{"id":36760,"date":"2024-03-15T13:43:02","date_gmt":"2024-03-15T20:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=36760"},"modified":"2024-03-16T09:13:38","modified_gmt":"2024-03-16T16:13:38","slug":"dont-spend-half-your-brain-being-someone-else","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/dont-spend-half-your-brain-being-someone-else\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t Spend Half Your Brain Being Someone Else"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

In his interview with Simon Walker, former British Petroleum executive, Lord John Browne said, regarding the work environment, he wanted to ensure that \u201cpeople are who they are when they come to work and not spending half of their brain being someone else.\u201d [1]<\/a> He went on to share that for many years, he led a public life that was very different from his private life \u2013 until those worlds collided. Lord Browne\u2019s example reflects the front stage and back stage analogy that Simon Walker describes in his book, Leading Out of Who You Are: Discovering the Secret of Undefended Leadership. <\/em><\/p>\n

While it may be easy to think America is the only nation facing such challenges, the truth is the world seems to be at an identity crossroads. As communities become less tolerant, it is more difficult to remain authentic because of the risk to personal and professional safety.<\/p>\n

So, what does it mean to live a front stage and back stage life? For Lord Browne, it meant that to truly live authentically, he needed to disclose the fact that he was a high-ranking executive who happened to be gay.<\/p>\n

Front Stage and Back Stage Leadership<\/strong><\/p>\n

I often talk with friends about how our society seems to lack the ability to cope with the ever-changing dynamics around us. Coping skills are not necessarily taught in school and many of us lack certain life experiences that would garner them. As such, people have learned to act differently from one audience to another, which in the long run is not sustainable.<\/p>\n

In a front stage role, leaders become congruent with their audience. They can shift and mold themselves into temporary portrayals of what the audience needs them to be. In Lord Browne\u2019s case, he was an expert industry leader who exhibited confidence and security for his followers. But something on the inside was amiss.<\/p>\n

In a back stage role, leaders tend to the other part of their lives. This is who they are when they \u201cexhale and let their hair down\u201d. For Lord Browne, it is where he lived his most authentic life as a gay man who also happened to be a brilliant executive of an international energy company. The conundrum of living such a divided life nets utter exhaustion. Leaders in these situations are neither giving nor receiving their best selves.<\/p>\n

Trust and Taking Risks<\/strong><\/p>\n

Today\u2019s generation struggles to address the cultural hurdles faced by everyday people. We feel more anxious than ever about groups we are unfamiliar with, often assuming the worst about them. We lack trust in one another. \u00a0\u201cPoliticians, the media, special-interest groups \u2013 and sometimes even preachers raise the specter of people of whom we should be afraid.\u201d[2]<\/a> Yet, speaking out is almost a sure warrant for attack.<\/p>\n

Still, people are not born to hate. Distrust for others is learned through the words, actions, and ideologies of those around us \u2013 our families, friends, fellow church members, and other community members. The problem is a pervasive and growing implied threat around us, that isn\u2019t necessarily accurate. Other kingdom followers are not the enemy. People with different faiths, ideologies, or political parties are not the enemy. The forces rooted in fear and anxiety are the enemy. It is the dark one that wishes to steal, kill, and destroy us, especially when we are too busy to remember the scriptural guidance that God gave us.\u00a0 He said “I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.\u201d[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

Before anything can change, we must be willing to take the risk of first changing ourselves.\u00a0 We need to say what we are FOR rather than against.[4]<\/a> We need to share the things we love more often than we gripe about things we dislike. Through acts of courage, we can learn to examine our assumptions in light of the facts. We can release our anxieties and fears to God.[5]<\/a> As different as we are, let us walk in unison for God\u2019s glory forever and ever. Shalom.<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> In Conversation: Simon Walker and Lord Browne<\/em>, n.d. Accessed March 15, 2024. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=BgwKqk0CgJk.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Hamilton, Adam. Unafraid: Living with Courage and Hope in Uncertain Times<\/em>. First edition. New York: Convergent, 2018.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> \u201cIsaiah 41:10 – So Do Not Fear, for I Am with You; Do Not Be Disma…\u201d Bible Study Tools<\/em>. Accessed March 15, 2024. https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/isaiah\/41-10.html.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Dowdell, Dennis. Maximizing You: Standing On the Shoulders of Giants<\/em>. Charleston, SC: Palmetto Publishing, 2022<\/p>\n

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

In his interview with Simon Walker, former British Petroleum executive, Lord John Browne said, regarding the work environment, he wanted to ensure that \u201cpeople are who they are when they come to work and not spending half of their brain being someone else.\u201d [1] He went on to share that for many years, he led […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":193,"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":[3127],"class_list":["post-36760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dlpg03-walker","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36760","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\/193"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36760"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36760\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36806,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36760\/revisions\/36806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}