essentially, the undefended leader is someone who leads out of who they are…
By: Glyn Barrett on March 12, 2024
When I was 12, I started High School in Australia. My Father was the pastor of the local Pentecostal Church, and the opening of the magnificent new church premises[1] coincided with my first weeks in a new school. The new church was the talk of the small town. It was front-page news and seemingly the…
By: Jeff Styer on March 11, 2024
Twenty-three years ago, my wife and I were given a leadership goal, and this goal was repeated three times, successfully raise this child to adulthood. As the Venn diagram shows, everyone in the family can agree upon the same goal. For us as parents (leaders) that goal gives us a vision for how we…
By: Christy on March 11, 2024
Earlier in my career, I worked for a logistics company as the director of operations. We were responsible for moving expedited international and domestic cargo, with on-call service 24/7, including holidays. This line of work was exciting for people who enjoy problem solving. There was always a thrill when trying to find a solution to…
