{"id":40325,"date":"2025-01-30T09:35:05","date_gmt":"2025-01-30T17:35:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=40325"},"modified":"2025-01-31T02:39:09","modified_gmt":"2025-01-31T10:39:09","slug":"flourishing-leadership-why-margin-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/flourishing-leadership-why-margin-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"Flourishing Leadership: Why Margin Matters"},"content":{"rendered":"

Four years in the desert have given me a deep appreciation for greenery.<\/strong> I love watching the number of potted plants in my entryway grow, despite the harsh climate. The aloe\u2019s hardiness\u2014thriving with a shallow root system and self-propagating abilities\u2014is incredible. Meanwhile, the fairy lily\u2019s delicate bloom is always a delightful surprise.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite their resilience, every gardener knows that each plant has its own basic needs. Neglect those needs, and instead of a thriving garden, you’ll be left with a dry, withered reminder of what could have been.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reading Volume 1 of Illuminaire Press<\/em> reminded me of this truth in the context of leadership. Just as plants need proper care, leaders cannot overlook self-care fundamentals. When these basics are neglected, leaders are left barely surviving\u2014unable to thrive or positively influence others.<\/span><\/p>\n

Illuminaire founder Karise Hutchinson poses a critical question in Volume 1<\/em>:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn a world where leaders chart unknown waters, face unprecedented challenges, and attempt to embrace the latest technological advancements, what really matters?\u201d<\/em>[1]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Just as my potted plants must endure the harsh Saharan climate, today\u2019s leaders face demanding, often unforgiving environments. To remain firmly planted and thriving, we must prioritize the self-care essentials that strengthen our root systems.<\/span><\/p>\n

The contributors to Illuminaire Vol. 1<\/em> offer valuable insights into the core principles of healthy leadership. For the purpose of this article, however, I will focus specifically on Illuminaire\u2019s perspective on margin<\/strong>, a crucial element for sustaining resilient leadership.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reflections on margin <\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

In 2018, I endured nearly nine months of what felt like unrelenting panic attacks. I can still recall the first one so vividly\u2014I was in the kitchen with my roommate when it suddenly felt like my brain and lungs had completely disconnected. Breathing no longer felt automatic. Each inhale and exhale required my full concentration, which, unsurprisingly, only made things worse.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the time, my life was overloaded. I was juggling a full-time job, finishing a master\u2019s program, raising financial support to move overseas, serving on a pastor search committee for a struggling church (while also acting as its bookkeeper), sitting on the board of a Historical Association, and mentally preparing to leave the United States. Looking back, it\u2019s no wonder I felt like I was suffocating\u2014I had no margin to breathe.<\/span><\/p>\n

Karise Hutchinson describes a similar experience when the weight of overworking, overcommitting, and overachievement left her unable to get out of bed one morning. She writes, \u201cMany leaders take health for granted until it leaves. Caught up in the never-ending need for progress, it is easy to lose perspective.\u201d[2]<\/a> Drawing on Richard Swenson\u2019s simple formula\u2014MARGIN = POWER \u2013<\/strong> LOAD<\/strong>[3]<\/a>\u2014Hutchinson emphasizes that regaining margin requires proactive effort. It\u2019s not something that happens on its own. She encourages us to \u201cpreschedule our life to 80% so we have margin when the unexpected comes.\u201d[4]<\/a> This concept is something I\u2019m eager to explore further as I continue to navigate the balance of margin in my life while working to establish the safeguards that support my well-being.<\/span><\/p>\n

While relational protections\u2014friends, family, and community\u2014serve as essential windbreaks for maintaining margin, I also want to highlight the spiritual safeguard of humility. Looking back, I realize how prideful I was about my \u201cprogress,\u201d unwilling to ask for help from others. As Alfred Alborin, an Illuminaire contributor, writes, \u201cThere is a thin line between humility and pride, with the latter so easily camouflaging itself as false humility. A spurious representation of authenticity. It can be challenging for leaders to understand the concept of going lower to be higher.\u201d[5]<\/a> \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

True humility, I now see, would have meant being honest with myself, with God, and with others. As William P. Farley writes in Gospel Powered Humility, <\/em>\u201cIncreasing humility brings rest with self, with God, and with life\u2019s circumstances. It produces real lasting joy and healthy self-image.\u201d[6]<\/a> \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Even now, I can\u2019t help but wonder how different the outcome might have been during that critical year if I had reached out for support and sought wise counsel in such a challenging season. As a leader, I want to empower others. I desire to see people grow into the best versions of themselves. But if I\u2019m not experiencing growth and freedom in my own life, how can I expect to inspire this in others? How can I positively influence others to become the best versions of themselves when I, as a leader, am becoming the most anxious, overextended, and exhausted version of myself?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Farley\u2019s insight from Gospel Powered Humility<\/em> resonates: \u201cHumility always blossoms into something more beautiful. It is the root that feeds the other spiritual fruits.\u201d[7]<\/a> Humility is what prunes back the unhealthy branches of \u201cI can do it all myself,\u201d helping us realize that we need margin\u2014space to breathe. As Hutchinson reflects, \u201cI discovered margin is a space between my load and my limits. Its significance lies in its purpose: a space for relationships. Margin helps build reserves and resilience for living leadership not only in work, but as a wife, mother, aunt, and friend.\u201d[8]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m still learning how to create and maintain that space\u2014margin\u2014for myself, and I\u2019ve come to realize that in order to lead others well, I must first take care of my own well-being. Only then can I offer the true, authentic leadership that fosters growth, connection, and healing in others.<\/span><\/p>\n

Like a plant that needs space to take root and grow, we, too, need margin to flourish. Without it, we wither under the weight of overload\u2014but with it, we gain the strength to thrive.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

[1]<\/a> Karise Hutchinson, \u201cFinding and Keeping Margin,\u201d Illuminaire Press Vol. 1<\/em>, no. 1 (2024): 10, https:\/\/www.illuminaireleadership.com\/illuminaire-press-vol-1-digital<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Karise Hutchinson, \u201cFinding and Keeping Margin,\u201d Illuminaire Press Vol. 1<\/em>, no. 1 (2024): 78, https:\/\/www.illuminaireleadership.com\/illuminaire-press-vol-1-digital<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Power is the resources in our lives, such as skills, time, training, emotional and physical energy, faith, finances, and social supports. Load refers to work, problems, obligations and commitments, expectations, debt, deadlines, and interpersonal conflict. So, if our load is greater than the power in our life, we will overdraw. If we do this consistently over time, our bank of health will take a hit. The burnout guarantee. (Karise Hutchinson, \u201cFinding and Keeping Margin,\u201d Illuminaire Press Vol. 1<\/em>, no. 1 (2024): 78, https:\/\/www.illuminaireleadership.com\/illuminaire-press-vol-1-digital<\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Karise Hutchinson, \u201cFinding and Keeping Margin,\u201d Illuminaire Press Vol. 1<\/em>, no. 1 (2024): 78, https:\/\/www.illuminaireleadership.com\/illuminaire-press-vol-1-digital<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Alfred Alborin, \u201cFinding and Keeping Margin,\u201d Illuminaire Press Vol. 1<\/em>, no. 1 (2024): 78, https:\/\/www.illuminaireleadership.com\/illuminaire-press-vol-1-digital<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> William P. Farley, Gospel-Powered Humility<\/em> (P&R Publishing, 2011), 26, Kindle Edition.<\/span><\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Farley, Gospel-Powered Humility<\/em>, 26, Kindle Edition.<\/span><\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Karise Hutchinson, \u201cFinding and Keeping Margin,\u201d Illuminaire Press Vol. 1<\/em>, no. 1 (2024): 78, https:\/\/www.illuminaireleadership.com\/illuminaire-press-vol-1-digital<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Four years in the desert have given me a deep appreciation for greenery. I love watching the number of potted plants in my entryway grow, despite the harsh climate. The aloe\u2019s hardiness\u2014thriving with a shallow root system and self-propagating abilities\u2014is incredible. Meanwhile, the fairy lily\u2019s delicate bloom is always a delightful surprise. Despite their resilience, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":208,"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":[1],"tags":[3396,2967],"class_list":["post-40325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-hutchinson","tag-dlgp03","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40325","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\/208"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40325"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40325\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40376,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40325\/revisions\/40376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}