{"id":39867,"date":"2025-01-30T09:00:23","date_gmt":"2025-01-30T17:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=39867"},"modified":"2025-01-26T10:21:54","modified_gmt":"2025-01-26T18:21:54","slug":"leadership-in-the-present-moment-super-heroes-need-not-apply","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/leadership-in-the-present-moment-super-heroes-need-not-apply\/","title":{"rendered":"Leadership in the Present Moment: Super-Heroes Need Not Apply"},"content":{"rendered":"

As we start a new chapter of life and leadership in 2025 and the second half of the DLGP, I am aware of the complexity of leadership in our ever-changing world. Leadership is about context. While there is certainly timeless leadership wisdom, the field of leadership study has evolved significantly, with the recognition that what worked in the past will not always work in the present. There is a need for leadership wisdom in this present moment. Illuminaire: Bringing Life and Light to Leaders Across the World<\/em> is the first volume of an annual leadership publication to address the current leadership challenges in our present context.<\/p>\n

While there are multiple contributors to this publication, Karise Hutchinson is the creator and the cohesive voice throughout the journal. She writes, \u201cI created Illuminaire to provide a platform to harness the collective wisdom from research and practice, bringing the science and strategy of leadership together through story and art.\u201d[1]<\/a> These might seem like strange disciplines to bring together, yet she does it beautifully and effectively in Illuminaire.<\/em> Her rationale is that standing at the intersection of science, strategy and story provides us with a good leadership map as we navigate complex issues with no simple solution.[2]<\/a> Her rationale for art, she writes, \u201cWell, because art is not only a source of beauty; it can inspire and speak without words.\u201d[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

The journal is divided into four main sections. I was going to do an inspectional reading, but I found myself in an immersive experience that led to lots of notetaking and some syntopical thinking. The four sections are The Power of Influence<\/strong>,\u00a0Healthy Leadership<\/strong>,\u00a0Leading Transition<\/strong>, and\u00a0Creative Leadership<\/strong>. These provide a comprehensive exploration of critical themes in contemporary leadership.<\/p>\n

In this blog post, I will reflect on The Power of Influence<\/strong> and Creative Leadership<\/strong> and will explore how these are relevant to my research as I look forward to developing my project in the second half of the DLGP.<\/p>\n

The Power of Influence<\/strong><\/p>\n

The most common definition of leadership is \u201cleadership is influence.\u201d However, Hutchinson writes, \u201cThere is a growing recognition that leadership is a collective process and the mutually dependent relationship between leaders and followers.\u201d[4]<\/a> This aligns with Northouse\u2019s definition of leadership in Leadership: Theory and Practice<\/em>. Northouse states, \u201cLeadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal.\u201d[5]<\/a>(p.57) Leadership is not dependent on the leader alone, but the leader plays a key role in stewarding the leadership influence of the organization.<\/p>\n

My research has also confirmed this through other sources such as Leadership Agility: Five Levels of Mastery for Anticipating and Initiating Change<\/em> by Bill Joiner and Stephen Josephs, Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter<\/em> by Liz Wiseman, and The Starfish and the Spirit: Unleashing the Leadership Potential of Churches and Organizations <\/em>by Rob Ford, Rob Wegner and Alan Hirsch. These sources and others, point toward leadership as a collective process and the leader as the one who can maximize the collective leadership influence of the organization through a more collaborative leadership approach.<\/p>\n

The need for collaborative leadership skills is my research’s central theme. My NPO states: Many leaders in The Alliance Canada lack collaborative leadership skills, which stifles innovation and diminishes member empowerment for mission. My research has confirmed this as a problem to be solved in our denomination. As I have been researching, I have been looking for a way of communicating the mindset shift that needs to take place in a leader.<\/p>\n

Hutchinson referenced the work of Wheatley and Frieze, describing leaders as hosts rather than heroes.[6]<\/a> The perception of the leader as the \u201chero\u201d rests on a false premise that a singular person can provide solutions for every problem.[7]<\/a> In contrast, hosts are leaders skilled at convening and facilitating environments where problems are solved by tapping into the collective genius of the group. She writes, \u201cHosting leaders seek to hear the voices of others and value their voices in the pursuit if change.\u201d I found the metaphor of the leader as \u201chost\u201d to help describe what I have been reaching for and will further explore the writing of Wheatley and Frieze to see if this might become part of how I communicate the necessary mindset shift.<\/p>\n

Now, let\u2019s explore creative leadership and how this is relevant to my NPO.<\/p>\n

Creative Leadership<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hutchinson delineates the difference between creative thinking and creative leadership. Leaders who are creative thinkers are those who can generate creative problem-solving ideas on their own. However, creative thinkers often struggle to lead creatively and thus fail to implement the change they envision. Imagining change requires creative thinking, but implementing change requires creative behaviour. If a leader is stuck in a heroic leadership paradigm, they will not be able to lead the change they imagine.[8]<\/a><\/p>\n

Creative leadership is about breaking out of the mould of the expert, heroic leader. In essence, creative leadership is about leading groups through processes of identifying problems, generating creative solutions, evaluating ideas, and co-implementing the solution.[9]<\/a><\/p>\n

In my workshops, I have discovered that, while leaders desire to be collaborative, they lack the understanding and skill to facilitate group processes. Most leaders tend to collaborate through conversations, but this has limited effectiveness because there is no clearly defined process, it doesn\u2019t create a culture of inclusivity, and there are no clear rules for engagement. Process tools such as Appreciative Inquiry, the collaborative design process we use in the DLGP, and design sprints are ways leaders can engage the group.\u00a0 As I further my research, I will be exploring how I might be able to equip leaders in my context with some process tools to help them become better equipped to lead creatively with competence and confidence.<\/p>\n

Conclusion:<\/strong><\/p>\n

As I close, I am again reminded that leadership is changing, and it continually requires leaders to grow, adapt, and change their leadership approaches. I am grateful to be part of this learning community at Portland Seminary. The words of the poem, Living Leadership<\/em> by Charlotte Finlay, express my gratitude and my sense as we officially enter the second half of our program. Finlay describes leadership as a living thing that grows and develops organically in a community with others on a similar but different journey. She concludes her poem:<\/p>\n

Expressed like an artist’s first strokes of print on a canvas.<\/p>\n

Part of something bigger still to be,<\/p>\n

But not yet…finished.<\/p>\n

As much of the process as in the display.<\/p>\n

Here we become and are still becoming.<\/p>\n

And possibility brims and beckons,<\/p>\n

In the unfolding journey of living leadership.[10]<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a>[1] Hutchinson, Karise. \u201cWelcome\u201d<\/em> Illuminaire, Volume 1 (December 2024):10.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Hutchinson, Karise. 10<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Hutchinson, Karise. 10<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Hutchinson, Karise, \u201cLeadership and the Influence of Power\u201d,<\/em> Illuminaire, Volume 1 (December 2024): 18<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Northhouse, Peter. Leadership: Theory and Practice.<\/em> Ninth Edition. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications, 2022. 57.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Hutchinson, Karise, \u201cLeadership and the Influence of Power\u201d,<\/em> Illuminaire, Volume 1 (December 2024): 20. See also the article found here for a more detailed explanation https:\/\/www.margaretwheatley.com\/articles\/Leadership-in-Age-of-Complexity.pdf<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Hutchinson, Karise. 20.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Hutchinson, Karise. \u201cLeadership and Creative Innovation\u201d<\/em>. Illuminaire, Volume 1, (December 2024): 118.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a>[9] Hutchinson, Karise. 118<\/p>\n

[10]<\/a> Finaly, Charlotte. \u201cLiving Leadership\u201d. Illuminaire, Volume 1, (December 2024): 138<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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