Leadership as a Practice
There are many ways to view leadership, and various types, models, methods, and frameworks have been created to help us explore our understanding of it. When it comes to developing a theology of leadership, it seems as though what’s often being explored is the model of servant leadership or some variation of it.
Jesus taught us, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the last of all and the servant of all”[1]. This is the premise of servant leadership: to focus on one’s service to God first, through our service to others rather than self. Some positive attributes associated with this model include listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, and community building[2]. Despite its value, Servant Leadership is not without its criticism. One is that it’s rooted in a patriarchal approach that neglects to consider the potential negative impact when applying this to marginalized individuals. Researchers have also questioned its ability to promote ethical behavior, as it relies more heavily on the “moral framework of individual leaders and followers rather than broadly agreed-upon moral standards.” [3]
The other week, Tom Camacho introduced us to Coaching Leadership. Adopting a coaching leadership style puts the individual being served in the driver’s seat, inviting them to slow down, look inward, and form a more reflective yet still action-oriented approach to partnering with the Holy Spirit in how they lead. This model builds upon Servant Leadership while accounting for some aspects that might be too paternalistic in its initial understanding.
Within Coaching Leadership, there are multiple models one could adopt to help support a leader toward long-term transformation. Each focuses on clear communication, a depth of introspection and listening, inquiry and exploration, action, and ongoing review. One critique of this style is that it’s time-consuming, a long-term process that requires a considerable amount of personal buy-in from all parties involved. Despite being collaborative and empowering, not everyone is open or ready for this level of responsibility and personal commitment.
Because of this critique, many organizations adopt a training or seminar style to provide leaders with knowledge on core skills, tools, or methods to apply to their lives. While I appreciate the gifts of these one-off workshops or multi-day trainings, I have long since moved away from seeing them as a sustainable form of leadership development because leadership is an ongoing practice.
Our most significant challenges aren’t knowledge gaps but a lack of support and accountability in consistently applying our knowledge in daily life, especially when faced with uncertainty. After skimming through “Leadersmithing: Revealing the Trade Secrets of Leadership, ” it would seem author Eve Poole, a leadership researcher and practitioner, feels the same. She says most leadership happens when things go wrong, and fear kicks in[4]. Poole uses the term “Leadersmithing” in an attempt to move away from leadership as a “static concept” and into something more “crafty” focused on responding daily to the things that are happening around us, thus harnessing the “trade” of leadership as a skill to be exercised regularly in the face of the uncertainty.[5] Fear is an important concept to understand when exploring leadership. Poole speaks to this in her book, noting the importance of a leadership model that adequately addresses how people navigate our world’s volatility, uncertainty, chaos, and ambiguity (VUCA). She invites us to think about fears influencing how we lead in the world by exploring neurobiology – our neocortex and amygdala.
This is fascinating to think about because if we’re exploring “Leadersmithing” as a new model of leadership, simply because we need a model that takes into consideration the impact of ongoing fear and stress accompanying the VUCA of our times, one could argue that she’s implying the majority of leaders operate in a constant stress response. This means that our neocortex (the most advanced/ evolved part of the cerebral cortex) won’t be in charge because the amygdala (our reptilian brain) will be in the driver’s seat. Thus, we must understand the flight, flight, freeze, and fawn process that happens when we’re under pressure and apply that to leadership.
Poole argues that the only way to push past the limitations of the reptilian mind taking over is to put ourselves in situations where we “ schedule our fears,” making time to practice what scares us. Even if only in a small way, she says this is the best way to build resilience, for it’s only through 20/20 hindsight and foresight that we won’t be ruled by fear.[6] Not being able to see what’s coming is the trigger, but by apprenticing in our fears, we’ll eventually be able to navigate without them causing so much resistance.
In her TedX talk at Durham University, Poole opens with a string of pearls and the words of Saint Paul; “ We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance and endurance character and character hope and hope will not disappoint us” to help illustrate her belief that leadership isn’t easy but how that’s important because “you can’t have pearls without peril” [7]. Understanding what leadership is and requires is fundamental to her solution.
My definition of leadership comes from community organizer and educator Marshall Ganz. He says leadership is about “accepting responsibility for enabling others to achieve shared purpose in the face of uncertainty.”[8] There are a few key things to point out here:
- Leadership is a choice. It isn’t a title or something bestowed upon you.
- Leadership is a responsibility. It won’t always be easy. You will be required to say no at times, you will need to make tough decisions, people will be watching, and there will be pushback.
- Leadership is not about you. It is about the other. It is about accepting the responsibility to support and enable others.
- Leadership is not just towards any purpose but a shared purpose. We all have different callings, and we all have unique gifts and abilities. Leadership involves connecting the threads to show where these gifts can cross-pollinate to aid a collective vision.
- Leadership is needed most when faced with uncertainty. Look at the VUCA world we live in. Now, more than ever, the world is looking for people who will accept this responsibility.
This definition calls us to focus on the “practice” of leadership. Poole’s apprenticeship model is a great solution, especially when paired with a coaching mentality. While I love how it helps make leadership practice tangible, there are still challenges. I can’t help but wonder about the sustainability of this model, especially when it comes to marginalized individuals.
If what Poole’s saying is that leadership is needed most under conditions of uncertainty, which just happen to be situations that kick us into our most primal states, making it more challenging to be reflective, intentional, and aligned in our decision-making, how do we account for the effort it takes to break free from the weight of the constant stress response that is day to day living for many operating at the intersection of identities, to implement this model?
We need a leadership model focused on practice and sustainable for folks who don’t only have to navigate VUCA in their leadership but are met with daily stressors simply due to their existence in a society that was not designed for them to thrive.
I’m curious to know your thoughts on what else needs to be considered when designing a sustainable model that understands and accounts for the added complexity and impact “isms” have on one’s ability to thrive as a leader.
[1]The Holy Bible. London: Hodder And Stoughton, 1992.
[2]Shonk, Katie. “Servant Leadership Theory.” PON – Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, May 8, 2023. https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/leadership-skills-daily/servant-leadership-theory/.
[3]ibid
[4]Poole, Eve. Leadersmithing. London, UK: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017.
[5]ibid
[6]ibid
[7]———. “Leadersmithing | Eve Poole | TEDxDurhamUniversity.” www.youtube.com. TEDx Talks, April 12, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73L1613KDnw.
[8]Ganz, Marshall. Verbal communication to Akwese Nkemontoh. “Leading Change.” Course Lecture, July 14, 2013.
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Akwese
17 responses to “Leadership as a Practice”
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Akwese,
(can someone share with me how to insert accent marks)
I appreciate your post. Servant leadership, coaching, leadersmithing, which one is the best and sustainable model? You ask a good question. Due to my life’s schedule I have to try to stay a week ahead with readings. Next week’s book, A Failure of Nerve, will talk about leaders needing to differentiate themselves from the system they are leading and will talk about chronic anxiety that invades systems and the natural reactions that result. I think this book is a good companion to Poole’s book and ideas. To answer your question, one must consider how enmeshed or differentiated a leader is in regard to the system they are leading. Can they make the tough decision and not get pulled into the natural reactions that fight for homeostasis within the system. I will be interested to read your post next week to see how you respond to what Edwin Friedman has to say and how it relates or differs from your definition of leadership.
Jeff, you just hold down the letter and a series of options of different accents will pop up. Hope that helps!
Hey Jeff, thanks for your response. I appreciate the consideration you name. It’s certainly a process of self-awareness and continually checking in with ourselves. Btw you’ve got me excited for this coming weeks book 😉
Thanks for your post, Akwese. I appreciated the note about the critique on Servant Leadership. I have never seen it that way, but I can appreciate how some would.
I agree that the seminar or training style of leader development is very limited. I would say it might even be detrimental because those who have participated become inflated.
How would you envision an ongoing leader development program that involves both deposits and experience?
Thanks again for your thoughts on leadership. Your definition is a good one to put alongside some of the others that I’ve made note of.
My working definition is…”An empowering leader is a PERSON who influences PEOPLE through collaborative PROCESSES to create a co-shaped and co-owned PLAN for the future while developing the PERSON.”
Graham, thanks for sharing. What a great definition of leadership you have! To answer your question – I’m leaning towards a membership model focused on an ongoing community of practice. A regular space for people to come and reflect on their leadership, ask the tough questions, bear witness to self and others, and do life together.
Akwése,
Ok, you brought it up. If the critics admonish servant leadership because of its patriarchal tendencies, what do you think are some ways to overcome that? (asks the feminist ;-))
How does a leader be helpful and serving to their community without falling into the traps of the negative side of servant leadership?
And, yes! I wondered the same thing about the connection Poole was making between fear, neurobiology, and leadership. Since my amygdala has been severely affected by stress and early childhood trauma, I’ve been pondering this. I also wonder how many other leaders / pastors are operating out of this space unknowingly and that might be the cause of the high burnout rate?
Thoughts?
And, as for designing a sustainable leadership model, I have learned that practicing Sabbath is incredibly important. A great book on that subject is Sabbath as Resistance: Saying No to the Culture of Now by Walter Brueggeman. If leaders don’t build in periods of regular rest for their souls, they will burn out, even the high energy extroverts. That’s my 2 cents.
Ditto to Nancy’s question. My NPO is surrounding Servant Leadership and this is first time I’ve come across across the feminist push back. Thanks for a different perspective and source!
Oooh Nancy, great questions, thanks for offering! I agree that rest is soooo key. What I’ve found, though, is that even though we know how important rest is, it can be hard to take because it goes against many organizational cultures, and some people are even punished when they do. The more we can do to normalize rest, the better, but it can’t just be in talk. It needs to be systematized. I’ve found that as more and more people began to popularize the need for rest, self-care became a bit of a buzz word and companies began throwing it around without changing their internal culture so that once back, that person doesn’t re-enter the same systems and structures that burnt them out in the first place. Sadly I’ve seen this toxic cycle time and time again…
Akwese, I love so much of what you write here. Focusing on leadership as a practice is – I think – a very different way of looking at it for most people. For instance: the one-off workshops set up to talk about skills and characteristics of leaders.
I also love, love Marshall Ganz’s definition of leadership and your analysis; that’s a keeper. 🙂
In your context, can you envision ongoing practices of leadership? I’m thinking of the cohort model, but I’m wondering if you have other ideas or personal experiences?
In answer to your final question, the “ism” I’ve personally experienced from time to time is sexism. What has always made a difference for me is having women role models and mentors. It’s one of the primary reasons I attended a women’s college (many years ago!). The statistics demonstrate that female graduates of women’s colleges are – on average – a much higher percentage of leaders today than women from co-ed schools.
While leaders obviously come from many backgrounds, those statistics are interesting to note. I wonder if they will change at all over the next 10 to 15 years, as the way young people experience college changes.
Debbie, thanks for your reply and sharing a bit of your experience. Prepresentation is certainly powerful so I don’t doubt the rates being drastically higher. Something to dig into further for sure.. Regarding your question about ongoing practice — while I appreciate a cohort model, it still seems better fit for moving someone through a time restricted program. I’ve now been focused on a community of praxis and doing it in a membership model. So far this has been a wonderful solution AND it’s also not without its challenges so am exploring how to retain and engage people in a longer type of commitment that ideally leads to a life long practice.
Hi Akwése,
Thank you for your post. Your exploration of leadership models and their implications for personal and professional growth is thoughtful and comprehensive. Your comparison between servant leadership and coaching leadership provides a clear view of leadership styles, highlighting the need for a balance between paternalistic approaches and individual empowerment. I agree with your discussion of Eve Poole’s concept of “Leadersmithing” and its emphasis on facing fears and building resilience. The idea of scheduling fears to practice overcoming them with the notion that leadership development requires intentional effort and perseverance is a new concept for me. Additionally, your reference to Marshall Ganz’s definition of leadership as enabling others to achieve a shared purpose in the face of uncertainty underscores the transformative nature of leadership.
Hi Akwése,
Thanks for your post! You said:
“Servant Leadership is not without its criticism. One is that it’s rooted in a patriarchal approach that neglects to consider the potential negative impact when applying this to marginalized individuals.”
How do you reconcile this? As a female leader – I find that I have to do things that my male counterparts don’t have to – but I often question if I’m being like Jesus or the world. I really wrestle with this. When I have the same equity as other leaders (mostly male), then I have the freedom to lay down power. But when I am 2 steps behind just for being a female, it’s much harder to lay down, because it just puts me a few more steps back.
Do you have any wisdom on this?
Oooh Christy, this is a good one and I wish I could respond audibly because Im not sure I can capture my thoughts in writing. I’m with you though, because it’s not easy and the ” be like Jesus” framing can be a slippery slope. Ultimately I think it comes down to how we’re viewing. If I’m seeing through God’s eyes, all is well. When I’m in my flesh, not so much, and yet I was made human, so it’s not about diminishing those feelings but knowing how to reorient/channel them…I’m not sure if I’m making sense but feel free to continue the convo offline 😉
Akwése,
I appreciate how you both affirm and challenge the suppositions presented by this model. While I understood her intent as shoring up leaders who lead in the face of fear, or navigate our world’s volatility, uncertainty, chaos, and ambiguity, I am gripped by the sense of the location of this work that gives it an air of rising above those challenges.
In my own post, I realize that many templates and skills she has discussed have been a part of my leadership journey, which cannot be separated from being a white, Canadian male leader.
How does the deck of cards translate, or what is missing when applying to other cultures, genders, generations, and marginalities?
These questions help me see beyond the frame. Thank you for provoking them.
Great questions Joel, thank you for chiming in. We must keep asking asking these questions!
Hi, Ms. Akwese, your post is very informative. One thing I got from your post is when you mentioned servant leadership. I believe servant leadership is the most type of leadership style that we have seen in our churches. As a matter of fact that is what we all claim that it is the example of leadership that is shown by our Lord Jesus. In one of the churches that I used to be a member of, I have seen a lot of burned our leaders because of ‘maybe’ they literally follow the servant-leadership idea. In your view, what do we need to be careful of while applying the servant leadership?
Noel, you bring up a great point regarding burnout as a possibility. I’ve found that burnout and compassion fatigue are far too rampant in service-oriented work and I think the key is to make sure we aren’t placing our worth in our work. It’s talked about a lot in corporate settings, but in the social sector, I see the same thing happening, just in a different way. People like to feel useful and there’s often a bit of an emotional boost they might get from taking their “service” a bit too far — call it saviorship or martyrdom, I think it’s important to understand what’s fueling one’s service, and if it’s not genuinely the Spirit then I think we’ll burn out. I will say that I think this can be applied to all forms of leadership but I do see something toxic happening when we give from this place of feeling like we must give in order to be deemed “good” or of value…