Nerve: a key ingredient for historical and contemporary leadership
Perhaps few books on leadership compare with Edwin Friedman’s Failure of Nerve, a critical examination of contemporary American leadership against the background 15th and 16th century European leadership. Using Europe’s transition from a millennium of uneventful ordinariness to a glorious era of innovation, art, exploration, discovery and expansion[1], Friedman argues that, today like in the past, anxiety stifles imagination, fun, adventure, relevance and advancement within marriages, families, congregations, corporations, and state agencies – basically everywhere.
While the disruptions of Covid, globalization, climate change and other developments might seem to be great reasons for anxiety, Friedman shows that these challenging conditions do not differ much from past events. In this way, Friedman uses history as a platform for hope. This is both pragmatic and therapeutic with important implications for leadership within low-income communities, the context that I am privileged to serve in.
First, there is hope because history shows that every country/world region has experienced poverty at some point in their development. Since many have overcome it, there is no need for anxiety. On the contrary, as Friedman suggests with the story of Prince Henry the Navigator who funded the exploratory research of Columbus[2], low-income communities should explore new business possibilities and adventure into trades, products, services and industries as God may direct them. Obviously, this does not negate the need for in-depth market research and strategic planning. The old European explorers were guided by maps and other cartographic inputs which, though not as accurate as today’s maps, provided significant value in discoveries that have changed the world.
Another important implication Failure of Nerve has for low-income communities is that since mistakes are generally inevitable according to history, the poor should not be afraid of making honest mistakes. Indeed, the road to greatness anywhere is paved with mistakes, albeit mistakes made in the process of people doing the best they can with the knowledge they have. Friedman points out that 15th and 16th century cartographers created maps which were sometimes quite wrong. One example is a map that claimed California is an island. However, he points out that the price paid for making mistakes ultimately pales in comparison to the value gained in adventure and exploration based on the information known at the time. Similarly, members of low-income-communities may gather information from several key sources and use this in exploring holistic asset-based community development within their neighborhoods.
Finally, Failure of Nerve implies that it is imperative that leaders within low-income communities operate with courage. This is not a denial of the injustices, woundedness, deprivation or broken systems within poor communities. On the contrary, it is a call to abandon the anxiety that cripples leadership potential to developing the “nerve,” or guts, needed for the battle for the God-given destiny of marriages, families, congregations, companies and communities everywhere. Perhaps this is why, at the very beginning of his calling to lead Israel, Joshua is repeatedly challenged to be “strong and courageous.”[3] Given the levels of decadence in the social institutions among low-income communities, it is not difficult to see why courageous leadership is needed. Combining this with self-differentiation, meditation, prayer and other disciplines could significantly transform low-income communities.
[1] Friedman, Edwin H., Margaret M. Treadwell, and Edward W. Beal. A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix. (New York: Seabury Books, 2017. Kindle), location 748.
[2] (Friedman et al) location 914.
[3] Joshua 1:6,7,9
About the Author
Henry Gwani
Follower of Jesus, husband, father, community development practitioner and student of leadership working among marginalized communities in South Africa12 responses to “Nerve: a key ingredient for historical and contemporary leadership”
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Thank you brother. How I wish we had been able to spend time together in DC! Can you remind me of your NPO? I am guessing it has something to do with low-income communities… if so, I am all the more interested in learning more of what you are doing but also what you have been up to. I too am working in a low-income community and am addressing my NPO toward seeking the shalom of vulnerable communities. I bet there is a LOT I can glean from your wisdom and experience! Email if that is easier – ebasye20@georgefox.edu.
Blessings!
So kind of you, Eric. I would be very honored to chat a bit more with you about our ministry experiences. Yes I’m working in Duncan Village, a low-income community in the eastern province of South Africa. We’re trying to integrate discipleship with vocational training, mental health and community development. Some of our “clients” include formerly-incarcerated persons, but we can chat a bit more via email. Will contact you soon 🙂
Henry – What a thoughtful dive into Friedman’s work and its connection to you and the communities you work with. I absolutely love your identification of the need for low-income communities to operate with courage. I would love to hear more of how you envision that practically looking given your context in South Africa.
Much thanks Kayli. One way we hope to foster courage here is through confidence training from a Biblical perspective. One of my staff members will be facilitating this and I don’t know the contents of the training yet but imagine that it will help to strengthen the self-esteem of the participants. Another intervention will be on “Being True to Self.” This is a Life Skills course I teach that helps people appreciate individual differences and embrace their uniqueness in relation to others.
Sounds wonderful, Henry. Perhaps utilizing the Asset Based skills inventory & curriculum could aid in those goals.
Henry, thank you for the intriguing connections you made between Friedman’s focus on European history and your ministry context. There’s such a painful legacy of colonialism in so many impoverished places around the globe–one of the multi-generational domino effects of that European era of exploration, discovery, and expansionism. So, I found your hope-filled interpretation of great help. It shifted my attention to the agency of communities living with the down-side of that legacy. Thank you for that gift.
I particular found encouragement in this quote from you: “This is not a denial of the injustices, woundedness, deprivation or broken systems within poor communities. On the contrary, it is a call to abandon the anxiety that cripples leadership potential to developing the “nerve,” or guts, needed for the battle for the God-given destiny of marriages, families, congregations, companies and communities everywhere.” How, in the context of your ministry, are you helping leaders or leaders-to-be to abandon crippling anxiety and instead begin to lean-into their God’s destiny for them as individuals and for their community?
Elmarie, much thanks for your gracious words. In response to your question about how we help emerging leaders in our context, we do this mainly through weekly one-on-one meetings between a mentor (one of our ministry staff members) and mentee (one of the participants). In these meetings we ask about the individual’s spiritual journey, family life, or any aspect of life the Lord may lead us to. Through these confidential conversations we hope to address the issue of anxiety, a subject we have not covered significantly before but, given my learnings from Friedman, one I can see us including significantly. Another thing I plan to do this year is to equip our staff through weekly staff meetings and encourage them to invest in their mentees as they engage them. We also use our weekly devotions as a platform for leadership development
Thank you, Henry, for further detailing how you are working to develop courage and lessen anxiety in those participating in your programs! So exciting and meaningful! I look forward to hearing what happens as you further develop your staff. It sounds like your staff are already investing in their mentees in some very significant ways. What additional investments do you envision them making?
Henry, it is always refreshing to read your posts! Your love for God’s Word and the poor shines through each time. I hope we get to hear of some the specific aspects of your work. You mention “great levels of decadence among the social institutions of low-income communities.” Do you see any hope for change or is that something that efforts to transform communities will have to work around?
Much much thanks Roy. First, one example of the decadence I’m referring to is alarming levels of sexual promiscuity resulting in high incidences of HIV/AIDS, single-parent families, population explosion, abortions, child neglect, etc. That’s just one problem with its multi-faceted effects. Another significant problem is substance abuse. Anyway, without Christ, I would say there’s no hope. But with Christ, we’ve seen radical spiritual conversions of individuals being used in community transformation today. For example one formerly-incarcerated person met Jesus and today leads one of the most significant prison ministries in South Africa today. A bit similar to Chuck Colson of Prison Fellowship. So yes, there’s hope.
Henry: I had never put together Joshua’s calling to be “strong and courageous” with the fact that the Israelites were poor and God was asking Joshua to set aside their current situation and strive toward the vision that God was calling them. Friedman develops this idea and he helped me see just how difficult it is for a poverty-striken individual or family to overcome their situation. Friedman is at his best when he leads his reader into this insights and how important leadership is. Nice post.
Henry, I am impressed with how you were able to skillfully put the challenging circumstances of the last few years in broader historical perspective. I know for myself when I have a broader perspective it lowers my stress. I am curious as to how you bring hope and courage into the low-income community to inspire them to take risks?