{"id":39109,"date":"2024-10-24T21:58:29","date_gmt":"2024-10-25T04:58:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=39109"},"modified":"2024-10-24T21:58:29","modified_gmt":"2024-10-25T04:58:29","slug":"leadership-as-a-bridge-of-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/leadership-as-a-bridge-of-hope\/","title":{"rendered":"Leadership as a Bridge of Hope"},"content":{"rendered":"

The rapid and unpredictable changes have left many people uncertain, hesitant, and even anxious. In last week\u2019s reading, our class discussed the anxiety that plagues the majority of Gen Z due to the influence of social media. One of the impacts is the loss of meaning in real-world relationships. Even though they are virtually connected to others, the real struggles show that they are experiencing increasing loneliness. Haidt writes, \u201cTeens are certainly right when they say that social media gives them a connection with their friends, but as we\u2019ve seen in their reports of increasing loneliness and isolation, that connection does not seem to be as good as what it replaced.\u201d[1]<\/a> Many people do not anticipate the coming of rapid change, which is not just a theory and prediction but a phenomenon. Annabel Beerel once reminded us of this in another writing. She says, \u201cModern physics teaches us that little is certain or predictable. Instead, the world moves within ambiguity, uncertainty, and infinite possibility. New possibilities not previously imagined are continuously emerging.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

Leaders in any realm, including the Christian church, must be responsive to this. If not, many people are drowning in feelings of uncertainty that lead to excessive anxiety that disrupts their lives. Edgar and Peter Schein, the authors of this week’s reading, propose a vital concept they call “Humble Leadership” for leaders to apply in their leadership to carry out leadership effectively amid situations full of uncertainty. They write, \u201cWe propose that Humble Leadership is a necessary foundational substrate to all variants or \u201cbrands\u201d of leadership in today\u2019s volatile, unpredictable, complex, and ambiguous world.\u201d[3]<\/a> Additionally, they also insist, \u201cHumble Leadership will therefore require the creation of personal relationships that will make others feel safe enough to be open and trusting with their leaders and with the other members of the team that is striving to create something new and better.[4]<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n

According to them, influential and effective leaders will always strive to build relationships in their leadership to create and foster a sense of security and trust that enables the entire team to achieve common goals. Edgar and Peter assert, \u201cLeaders need to build personal relationships that will make others feel psychologically safe enough to share their information and insight, in order that they might (1) help refine and clarify what will be new and better and (2) help ensure that the team\u2019s plans can be implemented.\u201d[5]<\/a> A\u00a0good relationship means\u00a0\u201cA certain level of confidence in being able to anticipate how the other person will react. Further, in a good relationship with another person, we share confidence that both of us are working toward a goal that we have agreed upon either explicitly or implicitly. That feeling of expectation is another way of describing interpersonal trust. We \u201cknow\u201d what to expect of each other, and our level of trust reflects the degree to which our behavior toward each other is consistently and intentionally trustworthy.\u201d[6]<\/a> They created four relationships: level minus 1, negative relationship, level 1, transactional relationship, level 2, whole-person relationship, and level 3 intimate relationship. They said that level 2 is ideal because Whole-person relationships are built on trust and personization, as seen in friendships and in effective, collaborative teams.[7]<\/a><\/p>\n

Humble Leadership effectively changes organizational traditions from ancient patterns to transformative ones. According to Edgar and Peter, when communications flowed effectively and people listened attentively to each other, they achieved a complete understanding of what others were saying. Establishing mutual empathy and an environment of psychological safety encouraged openness and trust. Many transformations can be created inside an old and existing organization once the traditional Level 1 transactional relationship is replaced with efforts to form Level 2 relationships in which employees get to know each other and shape a shared organizational identity.[8]<\/a><\/p>\n

Building relationships is a responsibility that every leader must be aware of. Gittel, in her book Transforming Relationships for High Performance, explains, \u201cRelational leadership creates influence in two ways: by developing shared goals, shared knowledge, and mutual respect with others\u2014and by developing shared goals, shared knowledge, and mutual respect among others.\u201d[9]<\/a> Building relationships is one of the primary things that brings joy to human life. When relationships are well built, a community and organization can be motivated to achieve their goals. In the book RARE Leadership, Warner and Wilder say, \u201cWe have found in our study of Scripture and brain science that joy, that feeling of being in the deepest part of our soul, is primarily relational. To the human brain, joy is always relational.\u201d[10]<\/a><\/p>\n

Therefore, a Christian leader should follow the example of Christ, who built close and intimate relationships by coming to people and serving them. Many people need the presence of Christian leaders who humbly build relationships with the people or those they serve. Northouse, in the book Leadership: Theory and Practice, explains, \u201cWhen we look at what leaders do\u2014that is, at their behaviors\u2014we see that they do two major things: (1) They attend to tasks, and (2) they attend to their relationships with people. The degree to which leaders are successful is determined by how these two behaviors are exhibited. Situations may differ, but every leadership situation needs a degree of both task and relationship behaviors.\u201d[11]<\/a><\/p>\n

Reading these references and writing this reflection, I was stunned that our Lead Mentor provided reading materials that further sharpened the vision of our leadership in this cohort. This reading reminded me that humble and effective leadership does not create distance or build an ivory tower of arrogance. Being a leader means being a bridge builder willing to build relationships and embrace many people who live amid uncertainty and anxiety to present God’s vision that is full of hope and love for each of them. This further confirms what God desires in His words contained within 1 Peter 5:2-3 which says, \u201cBe shepherds of God\u2019s flock\u00a0that is under your care, watching over them\u2014not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be;\u00a0not pursuing dishonest gain,\u00a0but eager to serve;\u00a0not lording it over\u00a0those entrusted to you, but being examples\u00a0to the flock.\u201d<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Jonathan Haidt, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness<\/em> (New York: Penguin Press, 2024), Chapter 5.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Annabel Beerel,\u00a0Rethinking Leadership: A Critique of Contemporary Theories<\/em>, 1st edition (London; New York: Routledge, 2021), 14.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Edgar H. Schein and Peter A. Schein, Humble Leadership: The Power of Relationships, Openness, and Trust<\/em>, 2nd ed. (Oakland: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2023), 12.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Edgar H. Schein and Peter A. Schein, Humble Leadership.<\/em><\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Edgar H. Schein and Peter A. Schein, Humble Leadership<\/em>, 13.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Edgar H. Schein and Peter A. Schein, Humble Leadership<\/em>, 14.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Edgar H. Schein and Peter A. Schein, Humble Leadership<\/em>, 15.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Edgar H. Schein and Peter A. Schein, Humble Leadership<\/em>, 71.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Jody Hoffer Gittell, Transforming Relationships for High Performance: The Power of Relational Coordination<\/em> (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2016, 57.)<\/p>\n

[10]<\/a> Marcus Warner and Jim Wilder,\u00a0Rare Leadership: 4 Uncommon Habits for Increasing Trust, Joy, and Engagement in the People You Lead\u00a0<\/em>(Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2016), 24.<\/p>\n

[11]<\/a> Peter G. Northouse,\u00a0Leadership: Theory and Practice<\/em>, Ninth Edition<\/em> (Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2022), Chapter 4.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The rapid and unpredictable changes have left many people uncertain, hesitant, and even anxious. In last week\u2019s reading, our class discussed the anxiety that plagues the majority of Gen Z due to the influence of social media. One of the impacts is the loss of meaning in real-world relationships. Even though they are virtually connected […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":173,"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":[3322],"class_list":["post-39109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-doctor-of-leadership-3","tag-schein-dlgp02","cohort-dlgp02"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39109","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\/173"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39109"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39109\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39111,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39109\/revisions\/39111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}