{"id":27756,"date":"2021-10-13T19:08:31","date_gmt":"2021-10-14T02:08:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=27756"},"modified":"2021-10-18T07:59:13","modified_gmt":"2021-10-18T14:59:13","slug":"dont-take-yourself-too-seriously","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/dont-take-yourself-too-seriously\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t Take Yourself Too Seriously"},"content":{"rendered":"

Simon Walker, the author of The Undefended Leader<\/em>, is a professor, writer, and leadership coach committed to developing leaders from all walks of life. In the introduction, he writes, \u201csome of us long \u2013 and hope \u2013 for a different kind of leadership. We still believe that a leader should say what he means and mean what he says.\u201d[1]<\/a> Such leaders work toward a greater end, are willing to make sacrifices, and demonstrate a mindset of service. In the words of Walker, these are undefended leaders<\/strong> whose \u201cdeliberate acts of weakness and courageous self-sacrifice\u201d have given us the \u201clikes of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King, Desmond Tutu, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Mahatma Gandhi and Jesus of Nazareth.\u201d[2]<\/a> While there were many great concepts and leadership models to reflect upon from this book, in consideration of my understanding of leadership development, Walker\u2019s contribution led me to the following conclusions:<\/p>\n

Leadership is about character<\/strong>. \u00a0Specifically, Walker claims that leadership \u201cis about who you are, not what you know or what skills you have.\u201d[3]<\/a> This concept of leadership flowing out of being is a common thread among such leadership gurus as Robert Clinton in The Making of a Leader. <\/em>A close companion to flowing out of who you are is a deep understanding of the freedom a healthy leader experiences. This is a \u201cfreedom from the need to be great\u2026 freedom to be fully available,\u201d <\/em>and the \u201cfreedom to lead with nothing to lose.\u201d<\/em>[4]<\/a><\/strong> According to Walker, unless a leader operates with this sense of freedom, their influence can be misappropriately used and damaging to those they lead. In a word, leaders cannot effectively lead apart from strong character development.<\/p>\n

Leadership is a calling<\/strong>. Walker asserts that the desire to \u201ccreate our world\u201d is a common feature of humankind. I might add that it is a part of our DNA as people made with imago Dei. We long to create as He created us. However, the reality is that few people have this unique capacity, at least to do it well. What sets leaders apart from others is their authority and position. Such leaders have \u201cthe positional power to make changes, to dictate timing and establish rhythms and determine what happens when and how.\u201d[5]<\/a> Continuing on, Walker states that the personality of a leader is reflected in the organization. More or less, the opportunity to lead serves as a litmus test as to what kind of individual is leading. Do they have integrity? Are they serving with a greater purpose in mind? Are they leading for the good of others in service to God?<\/em> As I evaluate the organizations I have led, I am challenged to ask, \u201cWhat do the people I lead look like? Are they modeling concern for others, or are they only seeking to serve themselves?\u201d For these reasons and more, I am led to believe transformative leadership is indeed a high calling.<\/p>\n

Lastly, leaders don\u2019t take themselves too seriously.<\/strong> Sixteen years ago, I was granted a unique opportunity to take the helm of a robust nonprofit in Memphis, Tennessee. There were a few unique challenges to my stepping into this role. First, I was an outsider to the community as a white guy from Wyoming who was now asked to lead a Christian work in an all-black ghetto. Second, my predecessor was a seasoned and well-known leader in our city, so needless to say, he was leaving behind some big shoes to fill. But not only that, I was only 27 years old at the time. About two months into the role, I realized that I was in way over my head. Firing off an email to my old boss, who was now living halfway around the world, I will never forget what he said \u2013 \u201cDon\u2019t take yourself too seriously!\u201d I was reminded of this profound leadership principle reading Walker\u2019s words, “Remember that your greatest achievement as a leader will not solve the world’s problems. It will not bring about heaven on earth or save the planet. Make your contribution with a smile, thankful for the opportunity and delighted to see other people make theirs.”[6]<\/a> At the end of the day, it is the Lord\u2019s work; we are merely His servants, so do your part, rest in Him to take care of the outcome, and have fun.<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Simon P Walker, The Undefended Leader<\/em> (Carlisle: Piquant, 2010), 4.<\/p>\n

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

[3]<\/a> Ibid., 9.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Ibid., 303\u2013304.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Ibid., 47.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Ibid., 130.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Simon Walker, the author of The Undefended Leader, is a professor, writer, and leadership coach committed to developing leaders from all walks of life. In the introduction, he writes, \u201csome of us long \u2013 and hope \u2013 for a different kind of leadership. We still believe that a leader should say what he means and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":142,"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":[1723,1718],"class_list":["post-27756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-the-undefended-leader","tag-walker","cohort-lgp11"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27756","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\/142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27756"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27756\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27757,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27756\/revisions\/27757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}