{"id":28080,"date":"2022-01-26T14:26:56","date_gmt":"2022-01-26T22:26:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=28080"},"modified":"2022-01-21T14:37:24","modified_gmt":"2022-01-21T22:37:24","slug":"leadership-development-among-the-poor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/leadership-development-among-the-poor\/","title":{"rendered":"Leadership Development Among the Vulnerable"},"content":{"rendered":"

The late Edwin Friedman delivers powerful leadership principles in his book, A Failure of Nerve. <\/em>Through his work as a rabbi, family therapist, and leadership consultant, Friedman identifies \u201cthat the climate of contemporary America has become so chronically anxious that our society has gone into an emotional regression that is toxic to well-defined leadership.”[1]<\/a> Incorporating insights gained from sociology, neurology, psychology, and social science, Friedman constructs pathways leading to what he calls self-differentiated leaders<\/em>. These are leaders who are \u201cable to separate themselves from the emotional processes [that lead to chronic anxiety] before they can even begin to see (or hear) things differently.\u201d[2]<\/a> This process of<\/p>\n

differentiation<\/em> means the capacity to become oneself out of one’s self, with minimum reactivity to the positions or reactivity of others. Differentiation is charting one’s own way by means of one’s own internal guidance system, rather than perpetually eying the \u201cscope\u201d to see where others are. Differentiation refers more to a process than a goal that can ever be achieved. [Ultimately, this differentiation] refers to a direction in life rather than a state of being.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Having read this book now three times in the past six months, I continue to be amazed by the depth of Friedman\u2019s concepts and the connections to so many leadership principles. One example is Lieberman\u2019s work in The Molecule of More <\/em>and the drive dopamine provided \u201cOld World\u201d leaders like Columbus to explore and lead an entire civilization to new possibilities. Friedman comments that these leaders had a \u201ccapacity to get outside the emotional climate of the day…. A willingness to be exposed and vulnerable…. Persistence in the face of resistance and downright rejection…. Stamina in the face of sabotage along the way…. [and] Being ‘headstrong’ and ‘ruthless.\u201d<\/em>[4]<\/a> These concepts are very notable to me in consideration of my NPO: Vulnerable communities struggle to flourish due to a lack of healthy, holistic relationships<\/em>. In exploring possible solutions to my NPO, I will be working on my prototype this semester to ultimately develop a six-month leadership development cohort to holistically invest in my low-income community. While there are many notable principles from Friedman\u2019s work, I anticipate incorporating the following into my project to challenge the cycle of poverty and chronic anxiety:<\/p>\n