{"id":28388,"date":"2022-03-17T08:32:48","date_gmt":"2022-03-17T15:32:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=28388"},"modified":"2022-03-17T08:32:48","modified_gmt":"2022-03-17T15:32:48","slug":"why-pastoring-ranks-as-one-of-the-most-challenging-leadership-roles-in-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/why-pastoring-ranks-as-one-of-the-most-challenging-leadership-roles-in-america\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Pastoring Ranks As One of the Most Challenging Leadership Roles In America"},"content":{"rendered":"

Peter Northouse argues that\u00a0<\/span>leadership<\/span><\/em>\u00a0is intuitively challenging to define, like the words\u00a0<\/span>peace<\/span><\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>love<\/span><\/em>. After examining the myriad of ways it has been expressed over the centuries, he finally lands on:\u00a0<\/span>Leadership\u00a0<\/span><\/em>is the process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal.<\/span>\u00a0[1]<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s evident from Northouse\u2019s examination of leadership throughout history, its many forms and context, that leadership has metamorphosized. Moreover, the fact that Northouse\u2019s book on leadership theory and practice alone is in its ninth edition, over 30 years since its first publication, proves that our understanding of leadership is continually changing.<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s powerful about his definition of leadership is that each word has intentionality, leaning into the significance of\u00a0<\/span>process<\/span><\/em>,\u00a0<\/span>influence<\/span><\/em>,\u00a0<\/span>groups<\/span><\/em>, and\u00a0<\/span>common goals<\/span><\/em>. Moreover, Northouse wants to move away from a trait-based definition of leadership, recognizing its limitations on individuals who do not fit into an archetypal understanding of leadership.<\/span><\/p>\n

He takes this concept deeper by looking at the importance of understanding personality. Labeling them as five big personality factors, Northouse states that Neuroticism (tendency towards anxiety, depression, insecurity, vulnerability, and hostility), Extraversion (tendency towards sociable and assertiveness), Openness (tendency to be informed, creative, insightful, and curious), Agreeableness (tendency towards acceptance, conforming, trust, and nurturing), and Conscientiousness (tendency towards thoroughness, organization, control, dependability, and decisiveness) all play a factor in a person\u2019s leadership approach.<\/span>\u00a0[2]<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Each of our personalities, our levels of the big five, all play a factor in how we lead. At the same time, Northouse recognizes the importance of emotional intelligence (EQ) within individuals as a critical factor in overcoming some of their less favorable personality traits.<\/span><\/p>\n

As EQ scholar Daniel Goleman put it, \u201cMore than anyone else, the boss creates the conditions that directly determine people\u2019s ability to work well. Therefore, the leader\u2019s emotional states and actions do affect how the people they lead will feel and therefore perform.\u201d<\/span>[3]<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Northouse emboldens this idea by discussing the difference between having technical expertise or adaptability in leadership. He argued, \u201cOn the organizational level, adaptive leadership can be used as a model to explain and address a variety of challenges that are ever-present, during change and growth.\u201d<\/span>[4]<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

However, probably the most challenging and timeline discussion in Northouse\u2019s anthology on leadership is his focus on inclusiveness. In our highly globalized society, where equity and equality are more elevated conversations than in the past, all leaders must consider all organizational members’ needs and sense of belonging. The author gives readers a chart to recognize leadership traits with low belonging and high belonging, low uniqueness and high uniqueness.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a sense, there is a difference between having a diverse and inclusive organization. Diversity for the sake of diversity is tokenism. However, seeking the inclusive beliefs, attitudes, values, and backgrounds of all people is remarkably challenging and holistic. And yet, \u201cinclusive leadership is a shared responsibility with everyone in the group, where all members of an organization play an important role in doing so.\u201d<\/span>[5]<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Northouse\u2019s book is an extraordinary self-assessment for leaders, which according to Eve Poole of\u00a0<\/span>Leadersmithing<\/span><\/em>, is all of us. Leadership is not a one-size-fits-all role. The numerous contexts, situations, and diverse people you encounter along the way require a leader to develop solid skills and have strong adaptability and emotional intelligence.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a person who has served as a pastor to pastors and a local church pastor, my heart goes out to ministers. Commonly ranked by Forbes as one of the most challenging leadership roles in America, pastors today are faced with a myriad of challenges, requiring an equal myriad of tools, assets, experience, and adaptability.<\/span><\/p>\n

Often underpaid, under-resourced, and underappreciated, ministers have every reason to fail in leadership. However, we are challenged to remember our calling and the great cloud of witnesses that have come before us as we face the host challenges before and ahead of us. Moreover, Northouse\u2019s definition of leadership reminds us that we are in a holy process, influencing God\u2019s people in pursuing God\u2019s good work of redeeming the world. And that is an inspiring thought.<\/span><\/p>\n

[1]<\/span><\/a>\u00a0Northouse, Peter,\u00a0<\/span>Leadership: Theory and Practice<\/span><\/em>. Ninth Edition. (Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publishing, 2021), 6.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[2]<\/span><\/a>\u00a0Ibid, 37.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[3] Daniel Goleman,\u00a0<\/span>Leadership: The Power of Emotional Intelligence<\/span><\/em>, 94.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[4] Northouse,\u00a0<\/span>Leadership<\/span><\/em>, 306.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[5]<\/span><\/a>\u00a0Ibid, 334.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Peter Northouse argues that\u00a0leadership\u00a0is intuitively challenging to define, like the words\u00a0peace\u00a0and\u00a0love. After examining the myriad of ways it has been expressed over the centuries, he finally lands on:\u00a0Leadership\u00a0is the process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal.\u00a0[1] It\u2019s evident from Northouse\u2019s examination of leadership throughout history, its many forms […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":139,"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":[2260,2173,2261,35,2259],"class_list":["post-28388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-adaptive-leadership","tag-eq","tag-inclusiveness","tag-leadership","tag-peter-northouse","cohort-lgp11"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28388","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\/139"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28388"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28388\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28389,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28388\/revisions\/28389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}