{"id":35114,"date":"2024-01-22T09:09:23","date_gmt":"2024-01-22T17:09:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=35114"},"modified":"2024-01-20T10:12:22","modified_gmt":"2024-01-20T18:12:22","slug":"changing-world-deepening-courage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/changing-world-deepening-courage\/","title":{"rendered":"Changing World Deepening Courage"},"content":{"rendered":"

The world is changing and fast. We\u2019ve been reading about some of these changes, especially when it comes to the world of AI. In her blog post, Eve Poole writes, \u201cWhether or not \u2013 and when \u2013 the robots will take over is a moot point.\u201d[1]<\/a> It\u2019s happening.<\/p>\n

With the pace of my personal and work life compiled with the rapidly changing world we live in I can easily feel overwhelmed, wanting to bury my head in the sand, fearful of making a decision, and I am not alone, as Annabel Beerel points out in her book, Rethinking Leadership: A Critique of Contemporary Theories<\/a><\/strong>. She writes, \u201cWhile many will try to return to the old ways, they will fail. The past is gone. A new world is emerging that requires a whole other level of consciousness. In short, new leaders are needed.\u201d[2]<\/a> And, as Bob Johansen, leadership consultant, points out, \u201cA major challenge (leaders) will have to overcome is to not be so overwhelmed by the present that they cannot prepare for the future.\u201d[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

Which is why I was so intrigued by Beerel\u2019s section on courage.<\/p>\n

She writes, \u201cCourage is the ability to act despite one\u2019s fears.\u201d[4]<\/a> \u201cSince leadership is about moving people to new places surely courage must be central to the leadership endeavor.\u201d[5]<\/a> After arguing that one cannot lead effectively if one does not have courage, Beerel goes on to say, \u201cLeadership is all about change, and change we know is something that by and large people struggle with. Besides dealing with people\u2019s resistance to change, leaders need to know that the change they are initiating is good change, appropriate change.\u201d[6]<\/a> Beerel might as well have been peering deeply into my soul when she wrote these words.<\/p>\n

I am an Enneagram 6. I have a strong 7 wing, but I am a solid 6. If you are not an enneagram user, don\u2019t worry, I\u2019m not an enneagram pusher, but I have found it helpful in the coaching work I\u2019ve been doing in this program. A brief primer on an Enneagram 6 is we are \u201ccommitted, security-oriented, and loyal. We are hard-working, responsible, and trustworthy.\u201d[7]<\/a> All good stuff there, right? We are also \u201ctroubleshooters, foreseeing problems and fostering cooperation\u201d[8]<\/a> but (and here comes the part I\u2019m working on) we can also become\u2026 \u201canxious, cautious, indecisive, typically having problems with self-doubt and suspicion.\u201d[9]<\/a> Our key motivations are<\/strong> that we \u201cwant to have security, to feel supported by others, to have certitude and reassurance, to test the attitudes of others toward them, and to fight against anxiety and insecurity.\u201d[10]<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve worked enough on myself to know that change can make me perhaps a bit ornery until I\u2019ve figured out how I\u2019ll make the change work. My husband has learned (the hard way) that if he wants to change our plans he will drop a hint, just a slight hint, and walk away, then he will circle back and suggest the actual change, once again immediately walking away. Only after giving me enough time to make the needed mental adjustments will he re-engage with me. I\u2019m exaggerating a bit, but you get the point. Change isn\u2019t the easiest thing for me.<\/p>\n

One of the biggest struggles I have is trusting myself when making difficult decisions. A good, appropriate, decision, as Beerel points out, is one of the tasks of leadership.[11]<\/a> I always second-guess myself, need to do tons of research, look to the authorities for guidance, want to be sure before taking a leap. Beerel writes, \u201cIt takes great courage to live these days in a world of so many choices when every moment we must decide without all the facts and without always knowing the depth and breadth of the consequences.\u201d[12]<\/a> In my coaching work, I was asked who I was trying to protect by always making the \u201ccorrect\u201d choice. As I sat with the question (and after doing some Internal Family Systems work) I have come to wonder if I am protecting the little girl in me, the girl who always wanted to do what was right, who shined when complimented for her grades or perfect attendance.<\/p>\n

Beerel writes, \u201cIt is only natural that given the role that leaders assume they must face many fears.\u201d[13]<\/a> I am proud to say that I have learned to jump even when I don\u2019t know for sure there is a safety net below me. While I am a work in progress, I have learned to face many of my fears \u2013 usually jumping right into them as a way of moving through them. The work of Friedman and of Walker have been immensely helpful in giving me language about this facing of my fears. To be differentiated (Friedman) or undefended (Walker) means being able to stand firm when faced with the unknown, to be confident enough in one\u2019s own belovedness and value, that even if the worst thing happens, she will be okay.<\/p>\n

This world is changing and quickly. According to Beerel, \u201cTo lead in this complex world, with its runaway innovations and mounting systemic challenges, requires different leadership capacities not just new and different skills.\u201d[14]<\/a> Like I said before, I am a work in progress, but then again, aren\u2019t we all? I entered this leadership program knowing<\/em> there was no magic formula for leadership and yet, unconsciously hoping there might be some kind of 1-2-3 blueprint for how to be a successful leader. And while there are many leadership theories and skills to learn, what is happening within me, and I believe within all of us in this program, is we are strengthening our leadership capacities. We are learning to face our fears, to examine deep within, to lean on the love of Christ, and to lead with integrity and hope for our changing future.<\/p>\n

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[1]<\/a> https:\/\/evepoole.com\/robot-souls\/<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Annabel Beerel, Rethinking Leadership: A Critique of Contemporary Theories<\/em>, 1st ed. Milton: Taylor & Francis Group, 2021, 2.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Ibid, 18.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Ibid, 112.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Ibid, 112.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Ibid, 114.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> https:\/\/www.enneagraminstitute.com\/type-6<\/p>\n

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

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

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

[11]<\/a> Annabel Beerel, Rethinking Leadership: A Critique of Contemporary Theories<\/em>, 1st ed. Milton: Taylor & Francis Group, 2021, 113-114.<\/p>\n

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

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

[14]<\/a> Ibid, 11.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The world is changing and fast. We\u2019ve been reading about some of these changes, especially when it comes to the world of AI. In her blog post, Eve Poole writes, \u201cWhether or not \u2013 and when \u2013 the robots will take over is a moot point.\u201d[1] It\u2019s happening. With the pace of my personal and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":170,"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":[2977,2489],"class_list":["post-35114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-beerel","tag-dlgp02","cohort-dlgp02"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35114","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\/170"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35114"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35114\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35115,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35114\/revisions\/35115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}