{"id":36116,"date":"2024-02-23T10:58:51","date_gmt":"2024-02-23T18:58:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=36116"},"modified":"2024-02-23T10:58:51","modified_gmt":"2024-02-23T18:58:51","slug":"clinging-to-christ","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/clinging-to-christ\/","title":{"rendered":"Clinging to Christ"},"content":{"rendered":"

I started this Doctoral journey being very intentional about connecting the assigned readings to my NPO. There were a few books where it was a bit challenging to relate them to my research but in most cases I was able to find a point of connection. Daniel Kahneman\u2019s Thinking, Fast and Slow<\/em> was one of the books that I felt had a direct application to my research. Kahneman introduces two Systems that are creatively named System 1 and System 2. \u201cSystem 1 operates automatically and quickly, with little or no effort and so sense of voluntary control. System 2 allocates attention to the effortful mental activities that demand it, including complex computations. The operations of System 2 are often associated with the subjective experience of agency, choice, and concentration. [1]<\/a> This concept caused me to immediately think about my NPO stakeholders. As I began to explore how to impact and change negative perceptions, this System 1 and System 2 thinking helped me frame the influence that conscious and unconscious biases play on our interactions. In my DLGP02 Spring 2023 post, I wrote, \u201cSuggesting that the systems (specifically system 1 which informs system 2) that drive how we think operate automatically, made me uncomfortable. It raises concerns that there is no hope at changing incorrect, inaccurate impressions that may be driven by conscious or unconscious biases.\u201d[2<\/a>] After<\/u><\/span>\u00a0reading Rare Leadership, <\/em>it was clear that the concepts in Thinking, Fast and Slow <\/em>are closely related each other.<\/p>\n

Fast Track, Slow Track<\/strong><\/p>\n

The description of fast-track and slow-track in Rare Leadership<\/em> was a direct correlation to Kahneman System 1 and System 2 thinking. Kahneman focuses on the voluntary and involuntary processing of thoughts. Warner and Wilder focus on processing relational leadership skills. The authors describe this as \u201cthe brain uses a \u201cfast track\u201d process for relational leadership skills and a very different \u201cslow track\u201d process for management skills.\u201d [3]<\/a> Yet there was a greater connection for me. As Kahneman\u2019s concept led me to examine conscious and unconscious biases, Warner and Wilder led me to examine my leadership skills. I have had difficulty relating my current work situation to my research. I am not working in a predominately white religious space in my role as Interim CEO. However, I am working in a difficult space. I am working in a space where I have to use all the tools in my toolbox to be successful. I am working in a space where I may be perceived by some team members as the problem. I am working in a space where I need to look beyond the immediate perceptions and see the situation through a clear lens. I am working in a situation where my \u201cfast track\u201d thinking may be allowing unconscious biases to surface. As the authors explain, \u201cThe \u201cfast track\u201d operates at speeds above the level of conscious thought and primarily governs relational reality. The \u201cslow track \u2018is what we notice consciously.\u201d As much as I have tried to separate my research from my current work, this week\u2019s reading showed me that it\u2019s all connected. I believe that I am having the rare experience of being on the stakeholder side of my research. The timing could not be more perfect as I am currently exploring (through prototyping) the most effective way to reach my stakeholder group.<\/p>\n

Malcolm Gladwell shares a helpful perspective in his book Blink, <\/em>\u201cIf something is happening outside of awareness, how on earth do you fix it? The answer is that we are not helpless in the face of our first impressions. They may bubble up from the unconscious-from behind a locked door inside of our brain- but just because something is outside of awareness doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s outside of control. \u201c[4]<\/a> According to Gladwell, this bubbling up of awareness can help us develop a conscious solution. So, what do I do with all this? How do I reconcile it into something that serves me and my research as I move forward?<\/p>\n

Better Habits<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was particularly interested in the four habits that help your emotional intelligence soar. Warner and Wilder introduce as helping leaders in two ways: \u201c1) We want you to understand the fast-track brain mechanism that learns and distributes leadership skills, and 2) we want to help you train the leadership system in your brain using four core habits of effective leaders.\u201d[5]<\/a> The authors \u00a0use the acronym RARE for these strategies: \u201cRemain Relational, Act Like Yourself, Return to Joy, and Endure Hardship Well\u201d[6]<\/a> This strategy are offered as tools to keep our emotional intelligence intact as we navigate leadership responsibilities and better understand how to move forward. I want to better understand my \u2018fast track\u2019 mechanism and train it to be more effective in management and leadership spaces. I also want to help other leaders (church and non-profit) do the same. I am also keenly aware that it is a process that does not happen overnight and each situation, each person has unique challenges to face.<\/p>\n

When My Circuits are Cut<\/strong><\/p>\n

I took the quiz on Page 129 and had an affirmative answer to four of the six questions. I discovered something interesting and truly relevant to my current situation. My circuits are off. My fast track is not functioning at the present time. \u201cIn order to remain relational, act like ourselves, and return to joy we need to have our RCs on.\u201d[7] <\/a>My Relational Circuit is off, it has officially short circuited.<\/p>\n

Wilder and Warner give us another acronym to remember the strategy to restart our relational circuit. They introduce CAKE admittedly I got a little excited, as a Foodie I was hoping that the fix to my current predicament involved the consumption of cake, possibly my favorite German Chocolate Cake. Sounds pretty plausible that turning my relational circuits on would involve a tantalizing dessert. Yet they take a more practical and healthier route by introducing CAKE as an acronym for, Curiosity, Appreciation, Kindness, and Envelope Conversations. These strategies are offered as a way to remain relational without the added sugary, caloric intake that actual cake offers.<\/p>\n

Wilder and Warner make a brave leap from explaining the CAKE strategy to introducing Hesed. \u201cHesed is one of the most common words used in the Old Testament to describe God. You could translate it \u201csticky love.\u2019 It is the sort of love you can\u2019t shake off. It sticks to you through every high and low, every success and failure, every malfunction and sin.\u201d[8]<\/a> I could sure use some \u201csticky love.\u201d As I seek solutions and try to employ strategies, I am very uncertain in this season, I am clinging to Hesed, Agape Love of Christ.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow<\/em> (New York, NY: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2011), 20.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> This quote was from my Spring 2023(March 2, 2023) DLGP02 Blog post on Daniel Kahneman\u2019s Thinking, Fast and Slow.<\/em><\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Marcus Warner and Jim Wilder, Rare Leadership<\/em> (Chicago, Illinois: Moody Publishers, 2016), 20-21.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Malcolm Gladwell, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking<\/em> (New York: Back Bay Books\/Little, Brown & Company, 2019), nbjkj96.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Marcus Warner and Jim Wilder, Rare Leadership<\/em> (Chicago, Illinois: Moody Publishers, 2016), 19.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Ibid.,\u00a019.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Ibid., 129.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Ibid., 134.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I started this Doctoral journey being very intentional about connecting the assigned readings to my NPO. There were a few books where it was a bit challenging to relate them to my research but in most cases I was able to find a point of connection. Daniel Kahneman\u2019s Thinking, Fast and Slow was one of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":174,"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":[2310],"tags":[2489,2604,1193,2052,2594,2595],"class_list":["post-36116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-doctor-of-leadership-3","tag-dlgp02","tag-rareleadership","tag-gladwell","tag-kahneman","tag-warner","tag-wilder","cohort-dlgp02"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36116","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\/174"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36116"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36119,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36116\/revisions\/36119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}