{"id":35849,"date":"2024-02-15T08:39:49","date_gmt":"2024-02-15T16:39:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=35849"},"modified":"2024-02-15T08:39:49","modified_gmt":"2024-02-15T16:39:49","slug":"leader-smithing-is-the-1-out-of-4000","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/leader-smithing-is-the-1-out-of-4000\/","title":{"rendered":"Leader-Smithing is the 1 Out Of 4000!!"},"content":{"rendered":"

I can remember vividly sitting at our first lecture at Christ Church Oxford listening intently as Dr. Jason was presenting and introducing us to Oxford, describing what the DLGP journey would feel like. As I was taking in the moment, looking out the window to the green surroundings, inhaling England’s crisp air and basking in the Oxford nostalgia while surveying the historic Christ Church campus, Jason casually makes a statement which snapped me out of the moment. Speaking on leadership he unloads a bomb-like statistic, <\/span>“over four thousand books on leadership are written and published annually.” <\/em><\/span>He stated this so matter of factly, in a most casual but convicting demeanor. Wow, that snapped and spun my head! <\/span><\/p>\n

If I were even considering writing a book, it certainly invoked something within me ranging from a reflective pause -to a full stop. Some immediate thoughts came to mind, If I were writing a book, what difference would my book make? What would make my book so distinctive and impactful, capturing the interest of readers and compelling them to grasp it with enthusiasm and an eager hand rather than allowing it to blend in among the four thousand others?<\/span><\/p>\n

Leader-Smithing is no ordinary book. For me, the differentiation occurs through its unique content, setting it apart significantly from the myriad available in the leadership section of your local bookstore. It is a special one out of the four thousand. At the onset, Poole introduces us to seventeen Critical Incidents through a simulation breakdown; \u201cthe simulation offers leaders the opportunity to pre-program themselves with the behavioral templates they need for the job.\u201d<\/span>[1]<\/strong><\/a> These behavioral templates should not be overlooked as they are a valuable gem for leaders, equipping and bracing them for impact. 12<\/span><\/p>\n

Reading this zapped me back into my ministry context and my initial thrust into pastoral ministry. \u00a0<\/span>In the A.M.E. Zion Church we are governed by bishops. A pastor and certain lay leaders are appointed and\/ or reappointed at what is known as The Annual Conference. This is where ministers and congregations gather annually to discuss the stewardship of local churches and conference ministries. The culminating event is when the bishop announces his lay and clergy leadership appointments.<\/p>\n

Once you become ordained clergy, part of a Methodist’s ordination vows is being willing to be sent to a pastoral charge by the Godly judgment of the bishop. I remember the day my name was called. There was no prior mention or notice given to me. When the Bishop announced my name, I was in total shock. Here I am, receiving this yellow manilla envelope practically empty. I open it, desperately and frantically looking for some handbook of instruction, direction, and maybe someone to come and usher me into a back room for the new pastor\u2019s orientation. Every minister goes through several years of denominational studies, but even with that, I felt lacking and incomplete.<\/p>\n

As I have been blessed to have many meaningful relationships across ecumenical lines, this has afforded me the unique opportunity of authentic conversations with executive leaders and stakeholders in leadership who all seem to share a common trend \u2013today\u2019s leaders are ill-equipped. Sadly, the matter is typically broached in a reactive state, as we are generally made aware of leadership deficiencies after one fails, falls, or finds themselves embattled in crisis or scandal. I can only imagine how insightful this book would have been from my onset, knowing how to approach the challenges before me. The muscle memory Poole speaks of would have long taken shape sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n

Poole\u2019s division of the book from theory into practicality was a real eye-catcher, interweaving the playing cards into suits. She then proceeded to club me in the head in a couple of areas;<\/p>\n

Work\/ life balance is not highly mentioned in many sacred and secular settings. I applaud Poole\u2019s inclusion of this in the leadership conversation. This has been an ongoing struggle for me as I am intently putting the work in- in this area through finding harmony between the two. We live in a productivity-driven culture, where successful performance is measured through dollars, the increase of bottom-line numbers, likes, shares, and how many fans and followers you have linked to your social media account. It is easy to become unknowingly lured into the frenzied, fast-paced trap laid before leaders. <\/span><\/p>\n

I also found Laura Bacon\u2019s balance matrix spot on, as distinguishing between energizing and depleting tasks resonated with me. Leaders are confronted daily with decisions. Knowing what gets you down and what gets you going can be extremely beneficial. I read somewhere that prioritizing the depleting task before the rewarding task helps boost your energy. She also suggests making a delineation between my priorities and others’ priorities. Not only is this leadership hack time-saving, but from my perspective, it is life-giving!<\/span><\/p>\n

She also advocates listening and addressing how we frame questions; this continues Haford\u2019s writing last week, where he suggests being curious and asking the missing questions. Poole teaches from a different vantage point, citing our questioning, which should be centered on the category-type questions we should ask (open, closed, leading, rhetorical). The parallel continues because we can generate an automatic rather than authentic response based on the category-type question we ask. \u201cToo aggressive a use of questioning can make others feel under pressure.\u201d[2]<\/strong><\/a> <\/em>\u00a0Again, I am reminded that good leaders must be able to ask good questions in their toolbox while skillfully being able to listen.<\/p>\n

Eve Poole ignites a flame in forging a forward path to leadership success. I immediately viewed this week\u2019s reading with some personal bias toward my ministry context. I felt as though it spoke to a lot of my leadership journey. Still, without a doubt, this book is fully applicable to both the sacred and the secular.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1] <\/a>Eve Poole, Leadersmithing: Revealing the Trade Secrets of Leadership (London, England: Bloomsbury Business, 2017).<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

[2] Poole, Leadersmithing, 160.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I can remember vividly sitting at our first lecture at Christ Church Oxford listening intently as Dr. Jason was presenting and introducing us to Oxford, describing what the DLGP journey would feel like. As I was taking in the moment, looking out the window to the green surroundings, inhaling England’s crisp air and basking in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":202,"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":[3045],"class_list":["post-35849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-poole-dlgp03-leadersmithing","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35849","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\/202"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35849"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35849\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35850,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35849\/revisions\/35850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}