Christian Leadership.
1.
Leadership, according to Heifetz and Linsky, provides opportunity to raise important questions, speak to higher values and surface unresolved conflicts (2). Decisions have to be made whether to put in a contribution to the society or to keep it to yourself. People get disturbed by unpopular initiatives. Heifetz and linsky say ‘to lead is to live dangerously’. This is because leadership involves being at the forefront, advocating for change and challenging people’s way of life and also exceeding the mandate one is given so as to deal with issues that arise. Resistance is always a reaction of the people whenever their way of life is unsettled, and as a leader you become a target. Some will even attempt to take you out of the game: pushed aside, undermined or eliminated. A leader ought to take up the opportunity to lead, while at the same time work out ways of staying alive.
In ‘Leadership Without Answers, Ronald Heifetz defined technical leadership as doing the required thing in order to address an issue when there exists an already known or a knowable solution. Technical leadership settles down well with most people, and is easy to gain acceptability as the solution is already available, or is easy to arrive at. Adaptive leadership, on the other hand, seeks to find solutions to problems that are not in any way amenable to the standard operating procedures. Participants have to come together to chart a new pathway with an aim of solving these pertinent issues they face.
Adaptive leadership is dangerous. When a leader fronts new ways of doing things that would upset the popular equilibrium, people will push back. Others will even go to the extremes of assassination just to silence the voices that give them the realities that may be frustrating. Leadership turns out to be dangerous when it has to confront the people with loss. When the public becomes anxious and desperate they look to those in authority for solutions. This makes adaptive leadership inherently dangerous because they expect easy answers to adaptive challenges. When that solution is not adequate or efficient, the leaders get ejected from the system so that a new leader will try and offer a working solution.
Thus people often avoid the threats by treating an adaptive challenge as technical.
A leader can however lead adaptive change without getting ‘killed’. Heifetz and Linsky gave four ways of doing so.
First, a leader should distinguish adaptive from technical challenges. This will present a better opportunity to address the underlying issues, assisting in prioritizing them with an aim of deciding which issue to tackle first and what strategy to use. In adaptive leadership, people have to take up new ways and choose among options that may appear contradictory.
Secondly, leaders often avoid those who disagree with their positions. Heifetz recommended listening to dissenting voices, listening carefully to the reservations they have. This gives the leader more information on the issue and helps in working out more effective change without necessarily changing the preferred position.
Leaders also need to manage their hungers. Hunger for power, importance and intimacy need to be managed before they undermine adaptive leadership as they increase the desire to control and direct, discouraging others from adapting to change, and breed desires to be heroes.
The concept of ‘going to the balcony’ involves getting a clear view of what is real and getting the bigger picture by pulling away from the fray. Once the pattern is studied, the leader can get back into the dance floor in order to make changes. Every situation should be viewed from perspectives different so as to come up with correct diagnosis of the problem and offer concrete solutions.
‘Giving the work back’ is based on sharing responsibility, and not bearing the full weight of the challenge by empowering people and giving them a chance to contribute to the measures to be taken in solving the problems faced.
2.
In Gene Edward’s “A Tale Of Three Kings, a story is told of Absalom, David and Saul. The three rose to the throne at different times, and under different circumstances. These three kings also had very divergent leadership styles.
King Saul was very jealous, and felt David was a threat to his kingdom. He more than once tried to kill David but to no avail. David always submitted to Saul, played soothing music to him until Saul’s death. As king, David was popular, and many people had immense faith in his leadership. He led his people with humility, up to the point where he coveted a soldier’s wife. King Absalom critiqued his father, making him very popular with the people. This shows his ambitiousness and sincerity.
Human beings have a dark side that negatively affects their ability to make good and sound decisions without hurting self and others. Dark side composting is the process by which individuals deal with their negative traits with a view to overcome them.
In the Tale of Three Kings, two leadership styles stand out; the toxic leadership and the servant leadership. King David subscribed to the latter, while Kings Saul and Absalom preferred the former. The two were constantly filled with anger towards their subjects and regarded them as lesser beings. Their dark sides were dominant in the way they ruled, and they instilled fear into their subjects. Edward gives the impression that David was tolerant to Saul’s actions and threats because he (Saul) was anointed by God. David never acted in a manner likely to indicate his willingness to maintain his position of power (Edwards, 1992).
It is evident that leadership requires a clear mind, which is difficult to have with traits likely to lead to self-destruction. Parts of the personality can be redeemed and transformed (McIntosh & Rima, 2007). This is the process of spiritual composting.
The connection between the tale and the need for dark side composting is the desire to educate the people on the need for a just leadership, without witch-hunt and ill motive. Edward in his book indicates that there can be some good that can come out of toxic leadership, which is what dark side composting also hopes to achieve.
Leadership comes from God, and those anointed and placed in such positions should lead without letting their dark side come to the fore, affecting their ability to do the right thing. Servant leadership works best, and is advocated for by Edward in his tale. Dark side composting, it is imperative to note, does not seek to change the people in leadership. It only seeks to advocate for a leadership that is not blinded by anger and other negative feelings shouldered by leaders which intoxicates their styles of leadership, all with an aim of building a better society. The tale poses a challenge as to the type of Kings an individual would like to be; David, Absalom or Saul. Dark side composting offers a way in which desired values good for leadership can be arrived at.
3.
John 10: 1-21 depicts Christian leadership as righteous. Jesus says in Verse 1 and 2 that ‘he who does not enter the sheepfold through the door is a thief and a robber, but he who goes in through the door is the true shepherd of the sheep’. Christian leadership, as indicated in these verses, is acquired not by unorthodox means, but in the way so desired by Jesus. Jesus goes on to say He is the Door to the sheepfold, and as stated in verse 7, and that anyone who goes in through him will be saved and will go out and in to find pasture. Leadership should be in line with the values that Jesus upheld. Christian leadership should be based on the guidance of Jesus, and not human judgment.
Jesus says he lays his life down for the sheep (vs. 15), and he knows his sheep. He seeks to bring to his fold more of his sheep that are not present. This shows the amount of love Jesus expects leaders to have for their subjects. He expects selfless leadership that includes everyone in their plans. Leadership that is protective enough of the subjects such that it would protect them from harm, and would not harm its subjects.
Christian leadership is a sacrifice. Jesus said in verse 18 that he lays his life down on his own accord. Such is the sacrifice he makes for his sheep. Leaders ought to make sacrifices for their subjects in order to gain favor from God.
Work Cited
McIntosh, Gary, and Samuel D. Rima. Overcoming the dark side of leadership: How to become an effective leader by confronting potential failures. Rev. ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 2007. Print.
Edwards, Gene. A Tale of Three Kings: A Study in Brokenness. Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 1992. Print.
Leadership Axioms: Powerful Leadership Proverbs. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2012. Print.
Heifetz, Ronald A., and Martin Linsky. Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive Through the Dangers of Leading. Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business School Press, 2002. Print.
Heifetz, Ronald A. Leadership Without easy Answers. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1994. Print.
