{"id":34297,"date":"2023-11-28T05:24:48","date_gmt":"2023-11-28T13:24:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=34297"},"modified":"2023-11-29T07:12:00","modified_gmt":"2023-11-29T15:12:00","slug":"conceptualizing-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/conceptualizing-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"Conceptualizing Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are 15 or so months into our doctoral journey, and this week\u2019s reading may be the first book that feels like a classic textbook. Leadership is a notoriously slippery concept to pin down, but Peter Northouse\u2019s Leadership: Theory and Practice<\/em> provides a helpful definition: \u201cLeadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal.\u201d[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

Northouse goes on to weave a few concepts consistently through his analysis of numerous leadership models. For example, he repeatedly differentiates between task-based and relational aspects of leadership approaches, notably in the style approach[2]<\/a> and the situational approach[3]<\/a> among others.\u00a0 I found this reminder helpful. No matter what style of leadership we adopt and no matter the leadership context, we will have to deal with accomplishing tasks while in relation with other people. Most people feel a more natural orientation to one or the other; personally, I\u2019m quite task-oriented. However, a balanced, effective leader must hone both skills.<\/p>\n

As I read through the models Northouse presented, many were familiar but there was one that gave me pause. I took some time to digest the Path-Goal leadership approach. I reflected on the peculiarities of leading missionaries, and I was left with several helpful applications.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The path-goal approach focuses on employee motivation[4]<\/a>. Missionaries come in all shapes and sizes, but we generally share one characteristic. It takes a certain sense of adventure and pioneering spirit to leave one\u2019s home culture and start life over in a new country. The dark side of that trait is that our independence can be taken to an extreme; we can become resistant to oversight. Mission agencies handle accountability in a variety of ways, but from a leadership perspective it is essential to tap into a missionary\u2019s internal motivation and to keep it charged up.<\/li>\n
  2. The path-goal leader uses coaching and direction to remove (or help the missionary to remove) obstacles to their goals[5]<\/a>. In many instances, a missionary is sent to work in partnership with a local ministry. In my case, I work on the ground in Lille, but my supervisor is in Paris and the highest level of organizational leadership is in the United States. Because of the distance, my supervisor is a great coach but never really in a position to be directive because he doesn\u2019t have first-hand knowledge of my day-to-day work. These dynamics have been an ongoing challenge for leaders and followers alike within our organization. As I reflected on this, I came to see the path-goal approach as potentially quite effective. As I see it, the onus is on the follower to identify the obstacles (likely with some coaching from the leader) and then take steps to remove it or at least participate in the process.<\/li>\n
  3. The path-goal approach places high value on the work being personally satisfying[6]<\/a>. A missionary ultimately needs to feel a deep sense of satisfaction in his or her work. Without a deep sense of purpose and fulfilling a divine calling, he or she will not continue very long in this vocation.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    One other model caught my attention specifically for its connection to Simon Walker\u2019s concept of front stage vs. back stage leadership and specifically the idea of leading out of who you are.[7]<\/a> Northouse\u2019s Authentic leadership doesn\u2019t so much seem like a totally set-apart leadership approach but rather it seems like a set of principles that need to be interwoven through whatever leadership style we use. A leader in any context needs to \u201cknow their True North.\u201d They have a clear idea of who they are, where they are going, and what the right thing is to do.\u201d[8]<\/a><\/p>\n

    Our very own Cathy Glei shared a beautiful example of authentic leadership when she was on the hot seat on October 23rd<\/sup>. She described how her church has made the decision to stay and invest in their local community in order to better serve the felt needs around them.[9]<\/a> As I was listening to her describe this situation, I was struck by how this decision comes from a deep place of authentic, values-based leadership.<\/p>\n

    I am grateful for the example of Cathy\u2019s church and for all leaders who do the right thing in the face of difficulties or pressures. I\u2019m sure you could all share examples of difficult situations you\u2019ve faced and how you have kept your eyes on your own personal True North. May I, may we all, learn to do the same.<\/p>\n

    ________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

    [1]<\/a> Peter G. Northouse, Leadership: Theory and Practice (London: Sage Publications, 2010) 3.<\/p>\n

    [2]<\/a> Ibid., 69.<\/p>\n

    [3]<\/a> Ibid., 91.<\/p>\n

    [4]<\/a> Ibid., 133.<\/p>\n

    [5]<\/a> Ibid., 132.<\/p>\n

    [6]<\/a> Ibid., 126.<\/p>\n

    [7]<\/a> S.P. Walker, Leading Out of Who You Are: Discovering the Secret of Undefended Leadership<\/em>, The Undefended Leader Trilogy. 1 (Piquant, 2007).<\/p>\n

    [8]<\/a> Peter G. Northouse, Leadership: Theory and Practice (London: Sage Publications, 2010), 213.<\/p>\n

    [9]<\/a> Cohort chat via Zoom, October 23, 2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    We are 15 or so months into our doctoral journey, and this week\u2019s reading may be the first book that feels like a classic textbook. Leadership is a notoriously slippery concept to pin down, but Peter Northouse\u2019s Leadership: Theory and Practice provides a helpful definition: \u201cLeadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":186,"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":[2489,2258],"class_list":["post-34297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dlgp02","tag-northouse","cohort-dlgp02"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34297","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\/186"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34297"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34297\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34298,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34297\/revisions\/34298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}