{"id":6052,"date":"2015-10-15T19:57:19","date_gmt":"2015-10-16T02:57:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=6052"},"modified":"2015-10-15T19:57:19","modified_gmt":"2015-10-16T02:57:19","slug":"a-fool-in-an-authentizotic-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/a-fool-in-an-authentizotic-world\/","title":{"rendered":"A Fool in an Authentizotic World"},"content":{"rendered":"

A number of years ago, I asked my Organizational Dynamics teacher in seminary which book and\/or author would she recommend as one of the best on leadership. Perhaps because of her influence under Dr. Bobby Clinton, especially with his work Making of a Leader<\/em>, she claimed that he provided the most significant practical information on leadership. That advice led me down the path of a Masters in Global Leadership, a path for which I\u2019m grateful. However, now that I\u2019ve read Leadership Mystique<\/em> by Manfred Kets DeVries, I beg to differ with her advocation for Clinton\u2019s preeminence on leadership. Right from the start, DeVries offers practical information from the field, not from above, to help organizations understand the impact of leaders have on an environment. As he states in his preface, \u201cmy main objective in studying leadership is to bring the person back into the organization<\/em>.\u201d[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

For DeVries, leadership rests on the person as a leader, an individual who has more than a public persona. One of his central points for the credibility and significance of a leader stems from whether that person recognizes both his\/her giftings as well as the shadow side \u2013 that dark side that can trip up someone who doesn\u2019t take the time for self-reflection. From that premise, Leadership Mystique<\/em> offers a handbook of tools that help leaders discover who he\/she is, honestly. Coming from that place, the integrity of an organization can operate from its center that stems from the leader, rather than assuming that an organization will create the leader.<\/p>\n

Deve Persad recommended in his Pecha Kucha to read every book with a lens for our dissertation. As I perused through Leadership Mystique<\/em>, I eagerly soaked up concepts and reflections that I could pass on to leaders that I know. However, to Deve\u2019s point by looking at my topic on wisdom in aging gracefully, I discovered two concepts that I want to transfer to what I call spiritual practices. First, an \u201cauthentizotic\u201d organization[2]<\/a> offers a picture of productivity through creativity and investment. By definition, \u201cauthentizotic\u201d combines two words: authenteekos and zoteekos. Respectively, authentic means to hold integrity within itself providing trust and reliance. For zoe\/zotic, meaning life, an organization offers a place that is \u201cvital to life\u201d whereby the work environment is life-giving rather than depleting. A leader who provides this kind of organization offers hope through the creativity and passion of the participants involved.<\/p>\n

In transferring \u201cauthentizotic\u201d to a spiritual practice in aging, people thrive in an environment where their contribution is based on integrity and passion instead of physical capabilities, age, and gender. The ingredients for that safe place require that individuals live out and into their values with congruence, each person owns what they contribute, the investment seeks not only personal development, but that of the community, and that everyone has a sense of belonging. The practice becomes seeking and creating those places for themselves and others.<\/p>\n

For example, today I started a Soul Tending class that I\u2019ve developed for people who want to learn what it means to pause, listen, and trust that God has something for them in the invitation to encounter Him. As we begin, I use Parker Palmer\u2019s Touchstones for Creating a Safe and Trustworthy Space:<\/p>\n