The Post In Which I Quote Scott Dickie
In the first page of their introduction of their book, Humble Leadership: The Power of Relationships, Openness, and Trust, Edgar H. Schein and Peter A. Schein ask, “Would it help to think of leadership not as the “7 Steps” you must take to lead, but as the energy
that is shared among members of a group determined to accomplish something new and better?”[1]
Yes. Yes, it would.
Though I knew better, when we first started this doctoral program I really wanted a seven-step program to leadership, or better yet, a five-step program! Thank God, that is NOT what we are getting.
Instead, we are being told “leadership is about who you are, not about what you know,”[2] that we should “lead out of who we are,”[3] out of our identity as God’s beloved, that good leadership comes from being self-differentiated,[4] and that “leadership is being that results in doing, who you are determines how you lead, how you lead flows from who you are.”[5] In her book, Leadersmithing, Eve Poole stresses the need for character because, “it is the very thing that will save you when everything else is stripped away.”[6]
Our identity matters. Our attachment to another – one who is big enough not to be overwhelmed by our failures and weaknesses is what will make us an undefended, non-transactional, level 2, humble leader.[7]
In the book, Humble Leadership, give us a model of leadership that I believe can only be successfully used if the leader’s identity is first grounded in Christ, if that leader knows who they are and Whose they are. At the heart of the Scheins’ concept of humble leadership is the emphasis on building “Level 2” relationships within organizations. These Level 2 relationships are defined as “Whole-person relationships: built on trust and personization, as seen in friendships and in effective, collaborative teams.”[8] By cultivating these Level 2 relationships, leaders can create an environment that promotes psychological safety, open communication, and collaborative problem solving.
When a leader is self-differentiated and her identity is solidly in Christ, she does not need to resort to Level 1, Transactional Relationships,[9] because she does not feel insecure in her leadership (she might feel insecure sometimes but it’s not her first emotion). Transactional relationships are often used when one needs to feel powerful or like the heroine rather than leading a team of people to do something new.
According to Schein and Schein in “Humble Leadership” humility is at the very core. Referring to it as “situational humility” they claim, it is a “skill characterized by the openness to see and understand all the elements of a situation but accepting uncertainty and remaining curious, being open to what others know, and recognizing unconscious biases and how they might trigger emotional responses.”[10] While I agree we can develop these skills and that they are very helpful in leadership, I wonder if instead, like Scott Dickie wrote in his blog, “Humility isn’t a skill…it’s a way of being.”[11]
Perhaps the humility of Humble Leadership is simply a symptom or result of one’s identity being firmly attached to the One who is big enough to not be overwhelmed by our failures and weaknesses. There is no seven-step program to leadership. Instead, there is something better: Leadership that flows out of who we are. When our identity is in Christ, we are free to lead humbly and relationally.
[1] Edgar H. Schein and Peter A. Schein, Humble Leadership: The Power of Relationships, Openness, and Trust, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., Oakland, CA, 2023, ix.
[2] Simon Walker, Leading Out of Who You Are, Discovering the Secret of Undefended Leadership, Piquant Editions, 2007, 5.
[3] Simon Walker, Leading Out of Who You Are, Discovering the Secret of Undefended Leadership, Piquant Editions, 2007.
[4] Friedman, Edwin H., and Peter Steinke. A Failure of Nerve, Revised Edition: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix. 10th Anniversary edition. New York: Church Publishing, 2017.
[5] Jules Glazner, The Sound of Leadership, Invite Press (2023), Scribd, 101.
[6] Eve Poole, Leadersmithing, Revealing the Trade Secrets of Leadership (London ; New York, NY: Bloomsbury Business, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2017), 55.
[7] Simon Walker, Leading Out of Who You Are, Discovering the Secret of Undefended Leadership, Piquant Editions, 2007, 103.
[8] Edgar H. Schein and Peter A. Schein, Humble Leadership: The Power of Relationships, Openness, and Trust (Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2018), 15.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Ibid, 8.
[11] Scott Dickie, Is Humble Leadership About Humility? https://blogs.georgefox.edu/dlgp/wp-admin/post.php?post=38018&action=edit
About the Author
Kally Elliott
Mom of four. Wanna-be Broadway star. PC(USA) pastor. Wife. Friend. Sometimes a hot mess. Sometimes somewhat together. Is this supposed to be a professional bio?12 responses to “The Post In Which I Quote Scott Dickie”
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Kally,
You quoted Scott, but I will quote you in my Syntopical Paper:
“Perhaps the humility of Humble Leadership is simply a symptom or result of one’s identity being firmly attached to the One who is big enough to not be overwhelmed by our failures and weaknesses. There is no seven-step program to leadership. Instead, there is something better: Leadership that flows out of who we are. When our identity is in Christ, we are free to lead humbly and relationally.”
Yes. Just reading the last sentence gives such freedom and hope to all of us. How do you keep yourself grounded in this truth as you continue to transition into your new role?
I agree- this is what resonated with me as well, Kally. In looking over the material this week, I really appreciated the intentional shift from a methodology to a philosophy. And, you took it another important step further by connecting Leadership to spiritual disciplines. Wow. This is important. Will love to hear your answer to Esther’s question about staying grounded in your transition.
I replied to Esther yesterday and then sat through a long board meeting for my new church. I was exhausted after – not because I was leading them but because I spent three hours listening, learning, connecting, and processing. It’s all new and my brain is working overtime! As I reflect on yesterday I was trying to practice “situational humility,” trying to see and understand all the different elements of my new situation, accepting uncertainty (a lot of it!) while being open to what those who’ve been there a lot longer know. I am trying to listen a lot in this first year with this church – listen, and learn, and grow relationships before anything else. Knowing I know very little is what is keeping me grounded right now!
Esther, good question!
People have been asking me if I’m nervous about my new position and I keep saying, “No. I’m not nervous,” and I’m really not. But it’s not because I know how to do it or have everything figured out. And, to be honest, I probably am a bit anxious about it, but mostly I feel pretty confident. That confidence stems from trusting that I am loved and valued for who I am and not for what I do. I am not struggling (as much) with imposter syndrome because I feel grounded in my identity as God’s beloved. This confidence has definitely been developed through this doctoral program along with some other recent experiences.
Kally, this blog post is on fire.
I so appreciate how you are bringing so much of our reading over the last couple of years into this. And I value your synopsis of essentially our whole program: Skills and strategies are helpful, but they are penultimate. at best–leadership springs from who we are, not what we know.
And I love the Scott Dickie quote, “leadership isn’t a skill, it’s a way of being”.
So my question is, when leadership humility isn’t primarily a skill but an expression of our lives, is there a need to learn to intentionally manifest that in our leadership contexts? In other words, if we ARE humble does it just seep out of us, or do you think it’s something we need to work to implement in and through our leadershp?
Hey Tim,
I definitely think we need to work to implement humility in and through our leadership. I mean, yes, some of it will just flow out of who we are – and if we are grounded in God’s love in Christ it will flow freer – but I do still think we need to be conscious of making sure it is flowing! Sometimes just being aware is what we need.
Hi Kally,
You wrote, Perhaps the humility of Humble Leadership is simply a symptom or result of one’s identity being firmly attached to the One who is big enough to not be overwhelmed by our failures and weaknesses. There is no seven-step program to leadership. Instead, there is something better: Leadership that flows out of who we are. When our identity is in Christ, we are free to lead humbly and relationally.
Oh….please preach this! Record and send me the link!
It ministers to my soul.
Alas, in my personal life, Pride is the bacteria eating away at my soul. I need to dip my cup back into the well of Humility.
Jennifer Vernham wrote, “how can I best equip our team to use their skills, talents and giftings to build new solutions for problems we have never seen before?”
This resonates with me as I am working with young adults who are so distinctly different, but have the same goal of ministering to those in Ukraine.
Humble leadership/Servant Leadership, somehow I am connecting the two. Add a return to Team Leadership. (Tammy spoke about polycentric leadership to me at the advance & I am hearkening back to Northouse and his chapter on Team leadership.)
More collaborative leadership!
Pam Lau spoke about the root word of humble to be found in humus, or dirt.
As a gardener this has special meaning for me since I am constantly evaluating soil and trying to amend them for better plant growth (I need to start amending my personal soil with HUMILITY)….but I digress
For the non Christian writers of this book, I imagine
they are moving towards polycentric leadership and perhaps have never heard of Jesus’ servant leadership.
Shalom.
Russ, I would never suspect pride being something you struggle with. Don’t get me wrong, you have MUCH to be proud of, but you have always been humble and kind to me.
Kally, you nailed it in this post. And, I realized even as I read it how prone I am to wanting to find the “how-to” skill or process or hack in order to use humble leadership as if it were a tool to be wielded or a mutli-step program to be conquered in order to be a better leader.
The same could be said about the sort of well-differentiated leadership Friedman wrote about. There’s not a way to live that way (or “practice” differentiation) unless that “living” is rooted and grounded as you have often said in our cohort chats (and in this post) – in who we are and in Whose we are.
In what ways has this program affected (or not affected) your “rule-of-life” rhythms? Like, have you incorporated any new/different/nuanced disciplines in your daily or weekly routine over the past 2+ years that ground you in that posture of living out of your identity in Christ?
Hey Travis, I wouldn’t say I’ve acquired any new/different/nuanced disciplines that ground me in Christ over the past few years – at least not daily ones, but I do sense that my overall demeanor has calmed down a bit. Instead of simply trying to be the non-anxious presence, I really kind of am a non-anxious presence in some places (not everywhere!) Just this week I found myself getting internally anxious during a meeting at church but I don’t *think* anyone noticed as I was able to stay pretty quiet, listen, and then make a few comments. I guess what helps nowadays is holding onto the bigger picture – God has always been faithful, why would God not be faithful this time?
Kally…As I continue to search for meaning, significance, and value by what people say about me online and how many people respond to my posts….I want to thank you for quoting me and including me in your title: I feel so at peace!
Of course I had to read your blog with that kind of title and, honestly, my first thought was, “Dang, I’m quoting Kally!” That opening paragraph quoting some of the leadership learnings that flow out of who we are and not what we know is amazing and one that I’m am copying and pasting for future lessons I give on leadership. So thanks for that!
And I agree with you….I think a lot of the good things the authors were saying about good leadership are the natural by-product (or fruit) of an inner reality–a transformed heart that reflects the character of Christ (in other words: humble).
Great post (and great title….did I mention that? Now, on to see how many other people read my blog or quoted me….gotta feed the beast! I’m sure at some point I will be filled and satisfied…)
Scott, I’m so glad you’re not letting the fact that I quoted you in my post go to your head. 🙂