Did God give me the authority to lead?
Introduction
What is an undefended leader? An undefended leader is someone who has put in the work as well as has experience so that their gut reaction to any situation they are faced with is the correct response. The leader should act as a guide in their known to individuals that do not know the environment around them. They have earned trust, which is essential for being able to take individuals to an unknown place. True undefended leadership comes from authenticity.
With the right training you can accomplish almost anything except leadership. Leadership encompasses your whole self, and who are you as a person. According to the book by Walker, “Leadership is about trust and it is about power.” (1)
My first initial thought after reading the introduction was: Do I have the authority to lead by God? I really enjoyed the authors recap of Moses coupled with the phrase “Moses had to wait until he was an elderly man before God gave him the authority to lead.” (2) However, it made me think on a deeper level which is where I would like to talk through next. Who are some authority figures in the bible other than Moses that God gave authority to lead? I initially thought of Jesus, Daniel, and Paul. But then I allowed myself to submerge myself a little further and came up with some of my favorites Mary, Esther, Abraham and Sarah. All of which I believe were given the authority to lead through God. The has examples at almost every turn of stories in which he gave this authority to them.
That leads me to my own reflection: What are some examples that I feel I have or haven’t been given the authority to lead? This is such a tough question! Recently one of my biggest projects that my nonprofit has been working on is building and funding a five story building in Nepal. While I do feel my role was a leader in the states, a vessel to house finances and make connections for the orphanage at no part did I feel the authority to lead it. I didn’t have it. The authority rests with the pastor and elders of the church. They are who are working with the children daily, and taking care of needs. At the end of the project it was important to me for the building to not be in my non-profits name. Even though we provided all of the funds, it didn’t belong to us. We were not God’s end game, Against the Grain (my nonprofit) was just there to serve the kingdom. Is this possibly servant leadership? (3)
My daughter Finn and I visiting the building in Nepal.
Act 1- How leaders defend themselves…
“Idealization, idealism, and unmet emotional needs: a triad of experiences common to those who lead. Together they contribute to making the environment the leader inhibits an isolated and rarefied one.” (4)
Once upon a time I worked for a publishing company. I worked there for a couple years and quickly found my niche. My first year I had received several awards as a top closing representative with over a million dollars of business. I remember seeing my name on the awards slides thinking. Wow! You did it, and you are the newest member on the team! The thrill and recognition from all was incredible. After the first year I moved from that position in the company which was the area of Texas and New Mexico to a broader reach of California to Michigan. My job now entailed teaching all of the new representatives in the company, continued training for older reps, technical support for all reps, as well as would take multiple reps at a times territory for a multitude of reasons. I crushed it. I got glowing reviews by everyone I worked with, as well as public accolades weekly. I was asked by many of the leaders in the company how I was able to produce so much traction in my one job that they were hiring multiple people to do on the East coast. My answer was that I just buckled down and got it done, while loving what I did. The truth is that I did love my job, but I loved the attention from knocking goals out of the park more. It was very common for me to work 100 hours per week to accomplish this. I loved people coming to me to solve problems. I loved feeling imported. However I also lived, ate, and breathed my job. At one point my husband told me that I couldn’t keep doing this and I had to separate myself from my job because he didn’t marry my publisher… he married me. The reality of this is that I would never be a great leader within this company because I was not ready for it. I was very much in a “me” mentality neglecting all of my backstage responsibilities. I lived in the front stage only.
Act 2- Locating the roots of the defended self…
Walker broke down the roots to 4 egos within leadership: shaping, defining, defending, and adapting. I have been many of these in the past but in regards to the situation in act 2 I was very much a front stage definer that crashed. (5)
Act 3- The secret of the undefended leader…
In the last section of the book Walker breaks down what it means to have the freedom to fail and give as a leader. He also defines how to have a childlike approach to leadership while honing in on your sense of wonder.
After I quit my publishing job I spend a year learning how to be a proper mom and wife to my family. I had four young children and they deserved more. That year I learned how to look at life through another lens. While I learned how to play and become mom I also learned how to wonder. I learned how to thrive in mundane thankless tasks. For this I am truly thankful.
Encore
As I close, the premise of this book is just to simply guide leaders responsibly to bring their best self forward. I appreciated the new way of thinking simply looking at roles of leadership through a different lens. My follow up question to you is: Do. you feel like God has given you the authority to lead in your leadership position you currently have?
(1) Walker, S. p5. (2010). p. In The undefended leader: Leading out of who you are: Leading with nothing to lose: Leading with everything to give. essay, Piquant Editions.
(5) Simon Walker : The undefended leader trilogy. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2022, from https://alisonmorgan.co.uk/Books/Walker%202007.pdf
About the Author
Alana Hayes
Alana is a mother to four beautiful children and wife to a farmer in Texas. She is an avid world traveler with a heart for both the world and education. She is the president of the nonprofit Against the Grain Texas where they focus on providing education to children overseas and at risk adults in the states. To date the nonprofit has given almost $100,000 to individuals around the world. In her free time she loves spending meaningful time with people and reading to further her personal education.4 responses to “Did God give me the authority to lead?”
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Alana,
Thank you for sharing your journey of leadership. I love the picture of you and Finn! I can relate to the desire to live for the front stage. I have so often in my life strived to do things just for the accolades, the pat on the back. However, I never felt good enough. No matter the accomplishments or compliments, it was never enough because I was trying to fill an insatiable void. As I have learned (and continue to learn) to put my worth in Jesus completely, I am feeling more comfortable in my role as a leader and more believing that I have leadership authority. I look forward to seeing where this journey takes you as a wife and mother, with all that you are doing with your non-profit, your doctoral journey, and all the ways God is using you to make an impact on this world.
Thank you Becca! I really love watching your growth as well!
Alana,
In case you needed an answer to the question that is your title… YES!
I was thinking about leadership and God’s call… I think as humans created in the image of God, who is a leader, we are all created to lead. I think the way we lead and what we lead, where we lead, who we lead is where the calling changes. We can be mother’s called to lead the children in our homes. We can be church leaders called to lead other’s to deeper knowledge of Jesus. We can be entrepreneurs called to lead in many different fields, and ways. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and your experiences in this blog and for being an amazing leader!
Alana – Great post! Do you connect with any of the call stories from the Bible? Do you have a particular part of your story where you fill that God has given you authority?
No doubt in my mind that you are a leader and have accomplished so much in every part of your life.
Have we talked about enneagram? I’m curious what number you are.