As I am reminiscent of some of our initial time as a cohort, I can remember hearing how vast leadership was. We were later told that thousands of books on leadership are released annually as many attempt to lay expert claims on leadership. I can recall stumbling and bumbling, trying to articulate the proper definition of a leader, only to find out that discovering what I may have regarded as the best definition only led me down a huge rabbit hole.<\/p>\n
Enter Annabel Beerel. Beerel cites this definition, which raised my antenna, Leaders make a difference- they move people to new places- physically, psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually.[1] While this is profundity and simplicity combined, Beerel captures the essence of the role and responsibility of a leader, to usher people to new places and new spaces. Beerel is an executive coach and educator with a specialization in Leadership and Change Management. She is the author of Rethinking Leadership. Her data-driven and research-based work has ushered her to become a highly experienced executive coach and educator. More recently, she has worked passionately with organizations to bring mindfulness into their cultures.<\/p>\n
As Beerel points out, the world is calling for leadership. Amidst global leaders positioning and posturing her work is timely. One of the sections that resonated with was her take on Leadership and Authority. Beerel suggests leadership is about the challenge and process of movement and change.[2] In defining authority, she states, People in authority are expected to solve routine problems, to alleviate distress,\u00a0 to mediate between competing stakeholders or factions, and to ward off danger. [3] Despite this clear definition, my experience has repeatedly revealed a sad truth: many assume they are leading when, in reality, they are merely exercising authority.<\/p>\n
Authority has a reliance embedded in power and position, while leadership inspires through vision and influence. when these roles operate in conflict, confusion abounds. When leaders equate authority with leadership, I found that individuals become territorial and dictatorial within a few of my contexts. This misnomer has suppressed creativity and discouraged collaboration while creating a stifling atmosphere. As I watch some teams and followers become apathetic, dismissive, or outright rebellious, I hasten to think why some of these authoritarians are blind to the overt tethering caused by their failed \u201cleadership\u201d approach. A common denominator in authoritarian rule is that authority chooses compliance over community.<\/p>\n
As I think of my NPO, which is centered on the absence of young adults in inner-city churches, there is a direct correlation because one of the contributing factors discovered in the young adult absence is attributed to engagement. Young adults feel alienated by rigid hierarchy and top-down mandates when they desire authentic connection and community. There is a silent cry for authenticity, vulnerability, and mentorship. They desire to be valued and heard and feel empowered to contribute meaningfully through an intentional institutional investment. A look at Gen-Z and Millennials will uncover an eagerness for transformational rather than transactional environments.<\/p>\n
Another topic of interest for me was her take on Leadership and Crisis. One of the critical questions she asks is, \u201cWere you surprised by the enormous impact of the pandemic?\u201d [4] As I reflect back into the days of the pandemic, I thought in the midst of it- Wow, things are never going back to as we knew them. It did not take long for this thought to become a reality. The world was forced to immediately adapt with leaders atop the list. As many factions within corporate and organizational settings sought to return to pre-pandemic methods of operation and governance, crisis and adaptive leadership were now requisites for the forward trajectory.<\/p>\n
In crisis leadership, Bereel highlights that the key task of leadership is to identify, frame, and align people to new realities. [5] Hidden within this simple sentence lies much complexity. In some ways, she suggests successful leaders in this area must have hindsight, insight, and foresight. I think about how many businesses, organizations, and churches could not pivot because old norms were preferred over new realities.<\/p>\n
Eve Poole touches upon this in her book Leadersmithing, which outlines multiple critical incidents leaders should prepare for. Poole asserts this preparation has positive benefits. This allows leaders to meet situations head-on that would generally make them feel stressed and yet still be able to maintain their cognitive functioning because they have templates for them.[6] As leaders face new norms and realities, anyone lacking crisis management faces a huge deficiency. Still, Bereel provides depth and clarity in making leaders more skillful, as her writing is practical and simplistic. Her book is one I can see myself referring to from time to time, as there are some valuable golden nuggets but no silver bullets.<\/p>\n
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[1] Annabel Beerel, Rethinking Leadership; A Critique of Contemporary Theories (New York: Routledge, 2021), 5.
\n[2] Beerel, 91.
\n[3]Beerel, 90.
\n[4] Beerel, 179.
\n[5] Beerel, 166.<\/p>\n
[6] Eve Poole, Leadersmithing: Revealing the Trade Secrets of Leadership (London, England: Bloomsbury Business, 2017).<\/p>\n
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