{"id":21297,"date":"2019-02-07T21:44:10","date_gmt":"2019-02-08T05:44:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=21297"},"modified":"2019-02-07T21:45:01","modified_gmt":"2019-02-08T05:45:01","slug":"two-versions-of-transformation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/two-versions-of-transformation\/","title":{"rendered":"Two versions of transformation"},"content":{"rendered":"

You can\u2019t always tell much by a book\u2019s cover. However, if you look at Dennis Tourish\u2019s text, it is fairly obvious by the ominous picture, the play on popular culture\u2019s phrase of \u201cthe Dark Side\u201d and the subtitle, \u201ca critical perspective\u201d that there will be some serious critique of transformational leadership. In The Dark Side of Transformational Leadership: A critical Perspective, Tourish exposes the underlying authoritarian nature of transformational leadership that \u201cempowers leaders while denying agency to subordinates.\u201d[1]<\/a> Offering several case studies in the second section and a final review of multiple methods of leadership including servant leadership theory, Tourish hopes his research will help others come to some conclusions on leadership and followership that may lead to healthy non-destructive future practice.<\/p>\n

Tourish has found that transformational leadership is an outside-in process, where someone is attempting to change the followers by exterior motivations and ideals. Defining transformational leadership he says, \u201cthe leader is encouraged to change the goals of followers, subordinates or (in the case of cults) devoted members. Put in its most positive form, the new goals are assumed to be of a higher level in that, once transformed, they represent the \u2018collective good or pooled interests of leaders and followers\u2019[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

In my ministry with other pastors and churches I have not deeply researched the theory of transformational leadership and its implications. Yet, in my attempt to help pastors and potential ministers to be mentored through internships, I created one of the 82,000 hits in Tourish\u2019s google search of transformational leadership in 2012. If he would have dug deep enough my organization at the time would have come up, The Center for Transformational Leadership (or CTL). This title could have been the website for any number of the agencies Tourish mentions, while in fact the vision of the CTL was much different than that of his findings.<\/p>\n

Since 2012, I have changed the name of the organization to simply, The Leadership Center, partly because The Center for Transformational Leadership is a mouthful and also because it\u2019s hard to keep the words in order. But perhaps, unknown to me at the time, it was a smart move to change the title due to the misnomer of transformational leadership that seems to be the rage of those peddling it in the business world.<\/p>\n

My philosophy of leadership conforms to a standard of transformation that emulates that of Jesus with his followers. Rather than being myself a person trying to transform others, I see it as each person is transformed by God\u2019s work in them. Each time I connect with an intern and their site, we go through the following content, focused primarily on the change that happens in us and grows toward the outside in our leadership. You will notice the idea of transformation is throughout.<\/p>\n

Leadership is formed <\/strong>from the inside out: beginning with the mind and heart and progressing to the will and strength. Leadership shaped by the image of Christ is personified <\/strong>as a willing and humble servant manifesting activities of influence with courage and authority from the Spirit of God.<\/p>\n

Leaders are continual learners<\/strong>, seeking to know God fully and live in relation to Him, applying their gifts in alignment with their calling and personality. As a person grows in depth of knowing God, transformation <\/strong>of their soul and life occurs.<\/p>\n

Christ centered leadership is reflected by the fruit of the Spirit <\/strong>being visible through continual character growth and fruitfulness in vocation. Evidence of aspects such as love and compassion for people and God\u2019s creation, willingness to do the unglamorous or seemingly insignificant, faithfulness in commitments, and a joyful presence will demonstrate this leadership. The ongoing effects in the formation of character coupled with growth in leadership competence results in holistic transformational leadership that multiplies disciples, edifies the Church, fulfills the leader and ultimately glorifies God.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

This idea of transformational leadership is less based on authority and more based on identity and personhood of Christ who, while being authoritative is also non-authoritarian. The Dark Side<\/em> does not pose any possibilities for leaders and followers to have healthy relationships, based on the seemingly fused nature of leaders and followers. To contrast this perspective of leadership is the differentiated leader from Edwin Friedman\u2019s A Failure of Nerve.<\/em><\/p>\n

Because of the important difference, and a need for healthy leadership perspective beyond only the dark and shallow side of leadership, I have included here Friedman\u2019s perspective on old world verses new world orientations of leadership. Tourish\u2019s research of many different groups tends to fall into a more old world methodology while my reading of Jesus and his vision of the church is a new world methodology.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor both families and institutions, if not our nation itself, our chronically anxious civilization inhibits well-differentiated leaders from emerging and wears down those who do. Among our reigning \u201cOld World\u201d <\/strong>superstitions are the following notions:<\/p>\n