{"id":38957,"date":"2024-10-21T08:00:06","date_gmt":"2024-10-21T15:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=38957"},"modified":"2024-10-20T14:48:20","modified_gmt":"2024-10-20T21:48:20","slug":"the-leadersmithing-of-a-humble-rare-leader-that-mines-for-gold-in-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/the-leadersmithing-of-a-humble-rare-leader-that-mines-for-gold-in-others\/","title":{"rendered":"The Leadersmithing of a Humble, RARE Leader that Mines for Gold in Others"},"content":{"rendered":"

As I read this week\u2019s reading of <\/span>Humble Leadership:\u00a0 The Power of Relationships, Openness, and Trust<\/span><\/i> by Edgar Schein and Peter Schein, I made several leadership connections to other texts I have read in the last 2+ years.\u00a0 This is an attempt to highlight some of those connections between the texts.\u00a0 As our world rapidly changes, leadership paradigms have shifted too, especially with the rising number of leadership breakdowns, evident in government, educational systems, and ministry settings. [1]\u00a0 Relationship-centered approaches, that emphasize humility, collaboration, and shared purpose, have become needed and more common. Books, that we have read, such as <\/span>Rare Leadership<\/span><\/i> by Marcus Warner and Jim Wilder, <\/span>Leadersmithing<\/span><\/i> by Eve Poole, <\/span>Mining for Gold<\/span><\/i> by Tom Camacho, and this week\u2019s text <\/span>Humble Leadership <\/span><\/i>by Edgar Schein and Peter Schein, offer ideas for a fresh rethinking of leadership and moving toward the development of psychologically safe, connected, and trust-driven environments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In <\/span>Humble Leadership<\/span><\/i> by Edgar and Peter Schein, humble leadership involves seeking something new and better within a \u201cfundamental process that complements various notions of leadership described as servant leadership or as adaptive, boundary-spanning, learning, inclusive, transactional, transformative, and so on. . .\u00a0 humble leadership emphasizes the practice of how any of these traits can help drive new and better actions.\u201d [2]\u00a0 The authors suggest that humble leadership is about fostering environments where trust and open communication flourish. Humility, in this sense, is not just a characteristic of a leader but a crucial function of leadership itself\u2014one that builds deeper, level 2 relationships where individuals are valued as whole people. [3] Personalized and psychologically safe relationships are essential for fostering innovation and creativity in fast-changing, complex work environments.<\/span><\/p>\n

The challenge is that many organizations remain entrenched in \u201clevel 1\u201d transactional relationships, prioritizing efficiency and task completion over personal connection. [4] I experience this in the school setting as the demand for increased productivity, adding more responsibility to the position, is not paired with shiting some to others.\u00a0 In such environments, leaders can easily become isolated, unable to tap into the collective intelligence of their teams. This disconnect, as Greg Satell points out in <\/span>Cascades<\/span><\/i>, can lead to an organization’s downfall as leaders lose touch with the very forces, both internal and external, that could drive transformational change. [5]<\/span><\/p>\n

The antidote? The authors suggest that humble leaders embrace situational humility by acknowledging what they don\u2019t know, actively listening to diverse perspectives, and allowing others to contribute their unique insights. [6]\u00a0 Humble leaders create collaborative spaces where feedback flows freely, mistakes are part of the growth process, and a shared sense of purpose guides decision-making. The shift from control to trust is central to this model, leading to more adaptive and resilient teams. [7]<\/span><\/p>\n

In <\/span>Rare Leadership<\/span><\/i>, authors Marcus Warner and Jim Wilder discussed the need for leaders to balance technical skills with emotional and relational intelligence. In the school setting in which I serve, I often see undue emphasis on technical solutions to problems without addressing the underlying social dynamics that hinder progress.\u00a0 In a recent leadership team meeting, we talked about training teachers in using strategies of Responsive Classroom, neglecting the fact that the majority of our teachers have not been trained in \u201cthe why\u201d of the theory, which is totally focused on building relationships with students as a primary focus of instruction.\u00a0 Leaders who prioritize relationship-building, emotional maturity, and the ability to create connected teams ultimately foster a healthier organizational culture.\u00a0 Warner and Wilder emphasize the importance of relationships in leadership, echoing Schiens\u2019 idea of level 2 relationships. They argue that leadership is not just about solving problems but about creating environments where people feel safe, valued, and motivated to contribute their best work. This development of a \u201cRARE\u201d leader is a process of \u201csmithing\u201d, a lifetime apprenticeship of leadership.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the book <\/span>Leadersmithing<\/span><\/i> by Eve Poole, Ms. Poole correlates leadership as an apprenticeship developed over a lifetime.\u00a0 Poole sees leadership development as a tortoise-like approach that takes a lifetime. [8]\u00a0 Poole also emphasizes the importance of networking and interconnectivity. The emphasis on relationships and leading collaborative teams ties in with the ideas presented in <\/span>Humble Leadership<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>Rare Leadership<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the risks highlighted in <\/span>Humble Leadership<\/span><\/i> is the evolution of a group\u2019s culture toward conventions that stifle creativity and openness. Over time, even the most innovative teams can become rigid, adhering to narrow definitions of what leaders should be and how they should act. I have seen this in ministry settings where ministry leaders set up structures that do not allow for creativity and thinking outside of the box.\u00a0 \u201cDeveloping the skills to clarify and share your insight, and then assimilating what others know can help you influence change (toward something new and better), and this is the practice of Humble Leadership.\u201d [9] To combat this, leaders must remain vigilant about fostering a culture of <\/span>inquiry<\/span><\/i>\u2014asking questions, challenging assumptions, and encouraging experimentation. As Tom Camacho writes in <\/span>Mining for Gold<\/span><\/i>, leaders are called to \u201cmine for the gold in others\u201d by recognizing and refining the unique contributions of each individual. This process requires humility, patience, and a willingness to let go of control in favor of empowerment. [10]\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In summary, I found several points of convergence of ideas from these texts that we have read in our doctoral journey\u2014<\/span>Humble Leadership<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Rare Leadership<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Leadersmithing, <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>Mining for Gold.\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>For me, each author seems <\/span>to <\/span><\/i>highlight the value of developing and refining relationships, as well as relational skills, in myself and modeling for those I lead. It\u2019s about being humble enough to learn from others, wise enough to build meaningful relationships, and resilient enough to keep growing, one step at a time.<\/span><\/p>\n

[1] <\/span>https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/podcasts\/the-rise-and-fall-of-mars-hill\/<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[2] Schein, Edgar H., and Peter A. Schein. Humble Leadership: The Power of Relationships, Openness, and Trust<\/em>. (Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2018), 4.<\/span><\/p>\n

[3] Ibid, 2.<\/span><\/p>\n

[4] Ibid, 17-18.<\/span><\/p>\n

[5] Greg Satell, <\/span>Cascades: How to Create a Movement That Drives Transformational Change<\/span><\/i>, (New York:\u00a0 <\/span>McGraw Hill Education, 2019), 15.<\/span><\/p>\n

[6] Schein & Schein, 8.<\/span><\/p>\n

[7] Schein & Schein, 14.<\/span><\/p>\n

[8] Eve Poole, <\/span>Leadersmithing: Revealing the Trade Secrets of Leadership<\/span><\/i>. (London, UK: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017), 181.<\/span><\/p>\n

[9] Schein & Schein, 9.<\/span><\/p>\n

[10] Tom Camacho, <\/span>Mining for Gold: Developing Kingdom Leaders through Coaching<\/span><\/i>. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2019), 4.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As I read this week\u2019s reading of Humble Leadership:\u00a0 The Power of Relationships, Openness, and Trust by Edgar Schein and Peter Schein, I made several leadership connections to other texts I have read in the last 2+ years.\u00a0 This is an attempt to highlight some of those connections between the texts.\u00a0 As our world rapidly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":168,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","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":[2489,3217],"class_list":["post-38957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-doctor-of-leadership-3","tag-dlgp02","tag-schein","cohort-dlgp02"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38957","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\/168"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38957"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38957\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38959,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38957\/revisions\/38959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}