Navigating Change as Leaders
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him…”[1]
Annabel Beerel’s, Rethinking Leadership: A critique of Contemporary Theories, explores and critiques existing leadership theories using research conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The overarching idea is that contemporary leadership theories inadequately prepared leaders for difficult and uncertain times. Beerel noted that traditional leadership models that focused on skill, capability, and competence needed to give way to “qualities of the inner game such as integrity, passion, vision, courage, authenticity, self-awareness, humility, intuition, and wisdom.”[4] She encourages leaders to embrace the tensions that come with confusion and uncertainty with humility as the only path toward adaptive and relevant decision-making.[5]
Ultimately, good leadership can be modeled after Jesus. The person of Christ was first and foremost, humble. That was what was so shocking to people about who he was. People could not fathom that the Christ, the Messiah that was promised, could possibly look and act like Jesus. That the foretold king of the line of David would be in all aspects of his humanity, lowly. And Jesus’ kingdom, seemed like some sort of upside down world that belonged to the poor in spirit, oppressed, and meek.[6] While many thought Jesus’s humility made him week, it is what made a way forward when there seemed as if there was no way.[7]
Perhaps, then, Christian culture has elevated leaders who attempt to imitate the power of the Father rather than those who seek to imitate the humility of the Son. Beerel makes it clear that in “this radically uncertain world, as it transitions from the old to the new, we need leaders who have great cognitive and emotional capacities. They need a broad mental bandwidth… and they need to be open and engaged in vertical learning. The need to be courageous and self-determining while they are also able to be vulnerable and exercise humility.”[8] As we face constant change and uncertainty, I pray that we have the courage and humility to endure, learn, and move forward.
[1] Phil 2:3-9
[2] Ps 11:3
[3] Anonymous, Sermon on Psalm 11, (January, 2024).
[4] Annabel Beerel, Rethinking Leadership: A Critique of Contemporary Theories (London: Routledge, 2021), 110.
[5] Ibid, 158
[6] Mat 5:2-11
[7] Isa 43:19
[8] Beerel, Rethinking Leadership, 372.
About the Author
Caleb Lu
6 responses to “Navigating Change as Leaders”
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Caleb
I hope to use this in my syntopical essay:
“While many thought Jesus’s humility made him week, it is what made a way forward when there seemed as if there was no way.[7]”
I like this:
“they need to be open and engaged in vertical learning.”
How have you engaged in vertical learning recently?
for me…it has been a prayer…Lord, Help me finish the DLGP! 🙂
Kristy, we’re almost done!! That has been my prayer for three years now.
Vertical learning, at least in the way Beerel uses it (as a means for transformation) has probably taken the form of asking myself questions that would be easier to not engage with.
As I consider what it means to live in humility and sacrificially, I’ve been asking myself and talking with Anya about practical questions like: how much money do we really need to live? Would the salary that the church pays me be better used elsewhere? Do we really need two cars?
Considering, talking about, and seeking answers to questions like these, I think, has been helpful in pushing for transformation with the knowledge and wisdom I receive from horizontal learning.
Caleb – This critical sentence from your blog will remain with me: “Perhaps, then, Christian culture has elevated leaders who attempt to imitate the power of the Father rather than those who seek to imitate the humility of the Son.” Thank you for this perspective and reminder that ultimately we do not serve ourselves, but others and that Jesus shows us the way.
Dr. Lu,
This is everything “Perhaps, then, Christian culture has elevated leaders who attempt to imitate the power of the Father rather than those who seek to imitate the humility of the Son.”
Great post, Dr. Lu. Keep navigating this complex journey in faith. You are a warrior in His Kingdom. It has been an honor learning with you.
Dr. Lu – A Kingdom for the broken, lost and forgotten, may it be so. It is amazing to see how threatening humility can be. When it is real and genuine, it is a different rhythm in this world. I think you have that kind of presence. It is a calm warmth that invites people in. Then you ask really good questions! A true gift. You are living out that type of transformational leadership. It is a gift to all who cross your path.