{"id":29714,"date":"2022-12-01T07:37:48","date_gmt":"2022-12-01T15:37:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=29714"},"modified":"2022-12-01T07:37:48","modified_gmt":"2022-12-01T15:37:48","slug":"proverbs-for-leadership-or-im-not-bossy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/proverbs-for-leadership-or-im-not-bossy\/","title":{"rendered":"Proverbs for Leadership or I’m Not Bossy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cTruth will set you free\u201d; \u201cSpeak the truth in love\u201d; \u201cSpeak truth to power\u201d; These three well known phrases are the foundation of the book, Transparency: How Leaders Create a Culture of Candor<\/em>.\u00a0 Transparency<\/em> is made up of three essays written by Warren Bennis, Daniel Goleman, James O’Toole.\u00a0 Their goal is to encourage leaders to curate a \u201cculture of candor\u201d[1]<\/a> (or living proverbs as I would say) in whatever organizations they find themselves.\u00a0 The author\u2019s premise is the health and longevity of the organization is positively impacted if leaders at the top of the food chain create a safe space for employees to speak truth, that which could be considered negative, without fear of repercussions.[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

Our focus reading is Chapter two, entitled, \u201cSpeaking Truth to Power\u201d written by James O\u2019Toole.\u00a0 O\u2019Toole offers poignant stories from his consulting work of how hubris of CEO\u2019s of large corporations, like Cowels Media and Enron[3]<\/a> have led to the downfall of the person and the company.\u00a0 He deftly makes his point that leaders who are unwilling to hear the hard truths and refuse to chart a different course because it reveals they were wrong, curate a culture of \u201cgroup think\u201d; employees are unwilling to take the risk to speak truth to power for fear of verbal abuse, punishment, or being fired.[4]<\/a>\u00a0 This fear leads to risk averse choices.[5]<\/a>\u00a0 Although Friedman\u2019s call for self-differentiation in toxic systems is not the point in the essay, it highlights O\u2019Toole\u2019s argument that an unhealthy organization is a result of leaders unwilling to be challenged in rethinking purpose or responsibilities.[6]<\/a>\u00a0 This echoes Friedman\u2019s hypothesis that leaders operating out of hubris reveal character of invasiveness and lack of integrity; an undifferentiated leader promotes a system that has no nerve.[7]<\/a><\/p>\n

O\u2019Toole references his co-authors in his essay regarding an important dynamic in creating a culture of candor; leaders have the responsibility to invite dissenting voices to be heard and to intentionally listen deeply.[8]<\/a> I found his story about President Gerald Ford as a consummate model very inspiring. President Ford laid aside the typical leadership model, as shared by O\u2019Toole, New York Times\u00a0columnist Frank Rich noted that the former President “encouraged dissent in his inner circle. He had no enemies, no ego, no agenda, no ideology, no concern for his image.”\u00a0[9]<\/a> The President understood that strength in being well-differentiated allowed him to listen intently to others in order to hear hard truths.<\/p>\n

Reading O\u2019Toole\u2019s essay brought to mind echoes of a number of verses from Proverbs.\u00a0 I remember the summer before I started this doctoral journey I began reading and meditating on Proverbs.\u00a0\u00a0 Here is one of my journal entries:<\/p>\n

Proverbs 12:15-20 The Message (MSG)<\/em><\/p>\n

15 Fools are headstrong and do what they like;\u00a0wise people take advice.\u00a0 16 Fools have short fuses and explode all too quickly; the prudent quietly shrug off insults.\u00a0 17 Truthful witness by a good person clears the air, but liars lay down a smoke screen of deceit.\u00a0 18 Rash language cuts and maims, but there is healing in the words of the wise. 19 Truth lasts; lies are here today, gone tomorrow. 20 Evil scheming distorts the schemer;\u00a0peace-planning brings joy to the planner.<\/p>\n

Dwelling with Proverbs 12 again. These verses convict me….how often I have been a fool. Being a fool is so easy; it doesn\u2019t require much effort. Relying on God\u2019s wisdom instead of my \u201cwisdom\u201d takes intentional openness; it requires tenacity in effort. These days I\u2019m constantly praying God pours out God\u2019s wisdom into my heart. I\u2019m attempting to have a teachable spirit….to not cling so tightly to my knee jerk ego response to be right (and my ego need to have everyone agree that I\u2019m right) welcoming new information into my brain requires I am open to broadening world view and understanding. It means an openness to admitting I don\u2019t know it all and I don\u2019t always have it right. And to be a peace-planner requires intentionality to really listen to those with whom I disagree. I pray again today for God\u2019s wisdom to love the knowledge God wants to offer.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Going back through my journal entries I can see that God was already working on me regarding leadership.\u00a0 I am learning the nuances of healthy leadership that require a transformation of the “I’m not bossy” character. Curating and nurturing a culture of candor is a foundational map.\u00a0 In some ways I have come half circle.\u00a0 Proverbs, Friedman, and O\u2019Toole paint a map of the importance of well-differentiated self that can be free to speak truth to power in love while curating a heart to listen.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Proverbs 18:15\u00a0 The Message<\/em><\/p>\n

15 Wise men and women are always learning,\u00a0always listening for fresh insights.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest communication problem is we do not listen to understand. We listen to reply,\u201d Stephen Covey.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Bennis, Warren, Daniel Goleman, James O\u2019Toole, and Patricia Ward Biederman. Transparency: How Leaders Create a Culture of Candor<\/em>. 1st edition. Jossey-Bass, 2008. Preface page 9.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Ibid,. Page 10,<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Ibid. Page 50-51, 60-61.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Ibid. Page 52, 58.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Ibid. Page 59.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Ibid. Page 52.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a>Friedman, Edwin H., and Peter Steinke. A Failure of Nerve, Revised Edition: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix<\/em>. 10th Anniversary edition. New York: Church Publishing, 2017. Page 174.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Bennis, Warren, Daniel Goleman, James O\u2019Toole, and Patricia Ward Biederman. Transparency: How Leaders Create a Culture of Candor<\/em>. 1st edition. Jossey-Bass, 2008. Page 87.<\/p>\n

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

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cTruth will set you free\u201d; \u201cSpeak the truth in love\u201d; \u201cSpeak truth to power\u201d; These three well known phrases are the foundation of the book, Transparency: How Leaders Create a Culture of Candor.\u00a0 Transparency is made up of three essays written by Warren Bennis, Daniel Goleman, James O’Toole.\u00a0 Their goal is to encourage leaders to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":148,"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":[2471,2473,2472,236,2460],"class_list":["post-29714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-candor","tag-listening","tag-truthtopowerinlove","tag-friedman","tag-otoole","cohort-lgp11"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29714","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\/148"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29714"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29714\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29716,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29714\/revisions\/29716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}