Leadership
This past year in Avera’s Mission Leadership Development Program, managers and executives talked about heroes. Each of the eight men and women we discussed were leaders who impacted the lives of others in a significant way. This coming year Avera leaders will focus on leadership itself; doing so will raise some important questions.
Who can be a leader?
Some people think that a leader has to be recognized as such by a special authority, e.g., a President and CEO anointed by her company board. If true, that would leave most of us out of the running and only about one percent of the people in any situation could be thought of as leaders.
Some people feel a leader must be someone who gives rousing speeches and has an opinion on any and every topic of conversation. Again, that description forgets that people lead more by their actions than words, by their value-based behaviors and treatment of others than by what they say at pep rallies. In a ministry like ours everyone can be a leader – those in the limelight as well as those back in the shadows. And if we hope to faithfully do His work on the northern plains, Avera needs everyone to be a leader.
How does one become a leader?
Some people opine that leaders are born, not developed. If you come from the womb as George S. Patton, you’ll be a leader; if your name is Dorky Jones, forget it.
Some believe in development, but are unreal in their expectations. Chris Lowney, the author of next year’s Mission Leadership Development text, Heroic Leadership, comments, “In our instant-gratification culture, there is something alluring about the prospect of buying a book before you board a plane in Chicago and arriving in New York a better leader.” Implicit here is the belief that leadership is a matter of technique; if we can just find the right list of 7, 12 or 101 tactics for managing any and every situation, we can achieve the status of “leader.” Lowney goes on to say that personal leadership development is a never-ending work in progress, that as external circumstances change and our personal strengths evolve, we must keep our balance and grow as leaders. There is no leadership plateau at which one can arrive and thereafter coast as one who “has made it.” Rather, a real leader “relishes the opportunity to continue learning about self and world and looks forward to new discoveries and interests.”
What principles of leadership will Avera leaders discuss this year?
Managers and executives will have the opportunity to discuss whether they endorse four challenging principles, and ask ways to both to live out those principles personally, as well as create an environment where others can do the same. The four principles are:
Self-awareness: a leader is someone who is dedicated to self-awareness. She is a person who understands her strengths, weaknesses, values and worldview. She knows who she is and what she values. She strives to become aware of blind spots and cultivates the habit of continuous self-reflection and learning. She sees opportunities for self-awareness as gifts, not threats.
Ingenuity: a leader is someone who makes himself and others comfortable in a changing world. He works to rid himself of ingrained habits, prejudices, cultural preferences and the “we’ve always done it this way” attitude that blocks rapid adaptation. He eagerly explores new ideas, approaches and cultures. Knowing what his core, nonnegotiable beliefs and values are, he cultivates an ‘indifference’ that allows him to adapt confidently to different situations. He is a person at home in the bigger world.
Love: a leader is someone with a confident, healthy sense of herself as gifted with talent, dignity and the potential to lead. She also finds those same qualities in others and passionately labors to unlock that potential in them, as well as herself. She knows that people perform best when they are respected, valued and trusted by someone who genuinely cares for their well-being. Loving her people, she strives to create an environment where those people are energized by loyalty, affection and mutual support.
Heroism: finally, a leader is one who has great visions, ambitious goals and constantly strives to do something more, something greater. He has a restless energy to go beyond, to achieve more, to discover the vein of gold in any situation, not for himself, but for the collective mission; for God’s greater honor and glory; and for the well-being of others.
Conclusion
I hope you agree with me that the focus for the coming year is an important one. For an hour each month Avera leaders will have an opportunity to address these matters in a serious, searching way. Whether we do so from group to group around the ministry, only time will tell.