{"id":15661,"date":"2017-12-07T18:43:18","date_gmt":"2017-12-08T02:43:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=15661"},"modified":"2017-12-07T18:43:18","modified_gmt":"2017-12-08T02:43:18","slug":"im-the-leader-which-way-did-they-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/im-the-leader-which-way-did-they-go\/","title":{"rendered":"I’m the leader, which way did they go?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gone are the days that we, like in the old science fiction movies, enter and say, \u201ctake me to your leader.\u201d I\"\"<\/a>n those circumstances the leader is seen as the one that has all the answers and is the ultimate authority. Did this model really exist or was it that we wanted a leader that gave us peace of mind and knew the answers to our future?\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cLeadership involves creating opportunity from a seemingly intractable setting that, if otherwise left to its own resolution, confines us to an inferior equilibrium. \u201c[1]<\/a> Leading is not done is a vacuum rather with real teams that do not always understand nor agree with the direction that a one is leading.<\/p>\n

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\u201cLeadership means far more than just getting ahead and gaining and keeping power\u201d, [2]<\/a> Leaders often see themselves as the one that sets the tone and direction of the group. Too often when someone is pushed into leadership, a misunderstanding occurs that they have to do everything or need to \u201clead like the French revolutionary Comte de Mirabeau, \u201cThere goes the mob, and I must follow them, for I am their leader.\u201d [3]<\/a> Pushing someone into leadership without proper training serves no purpose other than promoting egos.<\/p>\n

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The soft and hard leadership models mentioned within Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice.<\/em> Are methods of structuring power and how to work with those that you lead. How we handle that power and how we motivate others lays the foundation for how we lead. \u201cIf one thinks of power as including both the hard power of coercion and the soft power of attraction, leadership and power are inextricably intertwined. Leadership involves power, though not all power relationships are instances of leadership.\u201d [4]<\/a> How does each of us lead? Are we leaders that love, have a deep relationship with tho\"\"<\/a>se that we are responsible for or do we simply see leaders as a product we are producing? True leaders have to be deeply involved with those they lead. A relationship necessitates a follower being willing to be led. \u201cOne can do that in three main ways. You can coerce them with threats; you can induce them with payments; or you can attract or co-opt them.\u201d [5]<\/a><\/p>\n

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In China there are many examples of leaders like Confucius, Kublai Khan, many Emperors, and Mao zi dong. China has a history of being ruled by hard leaders. The emperors ruled over a distinct class system. The common people knew the finality of your life if you defied those in leadership over you. When communism took over and offered equality to all, the class system was dissolved and women are liberated of past societal roles. However, those that began to lead did so in a similar model not of communism but of socialism. Leaders set themselves up as ultimate rulers similar to models like the Emperors of the past. \u201cLeadership is a social relationship with three key components\u2014leaders, followers, and the contexts in which they interact. One cannot lead without power\u201d.[6]<\/a> Many leaders lacked training and turned into the type of harsh leader that that they rose up against in the first place.<\/p>\n

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When church leadership began to develop, naturally those in leadership gravitated to emulate the models before them. In China, if you are the boss everyone has to listen to you. If you are a teacher, the students need to hear and respect you and your authority. It is a top down leadership model that has been ingrained in the society for thousands of years. Confucius saw some as more important that others \u201cWhat the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others.\u201d [7]<\/a> This teaches individuals in leadership to think they are superior and know what is right; not seeking help from others. \u201cThe superior man acts before he speaks, and afterwards speaks according to his actions.\u201d[8]<\/a> So in the context of the Chinese church, leaders have mistakenly come to think of themselves as the boss. There is a belief that if the pastor is called by God to do His work then what the pastor says is law.<\/p>\n

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Training within this context has layers that have to be understood.\u00a0\u00a0 When leading and training those from other cultures, we have to be sensitive to perceived western dominance. In China, we also need to be sensitive to a culture that is trained to sometimes let someone lead unquestionably. This can be dangerous and stifling to growth if the person leading is not sensitive to cultural cues and common cross cultural misunderstandings. When working overseas often times the way a westerner does ministry creates model for local people to do ministry.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The positive side of soft leadership should not be manipulation rather seeking to empower individuals to understand their context and seek solutions that benefit all. Nelson Mandela is quoted as saying \u201cA leader . . . is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.\u201d[9]<\/a> What a beautiful model of leadership. Casting a vision and letting people set a course for solutions while making sure no one is left behind.<\/p>\n

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Leading a team especially one made up of both westerners and Asians can be complicated. \u201cLeadership in different situations, and both goals and initiatives can originate among followers.\u201d[10]<\/a> Soft leadership when done correctly pushes and encourages individuals to discover the leadership abilities within themselves. Leading while recognizing the cultural dynamics at play on any team, helps us see where each of us are going. The words we use and the relationships built are key to helping see the potentials of those God bring our way.<\/p>\n

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[1]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Nitin Nohria and Rakesh Khurana, eds., Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice: an Hbs Centennial Colloquium On Advancing Leadership, ed. Nitin Nohria and Rakesh Khurana (Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business Review Press, 2010), accessed at https:\/\/www.safaribooksonline.com\/library\/view\/handbook-of-leadership\/9781422157114\/e9781422157114_c12.html<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>[2]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/2010\/08\/23\/handbook-leadership-theory-practice-leadership-managing-harvard.html#607c31983702<\/a>. Accessed December 6, 2017<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Nitin Nohria and Rakesh Khurana, eds., Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice: an Hbs Centennial Colloquium On Advancing Leadership, ed. Nitin Nohria and Rakesh Khurana (Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business Review Press, 2010), accessed at https:\/\/www.safaribooksonline.com\/library\/view\/handbook-of-leadership\/9781422157114\/e9781422157114_c12.html<\/a><\/p>\n

[4]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ibid<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ibid<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ibid<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Confucius. James Legge. Confucian Analects, The Great Learning & The Doctrine of the Mean<\/em>. Newburyport: Dover Publications, 2013.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ibid<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Nitin Nohria and Rakesh Khurana, eds., Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice: an Hbs Centennial Colloquium On Advancing Leadership, ed. Nitin Nohria and Rakesh Khurana (Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business Review Press, 2010). https:\/\/www.safaribooksonline.com\/a\/handbook-of-leadership\/11083699\/ch_21<\/p>\n

[10]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ibid, chapter 12<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gone are the days that we, like in the old science fiction movies, enter and say, \u201ctake me to your leader.\u201d In those circumstances the leader is seen as the one that has all the answers and is the ultimate authority. Did this model really exist or was it that we wanted a leader that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":93,"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":[195],"class_list":["post-15661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-nohria","cohort-lgp8"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15661","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\/93"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15661"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15661\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15675,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15661\/revisions\/15675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}