{"id":33057,"date":"2023-09-14T20:54:40","date_gmt":"2023-09-15T03:54:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=33057"},"modified":"2023-09-14T22:41:00","modified_gmt":"2023-09-15T05:41:00","slug":"can-stepping-aside-be-powerful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/can-stepping-aside-be-powerful\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Stepping Aside be Powerful?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIf any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.\u201d[1]<\/a> This was the verse around which our pastor focused his sermon this past week.[2]<\/a> He said these words represent a lifestyle of caring about other human beings so much that we are willing to pour ourselves out so that others can live and thrive. I\u2019m familiar with this verse, but on Sunday, it caught my attention in a new way. Do I live this way every day?<\/p>\n

In our reading this week, I found a similar theme in Simon Walker\u2019s book, Leading with Nothing to Lose: Training in the Exercise of Power, <\/em>in which he refers to \u201cself-emptying,\u201d as Jesus demonstrated in his death and resurrection, as one of the most powerful strategies available to leaders. In fact, he says this seeming act of weakness, giving up yourself, is \u201cnot merely one of the eight different leadership strategies [as listed in his thesis], it is the foundation of all the others, the key that unlocks them all, the sacrifice that consecrates them all.\u201d[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

The Undefended Leader: Discovering the Fundamentals of Power<\/strong><\/p>\n

Simon Walker, in his second book of the Undefended Leader trilogy, proports that if we want to be effective leaders, it will behoove us to learn about the power of weakness and the nature of power itself.[4]<\/a> His book focuses on the structure of power, the ecology of power, and the way in which varying patterns of power can create various strategies for leadership.[5]<\/a>\u00a0 Walker lists eight strategies.[6]<\/a><\/p>\n

One might assume that Walker presents the case that each leader possesses one of these strategies through which they craft their lifelong leadership style. Walker surprises the reader by proposing that strong leaders can develop the \u201cfreedom and mobility\u201d to use them all.[7]<\/a> What is needed to be able to use all eight strategies well? In Walker\u2019s opinion, it is stillness.[8]<\/a><\/p>\n

Stillness allows us to notice our surroundings and discern what is most needed from our leadership in the moment. Stillness only comes when, unafraid of failure, we are free to wholeheartedly intuit the needs around us and choose the appropriate leadership strategy.[9]<\/a> Undefended leaders, secure in their identity as a result of a healthy relationship with God, can move forward unhindered by fear and doubt, to lead \u201cwith nothing to lose.\u201d[10]<\/a><\/p>\n

A Lesson in Stepping Aside<\/strong><\/p>\n

We had our annual retreat at work this week. My colleague, Brittney, and I had been planning it for several months. The morning of the retreat, I was energized and ready to go. I met several colleagues at the retreat site early so that we could set up for the day. My phone rang, just as I finished putting our agenda and notes on the whiteboard. It was my friend Karen, who I had spent several hours with a couple days before. She was calling to tell me she had Covid.<\/p>\n

Knowing that one of our colleagues had a compromised immune system, due to recent chemotherapy and radiation treatments, I contemplated the best course of action. In short, I handed the leadership reigns of the retreat to Brittney.<\/p>\n

As I drove home, I felt excited for Brittney to lead. Then immediately after, I felt fear that I wouldn\u2019t be needed and could be easily replaced. Somewhere amid these two thoughts, I found a place of settled calm, a joy for Brittney\u2019s leadership which was being honed at that very minute, a gratefulness for our team, and God\u2019s freeing peace.<\/p>\n

Could I be a Leader who Empties Myself?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Walker\u2019s chapter on \u201cJesus and the Self-Emptying Strategy\u201d provided thought-provoking insights in light of my retreat experience this week. I did not exactly choose to step aside and \u201cempty\u201d myself for the team in this situation, but I have a new appreciation for what that could look like. Walker points out that, \u201cSelf-emptying, laying down power, is merely a channel though which a great power is allowed to flow \u2013 but it is power that enables others to flourish, not power to aggrandize us.\u201d[11]<\/a> In talking with Brittney after the retreat, she received positive feedback from our colleagues and felt empowered by this experience. I can picture her in a larger leadership role in the future.<\/p>\n

Part of me wonders, upon reflection of the themes God is raising in my life this year, if after thirteen years leading this nonprofit program, it might be time for me to step down. Walker notes that, \u201cPeople defer to a founder and yield to a longstanding leader, and when her authority needs to be outgrown if the organization is to grow further, the only way it can happen is for the leader to withdraw: to empty herself as a final expression of her attachment to the thing to which she may have devoted her life\u2026 it is a loss, a giving away\u2026And yet, for the followers she leaves behind, if it is done in a healthy and responsible way, it can lead to both freedom and empowerment.\u201d[12]<\/a> Perhaps this week was a trial run and a glimpse of the possibilities to come.<\/p>\n

Stillness, An Area to Ponder Further<\/strong><\/p>\n

Something I would like to contemplate further, is the importance of being still in order to listen and notice what needs to be done. Walker believes pausing is actually the most helpful course of action allowing us to \u201clisten to the moment\u201d and lead with relevant and substantial strategies that address what is \u201ctruly important, right, and good.\u201d[13]<\/a> I was inspired by Laura\u2019s post last week in which she talked about taking retreat time while in Oxford to be still and listen to God regarding next steps in her life.[14]<\/a> In the eye of the storm, it can be hard to stop, watch, and listen, but it seems necessary if we are to realize our full leadership capacity.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am intrigued with Walker\u2019s ideas of employing the self-emptying leadership strategy when appropriate and hope to have the courage to employ this approach in the future, when God opens that door. I am also challenged to be still amid the chaos, that I might learn to be a stronger leader, able to switch leadership styles as appropriate, unhindered by fear, and fully embracing the task with nothing to lose.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Mark 8:34.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Ray Jones, \u201cLiving as the Body of Christ,\u201d Mark 8:34-38, Valley Community Presbyterian Church, Portland, Oregon, September 10, 2023.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Simon Walker, Leading with Nothing to Lose: Training in the Exercise of Power<\/em> (Carlisle, UK: Piquant Editions Ltd, 2007), 147.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Walker, 6.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Walker, 6.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Walker, 35-128.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Walker, 6.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Walker, 145.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Walker, 145-146.<\/p>\n

[10]<\/a> Walker, ix, 145, 6.<\/p>\n

[11]<\/a> Walker, 147.<\/p>\n

[12]<\/a> Walker, 126.<\/p>\n

[13]<\/a> Walker, 149.<\/p>\n

[14]<\/a> Laura Fleetwood, \u201cOxford: People, Places, and Plans,\u201d DLGP: Crafting Ministry in an Interconnected World<\/em>, Portland Seminary, September 5, 2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cIf any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.\u201d[1] This was the verse around which our pastor focused his sermon this past week.[2] He said these words represent a lifestyle of caring about other human beings so much that we are willing to pour ourselves […]<\/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":[2825,2831,2830],"class_list":["post-33057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-simon","tag-simonwalker2","tag-weaknessaspower","cohort-dlgp01"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33057","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=33057"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33057\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33058,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33057\/revisions\/33058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}