Sharing the Load Makes Sense
I spent most of my day interviewing candidates for one of our senior leadership positions. In some ways I was excited to see who might become part of the team that cares deeply for the individuals our organization serves and works well collaboratively. Yet it was also exhausting and a bit intimidating. I have probably hired hundreds of people in my career and each time there is a recurring thought, how do we know if this person will be a positive force in our business or not? Obviously, we want a person to be competent in their subject area, but we want to know how they will interact with their peers. Will they jump in to help a colleague? Will they lead by example? Will they get to know their team before trying to flex power or control? Will they listen to both peers and their direct reports when considering decisions? Really, we are trying to assess who they are as a person as much as a leader.
Humble Leadership by Edgar and Peter Schein suggests that situational humility where individuals are open to looking at all aspects of a situation by recognizing uncertainty during a period of curiosity, being intentional about the possibility that others might have knowledge or ideas that could be workable and recognizing their unconscious biases that can get in the way of finding the best possible outcomes[1]. The authors looked beyond the typical corporate top-down model to focus on the reality that organizations thrive best when decision making is a shared process with members of the team. A hallmark of humble leadership is that the leader must be able to recognize that she cannot make every decision in isolation[2]. To accomplish this, the authors recommend that the leader work toward building a whole-person relationship with the team that relies on trust and collaboration, also known as level 2 relationships[3].
What I like about the concept of humble leadership is that it is not based on the power of one person but the power of the group working together. Throughout history, when individuals have wielded great power, there was risk and reality of excess, waste, and self-satisfaction over following God’s will. I think of scripture where Solomon started out as a wise king, a gift given to him by God. Yet, throughout his tenure, he fell to the lure of excesses of his wealth, power, and the adulation of others that the gift brought him. He turned away from God’s commands, took foreign wives and worshipped idols,1Kings 11. He succumbed to the traps that his wealth and status afforded him. That scenario has been played out throughout scripture with many of the kings of the old testament. Yet, it is not limited to history. Wealth and power are dangerous “gifts” even today if they are misused to turn into a vehicle for self-service. Humble leadership is a viable antidote to a power-driven system.
All this being said, I do not think humble leadership is about abdicating responsibility. The leader must still be aware of dynamics among the members of the group, assuring that people are listening and speaking respectfully. I also think that there are times when an authoritative voice is important. Jesus did not wield power for self-satisfaction, but He did teach with authority. Sometimes the role of the leader must be to help a team not get completely off track. That might involve setting some guidelines or bringing the group back to an initial premise to help them start anew if the direction becomes stale. Leaders must be able to speak truth if a team completely misses the mark and is moving farther away from what was important.
A serendipitous note: At the end of Humble Leadership by Edgar and Peter Schein, I was quite taken aback by an activity with lemons. The activity was straight forward and useful as the authors explained the process and purpose of it, growing in relationships with others by paying attention to details and being in dialogue with others. What took me by surprise was that I have been unwittingly doing a very similar activity with youth groups and my employees since (gulp) about 1990 when my husband and I were the youth leaders at our church. We would take a bunch of apples and follow similar steps that the authors delineated. Where we differed was at the end when our conversations went to discussing how recognizing our apple might have been a bit tricky, but image how well God must know each of us to recognize the fine details in us as his son or daughter. In various work settings the closing conversations were much more in line with the authors’ purpose. To this day, I have no idea where we came up with this activity but the confirmation that discussing how we build relationships has always been important was a gift.
[1] Edgar H. Schein, and Peter A. Schein, Humble Leadership, The Power of Relationships, Openness, and Trust, (Oakland, CA, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 2023), 8.
[2] Schein and Schein, 35.
[3] Schein and Schein, 15.
About the Author
Diane Tuttle
9 responses to “Sharing the Load Makes Sense”
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Hey Diane,
Thank you for sharing about your search for candidates for senior leadership positions—I think the questions you’re raising are so thoughtful and important.
I really liked when you highlighted that a humble leader recognizes she can’t make decisions in isolation. How has that perspective grown or shifted for you in your own leadership journey? You strike me as such a naturally relational person, but I wonder—was that always the case, or did it become a more intentional priority as you gained experience?
I also appreciated your point about the need for authority. Christy touched on this in her post too, and I love how these themes are weaving together across our conversations.
Hi Elysse, When I started in my current position more than 2 decades ago, I was informed that I was the only person permitted to talk with parents, the State, senior leadership, etc. I did that for the first bit of time but before I got to the first year, I could see there had to be a better way. Having to be the only authority was exhausting but also limiting for the organization and the people working it. Thankfully, I had some good mentors to help me figure out how to transition the organization into a team. Even that, I couldn’t have easily done alone.
Diane,
I appreciate your statement “What I like about the concept of humble leadership is that it is not based on the power of one person but the power of the group working together.” I believe Wright and Bird talked about the temptation to abuse power being present for those who lead. That temptation in a group can be quelched or fanned into a flame.
What steps have you taken over your years of leadership to ensure that you did not succumb to the temptation of abusing your power?
Hi Jeff, my best answer is that I see myself as a co-worker alongside the others in the organization. I just have a different role. With residential care, one person simply can NOT do everything. Generally, sharing decision-making yields a better overall result and also empowers the other employees. There are times when I must make decisions based on rules and protocols from the State that others might not like, but that is also part of the role, not me seeking power. I am far from perfect, but for the most part, God answers my prayers each day to help me be the person He knows I can be.
I find the best way to keep my priorities straight is to
Hi Diane. You emphasized the power of working together. Can you share how you have worked together using Level 2 to reach your staff. This is a principle some leaders openly struggle with.
Hi Daren, This isn’t always the easy way, and I’m not sure if this answers your question. One thing I like to do is have a mission moment at the beginning of meetings. At senior staff meetings, which are small group gatherings, each person takes a turn sharing something they saw or did that exemplifies one of our core values. Even at board meetings, at least one person offers a what we call a mission moment. This is just a small way to pause before going into the “business” of the meeting for people to connect on a more personal level. I think it opens the door for greater sharing.
Hello, Diane, thank you for your post. I like how to show the importance of relationship between the leader and the group/followers, moreover, how the team relates to each other. One other important point is that how the leader would be humble enough not only to recognize the possibility that a team member could be a leader in some other situation. Thank you again, Diane.
Thank you for your thoughts Noel.
Thank you for your thoughts on this, Noel.