{"id":35883,"date":"2024-02-15T16:21:06","date_gmt":"2024-02-16T00:21:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=35883"},"modified":"2024-02-15T16:21:06","modified_gmt":"2024-02-16T00:21:06","slug":"can-you-drive-a-stick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/can-you-drive-a-stick\/","title":{"rendered":"Can You Drive A Stick?"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was early morning, hours before sunrise, when we realized we had forgotten a box of supplies in the office just a few miles away.\u00a0 \u00a0 We were setting up for an outreach event a few miles from our church office, and Dawson, our newest and youngest team member, volunteered to drive back and get it.\u00a0 I volunteered my car since the only other option was a van hooked up to the trailer we were still unloading. As I began to hand him my keys, I immediately paused and asked, \u201cCan you drive a stick?\u201d\u00a0 He replied with a smirk, \u201cYeah\u2026 in theory.\u201d\u00a0 Prompting me to say, \u201cLet me rephrase, have you ever driven a stick?\u201d and without skipping a beat, he said, very self-assured, \u201cNo, but how hard could it be?\u201d\u00a0 Within a few minutes, I was in my car and returned to the office to grab our forgotten box.\u00a0\u00a0 \"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

While I commend Dawson for his willingness to run back and grab the box, there is a HUGE difference between the <\/span>theory<\/span><\/i> of driving a car with a manual transmission and the ability to do so, as anyone who has learned to do will attest.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is this distinction between theory and ability that Eve Poole, in her book <\/span>Leadersmithing: Revealing the Trade Secrets of Leadership<\/span><\/i>, makes so clear. It is a book that is part theory and part practice and wholly relevant.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There are a number of things that Poole has clarified for me that I will outline in this post.<\/span><\/p>\n

First, she clarifies a leadership development process using the model of apprenticeship, which is typically found in many of the trades. One is not simply born with leadership ability but develops it.[1]\u00a0 The term \u201cLeadersmith\u201d itself implies the forging and shaping with the elements of heat and hammer as one does metal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At an early age, I developed the idea that you were either naturally a leader by way of personality or disposition or you were not. \u00a0 Because I had a more outgoing personality and developed many friendships quickly, teachers and coaches put me in leadership positions.\u00a0 I can recall feeling ill-equipped and fearing failure, what I know now as imposture syndrome.\u00a0 Understanding leadership as an ability to be developed demystifies and helps make it accessible for everyone, regardless of personality or disposition.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Second, Poole has given clarity to the content of leadership development. What should we focus on to grow as a leader?\u00a0 She avoids a \u201ccookie cutter\u201d solution by looking at universal experiences that can be approached from various places along a spectrum of leadership ability.\u00a0 l\u00a0 approaches by creating a strategy for growth in specific areas.\u00a0 I appreciate the provision of a list of seventeen \u201cCritical incidents,\u201d or challenging situations, distilled from over a decade of empirical research, instruction, and observation. [2]\u00a0 According to Poole, once mastered, these \u201cCritical Incidents\u201d will give one the necessary confidence for success as a leader.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, she has provided clarity with an actual training regimen for developing leadership ability with a proven learning methodology. She offers the approach of a simulation.\u00a0 When I think of a simulator, I immediately think of an astronaut preparing to pilot a shuttle in space. Prior to trying to fly a shuttle for the first time upon lift-off, they train for thousands of hours in simulators. Similarly, she invites leaders to simulate these \u201cCritical incidents\u201d through exercises prior to experiencing the real thing.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>This particular part of the book has been immediately helpful in my current role as a senior pastor. \u00a0 We are currently designing a pastoral residency in our local church for desiring to serve in full-time pastoral ministry.\u00a0 The Leadersmithing concepts are now a part of our discussions for structure, scope, and sequence regarding the residency experience we hope to create.\u00a0 Concepts such as apprenticing, \u201cCritical Incidents,\u201d and learning through simulation have reframed the way we approach this residency design project.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While considering the idea of \u201cLeadersmithing\u201d this week, I found myself wondering what hinders most people from moving toward improvement.\u00a0 I know my tendency towards complacency or laziness, but I think another primary factor exists.\u00a0 Vulnerability. Moving from leadership theory to ability creates vulnerability.\u00a0 Admitting shortcomings and growth edges, for many, means admitting weakness. \u00a0 What if you are exposed? What if you lose something like comfort, security, or even identity?\u00a0 In considering the hindrance of vulnerability, I was reminded of a statement made by Andy Crouch, a writer who explores faith, culture, and the image of God in the domains of technology, power, leadership, and the arts. He states:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe vulnerability that leads to flourishing requires risk, which is the possibility of loss, the chance that when we act, we will lose something we value. Risk, like life, is always about probabilities, never about certainties. To risk is to open ourselves up to the chance that something will go wrong, that something will be taken from us, without knowing for sure whether that loss will come to pass or not.\u201d[3]<\/span><\/p>\n

So, can you lead? You can definitely learn to. Just grab a deck of cards and start practicing.\u00a0 Before long, it will be easier than driving a stick.<\/span><\/p>\n

____________________________________<\/p>\n

[1] Poole, Eve, <\/span>Leadersmithing Revealing the Trade Secrets of Leadership<\/span><\/i> (London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017), 2.<\/span><\/p>\n

[2] Poole, Eve, <\/span>Leadersmithing Revealing the Trade Secrets of Leadership,<\/span><\/i>2.<\/span><\/p>\n

[3]Crouch, <\/span>Andy, Strong and Weak: Embracing a Life of Love, Risk, and True Flourishing<\/span><\/i> (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2016), 41.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was early morning, hours before sunrise, when we realized we had forgotten a box of supplies in the office just a few miles away.\u00a0 \u00a0 We were setting up for an outreach event a few miles from our church office, and Dawson, our newest and youngest team member, volunteered to drive back and get […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":194,"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":[2967,2091,2090],"class_list":["post-35883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dlgp03","tag-leadersmithing","tag-poole","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35883","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\/194"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35883"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35883\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35887,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35883\/revisions\/35887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}