{"id":33329,"date":"2023-10-10T14:33:31","date_gmt":"2023-10-10T21:33:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=33329"},"modified":"2023-10-12T14:27:50","modified_gmt":"2023-10-12T21:27:50","slug":"exploring-the-forces-of-leadership-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/exploring-the-forces-of-leadership-power\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring the Forces of Leadership Power"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to Dr. Jason Clark, 15,000 new books are published every year with the word leadership in the title. [1]<\/a> Of these, many will not stand the test of time, yet it is clear that the world is obsessed with the topic of leadership.\u00a0 It\u2019s easy to imagine why, since we daily read articles of leaders who have failed and derailed. There\u2019s no shortage of examples on how to NOT be a good leader, but getting to the core of effective leadership is as ever-changing as the world in which we live.\u00a0 Thankfully, there are authors who aim to get underneath the topic of leadership and provide timeless insights for those leaders who want to make a positive impact.\u00a0 One such author is Simon P. Walker, author of The Undefended Leader trilogy<\/em>.\u00a0 This post explores his second book in the Undefended leader series called Leading with Nothing to Lose, Training in the Exercise of Power.<\/em> [2]<\/a><\/p>\n

What is Power?<\/h1>\n

I have never encountered a text that dives into the concept of power like Walker does in Leading with Nothing to Lose<\/em>. He explains that \u201cpower is simply the application of force in a human system,\u201d[3]<\/a> which might seem obvious, but he goes deep to differentiate these forces into three groups made up of opposing pairs 1) front stage and back stage force 2)strong and weak force 3) expanding and consolidating force. According to Walker, these forces are not applied individually, but in relation to each other. Moreover, an effective leader must make use of all of them depending on the situation, the people involved, and the context. For the remainder of this post, I explore each force by examining where I notice it in my recent leadership experiences.<\/p>\n

Examples of the Forces in Real Life<\/h1>\n

Frontstage vs Backstage Force<\/h2>\n

Front stage force is power based on what is \u201cexplicit, visible, on the surface.\u201d[4]<\/a> Much of my front stage power has been on the back-burner these past few years as I covered a more behind-the-scenes role in worship production. With the impact of COVID on in-person worship, our church had to quickly figure out how to do \u201conline church.\u201d With no real expert in this area within our staff, the job quickly fell to me. Suddenly, I found myself learning about camera angles, production calls, and Youtube. \u00a0As someone used to being on the \u00a0front stage with a more public role, it was initially difficult for me to feel good about my new role \u201cbehind the booth.\u201d However, I quickly realized that the power of backstage force is just as important as the front. Although my efforts may not have been visible to the average worshiper, the technology team allowed our church to survive and even thrive during the COVID era. My role has now shifted again to be more front stage-based and I actually find myself missing the ability to lead from the shadows.<\/p>\n

Strong vs Weak Force<\/h2>\n

To be completely honest, I never considered weakness to be a source of power until I read this book. \u00a0I often felt that being a female (often considered the weaker of the sexes) to be a strike against me in the world of leadership, especially being a female leader in the church. Our denomination does not permit female pastors, and as my role has developed into a more pastoral role I have felt this limit in significant ways. However, I now have a new appreciation for how God has used my \u201cweakness\u201d as a force for good. For example, I will never be the lead pastor of my church. And because of that, people are more willing to share their honest thoughts, feelings and perspectives with me. Also, because I am not the top boss and have excellent listening and coaching skills, employees feel safe coming to me with issues that they would be afraid sharing with the senior leader. These soft skills allow me to exercise a great deal of influence in my role even if it\u2019s not a direct and formal strong force. I have a new appreciation for how my \u201cweakness\u201d gives me a unique opportunity to understand and serve those around me.<\/p>\n

Expansive vs Consolidating Force<\/h2>\n

The final pair of forces I explored from Walker\u2019s work are those of expanding versus consolidating. It\u2019s not always true that more is better. In church work, this can seem an anathema. After all, didn\u2019t Jesus command us to go and make disciples of all nations?[5]<\/a> Dr. Martin Percy explores this tension that many churches face to reach larger numbers of people at the cost of being able to serve and transform relationships at a deep level. He argues that sometimes decline and consolidation is necessary:<\/p>\n

Indeed, the kenotic vocation of Jesus is also the calling of the Church. It is by leaving, falling, and being immersed in the earthiness of humanity \u2013 the womb of Mary, the \u201cdark streets\u201d of the little town of Bethlehem, and finally enclosed in the Easter tomb \u2013 that Jesus is raised. For there to be life, the kernel must fall, rot and be cracked open. There is no life without death; no growth without surrender; no spring without winter; and no possibility of being raised up unless we have first surrendered to gravity\u2019s law.[6]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As I begin a new leadership role as the Director of Discipleship at our church, Percy\u2019s thoughts are particularly timely as I think about our church’s goals for discipleship. Perhaps trying to reach everyone<\/em> is not as impactful as trying to reach the ones that are ready<\/em>.\u00a0 If that is the case, the numbers may not show we are successful, but perhaps the fruit will.<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Per Dr. Clark\u2019s morning lecture at the 2023 Oxford Advance for the Doctor of Leadership in Global Perspectives at Portland Seminary.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Simon P. Walker, Leading with Nothing to Lose<\/em> (Piquant Publishing, 2010).<\/p>\n

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

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

[5]<\/a> Matthew 28:\u00a0 19-20<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Martin Percy, \u201cWhat Three Words? \u2018Go\u2019, \u2018Make\u2019, \u2018Disciples\u2019: Some Expository Notes for Dissenting Preachers,\u201d The Expository Times<\/em> 134, no. 9 (2023): 391.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

According to Dr. Jason Clark, 15,000 new books are published every year with the word leadership in the title. [1] Of these, many will not stand the test of time, yet it is clear that the world is obsessed with the topic of leadership.\u00a0 It\u2019s easy to imagine why, since we daily read articles of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":154,"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-33329","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\/33329","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\/154"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33329"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33329\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33356,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33329\/revisions\/33356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}