{"id":41857,"date":"2025-08-27T01:23:48","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T08:23:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=41857"},"modified":"2025-08-27T01:23:48","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T08:23:48","slug":"humble-leadership-and-leadership-flexibility-my-npo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/humble-leadership-and-leadership-flexibility-my-npo\/","title":{"rendered":"Humble Leadership and Leadership Flexibility (My NPO)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In Humble Leadership<\/em>,[1]<\/a> Edgar and Peter Schein challenge one of the most ingrained assumptions in modern organisational life: that leadership is primarily about roles, hierarchy, and transactions. They argue that leadership at its most transformative emerges not through authority or position but through what they call \u201cLevel 2 relationships.\u201d[2]<\/a> This idea serves as a reorientation of how leaders should engage with those they serve. The authors are well qualified. Edgar H. Schein, often regarded as the father of organisational culture, spent decades at MIT Sloan School of Management shaping the study of leadership, culture, and organisational psychology. His son, Peter, builds on that legacy as a consultant and cofounder of the Organisational Culture and Leadership Institute, bringing practical experience in Silicon Valley to their joint work on Humble Leadership<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Many models of leadership, whether transactional, bureaucratic, and charismatic, to name a few, often risk reducing human interaction to role-based exchanges, ie, I\u2019m the leader, you\u2019re the follower. I cast the vision, you implement.<\/em> While roles are important for focus, they can easily become barriers to authentic relationships, which, the Authors suggest, is a priority. In fact, in the preface, they state, \u201cLeadership is always a relationship.\u201d[3]<\/a> In ministry or organisational life, a lack of relationship creates distance, reinforcing power dynamics rather than trust. The Schein\u2019s suggest that genuine leadership flourishes when we shift toward relationships built on openness, trust, and vulnerability. They call these Level 2 relationships: bonds not defined merely by function but by mutual respect and authentic connection.<\/p>\n

One of the most challenging aspects of Level 2 leadership is vulnerability. To lead humbly is to resist the temptation to have all the answers. Leaders, especially in church, often feel the weight of expectation: If I don\u2019t project strength, won\u2019t I lose credibility? <\/em>Yet humility, Schein argues, doesn\u2019t weaken leadership; it strengthens it.[4]<\/a> A posture of humility invites collaboration, releases creativity, and fosters resilience. This resonates with Jim Collins\u2019s \u201cLevel 5 leader\u201d who embodies humility and fierce resolve,[5]<\/a> and with Patrick Lencioni\u2019s insistence that organisational health depends on trust and honest relationships.[6]<\/a><\/p>\n

In my doctoral studies on leadership flexibility, I\u2019ve seen a similar theme. Leaders who cling rigidly to one leadership style often struggle when the seasons in life, leadership and ministry shift. But leaders who flex, who read the moment and adjust, nearly always demonstrate humility at the core. Flexibility requires the humility to admit: My default is not enough for this season. I must adapt. <\/em>Carl Jung\u2019s concept of the \u201cshadow\u201d reminds us that every leadership strength carries a corresponding weakness.[7]<\/a> An autocratic leader may provide clarity in a crisis but risks isolation if they fail to listen. A transformational leader may inspire but drift into manipulation if unchecked. Humility enables leaders to acknowledge these shadows, remain self-aware, and invite accountability.<\/p>\n

The Schein\u2019s highlight Amy Edmondson\u2019s research on psychological safety[8]<\/a> in Level 2 relationships Her studies show that high-performing teams are not those with the smartest individuals but those where people feel safe to take risks and admit mistakes. For church leaders, this is crucial. If ministry teams feel honesty will be punished, authentic discipleship is stunted. But when leaders embody humility, listening first, admitting mistakes, and seeking counsel, trust grows. And with trust comes creativity and the willingness to follow into uncharted territory.<\/p>\n

The Schein\u2019s rightly acknowledge a key tension: scaling Level 2 relationships. In a small team, it\u2019s possible to build trust personally. But what about in a multi-site church or global movement? Here again, leadership flexibility matters. A humble leader recognises they cannot personally embody Level 2 relationships with thousands of people. Instead, they shape a culture where these relationships are modelled and multiplied. Humble leadership is not about one heroic figure but about seeding a way of being that cascades through layers of leadership. Peter Senge\u2019s The Fifth Discipline<\/em> supports this. \u201cLeaders shape culture through systems thinking, embedding relational practices into organizational processes.\u201d[9]<\/a> Scaling humility requires embedding it in structures, language, and accountability.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most radical implication of Humble Leadership<\/em> is its reframing of success. Traditional measures, numbers, growth, and reputation often overshadow relational quality. But what if the true test of leadership is not only what we accomplish but how we journey together? Carol Dweck\u2019s Mindset<\/em> reinforces this shift. Success is not static but dynamic, not a final destination but a continual process of learning and adapting.[10]<\/a> Humble leaders (pastors), open to feedback and failure, foster cultures of growth where leaders and teams continually develop. This success reframing aligns with the gospel vision of leadership. Jesus led not through coercion but through presence, humility, and authentic relationships. He modelled what the Schein\u2019s are writing about, knowing and being known, serving rather than being served, and building trust that could withstand failure and betrayal.<\/p>\n

In essence, to lead humbly is to prioritise relationship over role, authenticity over authority, and trust over control. It demands vulnerability, flexibility, and the willingness to let go of the illusion of control. As I continue my studies and practice of leadership, I see humility not as a soft option but as one of the hardest disciplines. To lead humbly is to resist ego, embrace learning, and create cultures where people flourish not as functions but as fellow travellers. And perhaps, in a world obsessed with leaders who are loud and unyielding, humble leadership may be the most revolutionary leadership of all.<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Edgar H Schein and Peter A. Schein. 2023. Humble Leadership: The Power of Relationships, Openness, and Trust<\/em>. Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Ibid, 15.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Ibid, ix.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Ibid, 43.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Jim Collins, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap\u2026 and Others Don\u2019t<\/em> (New York: HarperCollins, 2001), 21.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Patrick Lencioni, The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business<\/em> (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2012), 35.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Carl Jung, Psychological Types<\/em>, trans. H. Godwyn Baynes (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1923), 112.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Amy Edmondson, The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth<\/em> (Hoboken: Wiley, 2019), 58.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Peter M. Senge, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization<\/em> (New York: Doubleday, 1990), 131.<\/p>\n

[10]<\/a> Carol S. Dweck, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success<\/em> (New York: Random House, 2006), 46.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Humble Leadership,[1] Edgar and Peter Schein challenge one of the most ingrained assumptions in modern organisational life: that leadership is primarily about roles, hierarchy, and transactions. They argue that leadership at its most transformative emerges not through authority or position but through what they call \u201cLevel 2 relationships.\u201d[2] This idea serves as a reorientation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":191,"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":[3314,2967,3217],"class_list":["post-41857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-humbleleadership","tag-dlgp03","tag-schein","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41857","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\/191"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41857"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41859,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41857\/revisions\/41859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}