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RARE; how one may describe good leadership today.\u00a0 It is definitely implied by authors Marcus Warner and Jim Wilder in their book Rare Leadership: 4 Uncommon Habits For Increasing Trust, Joy, and Engagement in the People You Lead.<\/em>\u00a0 Wilder, who holds a Ph.D. in Psychology and an M.A. in theology, and Warner, who holds a D.Min, bring their education and experience to bear in this leadership book.\u00a0 Utilizing brain science, the dynamics of emotional intelligence and maturity, and theology, the authors offer the leader the why and how to nurture healthy leadership teams wherever one finds themselves.<\/p>\n Rare Leadership is broken into 2 sections; section 1, Understanding Fast-Track Leadership<\/em>, presents their thesis on what can shape leadership that is rare and section 2, Building RARE Leadership<\/em> unpacks how to practice R.A.R.E. leadership.\u00a0 The foundation of Rare Leadership: 4 Uncommon Habits For Increasing Trust, Joy, and Engagement in the People You Lead, <\/em>is the 4 habits Warner and Wilder organize in the acronym R.A.R.E. [1]<\/a><\/p>\n Wilder and Warner argue that with R.A.R.E. habits securely practiced, the leader will have the capacity to lead from a place that builds trust rather than through fear.<\/p>\n Reflecting on the concepts in Rare Leadership, I noticed a number of connections to our past readings. First is Mining for Gold where there is a similar call to investing in relationships.\u00a0 Although not an exact match, the authors use of Fast-Track process\/Slow-Track process embodies Kahnman\u2019s \u201csystem 1 and 2 thinking\u201d.\u00a0 I find the \u201cE\u201d of rare resonates with Taleb\u2019s Antifragile<\/em> argument as well as Poole\u2019s concept of engaging in simulation [2]<\/a> in Leadersmithing. <\/em>Poole\u2019s chapter 3 also can speak into \u201cA\u201d of Rare Leadership.<\/em> Tempered Resillience<\/em> came to mind when comparing Bolsinger\u2019s \u201cHolding\u201d and \u201cHammering\u201d [3]<\/a> with Wilder and Warners\u2019 \u201cR-Relational\u201d and \u201cE\u201d. And there is the obvious connection with Friedman around the importance of self-differentiation and holding the tension of individualism and togetherness with healthy boundaries [4]<\/a>.<\/p>\n It is the \u201cR-returning to Joy\u201d that has captured my inquisitiveness.\u00a0 I found myself delving back into The Molecule of More<\/em> because I want to understand more about the dynamics between dopamine and joy.\u00a0 Lieberman and Long have many references to happiness in their book.\u00a0 And there is clearly a connection between higher dopamine levels and how happy one is. There also seems to be a connection to how dopamine feeds the fast-track process; our instincts for happiness are hyped up on dopamine. But I pause to consider if Joy really is instinctive?\u00a0 When at our Advance in South Africa, I asked Jason the question about the difference between happiness and joy.\u00a0 Jason said, \u201cJoy is psychological, and happiness is circumstantial.\u201d\u00a0 What are the connections between our psychological selves and the work of dopamine? Because we are instructed in scripture to be joyful does that not imply we have to be intentional which takes more slow-track process\/slow-thinking?\u00a0 In the midst of understanding joy, I also believe that there is a correlation between it and playfulness.\u00a0 Friedman comments that if a system has lost its playfulness, it is clearly paralyzed by anxiety.[5]<\/a> I do agree with Wilder and Warner that joy requires a level of trust[6]<\/a>. Trust maybe instinctual but it takes effort to move into joy.<\/p>\n All of this brings me back to ponderings when we read The Molecule of More<\/em>;<\/p>\n how do I not only lead with playfulness but engender a space where the system is cognizant of the\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0importance of play in the faith community? How do create space to invite the release of healthy\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0dopamine levels to nurture the desire for play? How do I hold in tension the value of play with the\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 cost of letting go of some certainty that faith our biases define?<\/p>\n Being a RARE leader who synthesizes my questions above and the other connections from our past books will require tenacity, vulnerability, resiliency, strength, and a whole lot of trust in the One who calls me to bring Joy to the world.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Warner, Marcus, and Jim Wilder. Rare Leadership: 4 Uncommon Habits For Increasing Trust, Joy, and Engagement in the People You Lead<\/em>. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2016. Page 25.<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Poole, Eve. Leadersmithing: Revealing the Trade Secrets of Leadership<\/em>. London\u202f; New York, NY: Bloomsbury Business, 2017. Page 11. Kindle<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> Bolsinger, Tod. Tempered Resilience: How Leaders Are Formed in the Crucible of Change<\/em>. Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2020. Chapters 5-6.<\/p>\n [4]<\/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 63.<\/p>\n\n