{"id":14655,"date":"2017-10-19T16:12:25","date_gmt":"2017-10-19T23:12:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=14655"},"modified":"2017-10-19T16:12:25","modified_gmt":"2017-10-19T23:12:25","slug":"so-just-make-a-decision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/so-just-make-a-decision\/","title":{"rendered":"So Just Make a Decision!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Edwin H. Friedman lamented the fact that leaders were not more decisive. He said that \u201cleadership in America is stuck in the rut of trying harder and harder without obtaining significantly new results.\u201d[1]<\/a> Why? Leaders experience \u2018paralysis\u2019 because of their inadequate concept of the \u2018social science construction of reality\u2019. Their construction does not explain the emotional processes. By emotional he doesn\u2019t mean \u2018feelings\u2019; he means \u201cthe instinctual side of our species that we share in common with all other forms of life.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

The terminology in this book left me finding myself wishing Jen was right here so I could ask her to explain things. But the book was organized well with many helpful summaries. What can I learn from Dr. Friedman\u2019s experiences? I will relate his thesis and explanations and interact with at least one concept in each category.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

First of all<\/u>, his explanation of the problem:<\/p>\n

Leaders are in a \u2018gridlock\u2019 situation. They are on a treadmill trying harder and harder. They are\"\"<\/a> looking for answers rather than reframing the questions. They have either\/or thinking creating false dichotomies. Society is chronically anxious. We are oriented towards safely rather than adventure.<\/p>\n

Interaction<\/u>: We definitely have a problem in society with thinking in either\/or categories. We have read books to help us with this; William T. Cavanaugh helped us with a Christian vision of economics. James Davison Hunter gave us ways as diverse Christians to think about politics. The so \u2013called Nashville Statement<\/em> is an example of Christians drawing the line for other Christians.[3]<\/a> Of course we must stand firm on our beliefs but not to the extent of casting out anyone else who disagrees with us.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Secondly<\/u>, what he sees as barriers to fixing the problem:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>We spend too much time analyzing data and continuing to look for the \u2018perfect\u2019 book or solution rather than just making the decision. There is a false type of empathy that doesn\u2019t help the person we are trying to help. There is confusion over the meanings of \u2018selfish\u2019, \u2018self-ish\u2019 and \u2018self-differentiated\u2019.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Interaction:<\/u> I don\u2019t know enough about the field of psychology to say whether he is correct in \"\"<\/a>his observations on empathy or not. I was terribly alarmed at statements like: \u201cWhere one partner can be taught to regulate his or her own reactivity, the other will often begin to imitate that behavior, and adaptation can ultimately be reversed.\u201d[4]<\/a> Adaptation?<\/em> Are we trainable like animals? And what if the partner keeps on beating the wife while she\u2019s trying to \u201cstop shifting blame\u2019 and look at her own faults first? Friedman reiterates, \u201cFor when one individual in a marriage stands up to another, while the other will not like it at first, he or she generally will begin to find the person more attractive.\u201d[5]<\/a> Attractive? <\/em>\u00a0In what way? Really, Jen, is this true?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Third,<\/u> his solutions:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Leaders must take the initiative. How? In accordance with his thesis that more attention should be paid to the emotional side he responded, \u201cAnswer: by positioning oneself in such a way that the natural forces of emotional life carry one in the right direction.\u201d [6]<\/a> \u00a0The leader\u2019s presence is what matters more than what they do. It is the source of the strength of the self-differentiated leader whose characteristics include: integrity, concern for the growth of others, adventurous enough to seek change, ability to give voice to all members of the group, separate but detached in a healthy way, shows no display of anxiety herself and much more.[7]<\/a><\/p>\n

Interaction<\/u>: Many of these ideas have his own non-Christian presuppositions contained in them.\"\"<\/a>\u00a0But I think Max De Pree and David Livermore have helped my thinking about leadership enough to see what characteristics we can have as Christian leaders. I will take away as many as fit in with a Christian worldview. It is actually a confirmation of my faith that Dr. Friedman in spite of our vastly different worldviews comes to the same conclusion about one of the most important aspects of leadership \u2013 Integrity.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>To summarize \u2013 In order to be a better leader we need to get off the treadmill of trying too hard.
\nRelax. Go with our intuitions more. Don\u2019t spend so long trying to make decisions that we actually appear incapable to others.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

At the same time don\u2019t be too hasty and look for quick fixes. A balance is needed. \u201cDifferentiation is the lifelong\"\"<\/a> process of striving to keep one\u2019s being in balance through the reciprocal external and internal processes of self-definition and self-regulation.\u201d[8]<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>And don\u2019t forget adventure, the freedom to make mistakes, and playfulness![9]<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Edwin H. Friedman. A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix (New York, NY: Church Publishing, 2017). 3.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Ibid., 4.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> For more about this see: http:\/\/www.christianpost.com\/news\/some-evangelicals-express-qualms-about-nashville-statement-say-its-too-narrow-197363\/<\/u><\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Ibid., 89.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Ibid., 197.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Ibid., 244.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> For the full list, see page 245.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Ibid., 194<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Ibid., pgs. 48, 49, 70.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Edwin H. Friedman lamented the fact that leaders were not more decisive. He said that \u201cleadership in America is stuck in the rut of trying harder and harder without obtaining significantly new results.\u201d[1] Why? Leaders experience \u2018paralysis\u2019 because of their inadequate concept of the \u2018social science construction of reality\u2019. Their construction does not explain the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[681,236],"class_list":["post-14655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-failure-of-nerve","tag-friedman","cohort-lgp7"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14655"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14655\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14669,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14655\/revisions\/14669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}