{"id":29368,"date":"2022-11-03T20:49:03","date_gmt":"2022-11-04T03:49:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=29368"},"modified":"2022-11-03T20:49:03","modified_gmt":"2022-11-04T03:49:03","slug":"small-applications-toward-undefended-leading-and-living","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/small-applications-toward-undefended-leading-and-living\/","title":{"rendered":"Small Applications Toward Undefended Leading and Living"},"content":{"rendered":"

Simon Walker\u2019s book, Leading Out of Who You Are, Discovering the Secret of Undefended Leadership, <\/em>presents a nontraditional approach to leadership and calls people to a transformational journey of self-reflection and discovery.[1]<\/a> He believes that most leaders operate out of \u201cdefendedness,\u201d an attempt to hang onto power by controlling how much of themselves they allow others to see.[2]<\/a> Walker believes, similarly to family therapist Edwin Friedman, that the success of a leader lies not in performance, but in a leader\u2019s assuredness of their own self-worth, saying it is \u201cabout who you are, not what you know or what skills you have.\u201d[3]<\/a> For Walker, assuredness comes through meaningful relationships with people or with God.[4]<\/a>\u00a0 He challenges leaders to undefended, open and free forms of leadership that provide life and the opportunity for growth for leaders and followers, alike.<\/p>\n

Defendedness, in Walker\u2019s opinion, starts in childhood and is determined by our level of trust with caregivers and our developmental experiences in the world.[5]<\/a> He identifies four leadership types, based on responses to trust and control: the Shaping, Defining, Adapting, and Defending leadership egos.[6]<\/a> At first glance, I think I resonate with the \u2018Backstage Adapters,\u201d who hide emotion so as not to risk losing relationships; assume more responsibility than is healthy; and show high trust in others and low trust in themselves.[7]<\/a> Backstage adapters need to learn that relationships are not as fragile as they think, they can say no to the many requests made of them, and they can trust themselves.[8]<\/a><\/p>\n

I was specifically interested in Walker\u2019s suggestions regarding how \u201cBackstage Adapters\u201d can maintain an undefended leadership posture through viewing life as a gift.[9]<\/a> He offers the following four recommendations. To test these recommendations, I have developed some simple, yet practical applications to try in my own life.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Switch off your phones and be unavailable at times you have set aside to play, or pray, or be with family. <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    At the moment, I am overly connected to texting and email. I think this reflects my current struggle to find a healthy rhythm in which to incorporate my job, doctoral study, time with family, and time to myself. I feel a bit discombobulated and checking and responding to my phone regularly creates the illusion of productivity. In truth, it disrupts my daily flow and hinders concentrated thinking, specifically my slow thinking processes.[10]<\/a> This week, I commit to creating large blocks or time to focus on the above activities, without my phone.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Resist the urge to plough into emails at the start of the day without first stilling yourselves and handing over all your fears and hopes to your source of safety.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      I love to start the day early with a cup of tea, my journal, my Bible, and a conversation with God. Lately, during these conversations with God, I have felt overly worried and burdened by my daily to-do list. This week, I commit to focusing on joy and seeing life as a gift.[11]<\/a><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Hand over to someone else a role you have become possessive about.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        This is an interesting challenge. Sometimes I wonder what it would look like to hand over the directorship of the Second Home program which I lead. I was on the ground floor of launching the program twelve years ago and am invested in the continued growth and service of our team. I have institutional knowledge that no one on the current team possesses. Could I hand this program over to someone else? I hope to move to a new position someday and realize this will be challenging. I commit to envisioning what a healthy transition to new leadership might look like for the Second Home team.<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Ask for help when you need it, rather than taking on all the responsibility yourself. <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          As a leader, I often feel I am responsible to take on extra tasks that arise in our program, however, I am getting better at delegating without feeling guilty. This week, as one of my colleagues transitions to another job, I commit to not assuming the responsibilities associated with her position. When she leaves, there will be a gap, but instead of volunteering to fill the gap, I will ask the team how we together can cover the need.<\/p>\n

          In Leading Out of Who You Are, <\/em>I recognize in myself defended and undefended behaviors. Walker\u2019s presentation has given me tangible challenges to consider for improved leadership, as well as an improved daily living routine. I am committed to making some immediate changes to strengthen my work environment and, as well, positively contribute to my home environment.<\/p>\n

          [1]<\/a> Simon Walker, Leading Out of Who You Are, Discovering the Secret of Undefended Leadership<\/em> (Carlisle, UK: Piquant Editions Ltd, 2007), x.<\/p>\n

          [2]<\/a> Chris, Duckler, https:\/\/emj.redcliffe.ac.uk\/reviews\/leading-out-of-who-you-are-book-review\/.<\/a><\/p>\n

          [3]<\/a> Walker, 5; Edwin H. Friedman, A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix <\/em>(New York, NY: Church Publishing, 2017), 18.<\/p>\n

          [4]<\/a> Andrew Hartman, https:\/\/static1.squarespace.com\/static\/5df3bc9a62ff3e45ae9d2b06\/t\/5e384525947a5125262f7a7c\/1580746028131\/Leading+Out+of+Who+You+Are.Walker.EBS.pdf<\/a>.<\/p>\n

          [5]<\/a> Walker, 53-54.<\/p>\n

          [6]<\/a> Walker, 61, 69, 79, 89.<\/p>\n

          [7]<\/a> Walker, 79-86.<\/p>\n

          [8]<\/a> Hartman, https:\/\/static1.squarespace.com\/static\/5df3bc9a62ff3e45ae9d2b06\/t\/5e384525947a5125262f7a7c\/1580746028131\/Leading+Out+of+Who+You+Are.Walker.EBS.pdf<\/a>.<\/p>\n

          [9]<\/a> Walker, 123.<\/p>\n

          [10]<\/a> Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow <\/em>(New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011).<\/p>\n

          [11]<\/a> Philippians 4:4-8.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Simon Walker\u2019s book, Leading Out of Who You Are, Discovering the Secret of Undefended Leadership, presents a nontraditional approach to leadership and calls people to a transformational journey of self-reflection and discovery.[1] He believes that most leaders operate out of \u201cdefendedness,\u201d an attempt to hang onto power by controlling how much of themselves they allow […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":157,"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":[1718],"class_list":["post-29368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-walker","cohort-dlgp01"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29368","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\/157"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29368"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29368\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29369,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29368\/revisions\/29369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}