Leadership

As a pastor, I suppose it's fair to say I'm nearly always thinking about my own leadership. I am, I am sure, the most avid critic of my own leadership. Perhaps people are not always aware of that (to hear people sometimes you'd think they thought they were the only ones who saw my mistakes, and thus they have a sacred trust to point them out)...but many people are, and their patience and grace with me is priceless. Most of these people are ones who look back on their own leadership and life and know they are a better person now than they had been, and they understand we all go through that same process But focusing only on one's own leadership, even if critically, can become myopic and, subsequently, distorted.

So it is always a treat to be able to reflect on leadership with others--whether in conversation or in print. Here lately I've been accumulating books about leadership--ones recommended by a variety of people. I decided, out of necessity really, years ago that I would not seek out books, but if recommended by someone directly, I try to get ahold of the book. This is how I can to read The Tipping Point--when our VP of Student Affairs at Duke recommended it. My dad is a frequent source of ideas. And my latest book purchases are a result of recommendations by clergy colleagues. You see, I've accepted the fact that at this point in my life at least, I'm not a very voracious reader (my father is). And some people are really good at finding good books--largely because they read so much they get exposed to a lot. I want to maximize my time reading, so why waste time trying to find a great book? There are always people who know. And then I frequently recommend those books on to others.

Yesterday, after a frustrating morning when my Blackberry crashed and I had to face the phone calls and store visits to get a replacement sent, I needed to get a bit of sanity back. A perfect time to turn to those books!

I finished the Social Sectors supplement to Good to Great (a book I read a couple years ago, I think soon after it came out and it was recommended to me by a coworker). It was a helpful clarification of some of the language and understandings of Good to Great into the non-profit world. What I appreciated most came right at the beginning of the supplement, where Collins clarifies that "A culture of discipline is not a principle of business; it is a principle of greatness." Too often, people in churches bristle at the idea of using learnings from the business world, arguing that we're completely different. But as Collins points out, the practices he explains as necessary in successful business aren't technical, they're about focus, clarity and discipline...and there is nothing about these that makes them unsuited to churches. In reality, many of the "church" leadership books out tell the same story as Collins' Good to Great...just with more (perhaps silly and needless) avoidance of business or secular terminology.

Next, I moved on to read the first bit of Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive through the Dangers of Leading, from the Harvard Business School Press. I've only read a couple dozen pages, but I am loving the book already and finding it very insightful and helpful. Let me be honest...some Christian leadership books are redundant. They say nice things, but it's like getting advice from your Sunday School teacher...not a leadership expert who has real examples. Many of the leadership issues pastors face are not pastoral counseling ones, and I sometimes find more insight from an illustration (as in this book) of a South American president facing an economic crisis than a pastor who had this family that was in conflict...Both are helpful, but the latter gets old when it's just restated in different ways.

Here are some great lines I've already come across from Leadership on the Line:
-"People do not resist change, per se. They resist loss."
-The difference between TECHNICAL PROBLEMS, "problems for with [people] do, in fact, have the necessary know-how and procedures," and ADAPTIVE CHALLENGE, which "require experiements, new discoveries, and adjustments from numerous places in the organization or community." The writers point out that far too often, both leaders and their followers try to deal with an adaptive challenge as if it is a technical problem. You can imagine (and have seen) the problems that ensue. This also feeds into the desire of people to have someone come "fix" their problems...without understanding that they are going to need to be part of (and even initiate) the solution...a solution that will most likely call them to experience some form of loss.

So, I'm excited to have the opportunity to dive into these and the other great books I've got stacked. I don't do a good enough job blocking time to read...always a myriad of things to be done aside from sitting down with a book. But I also know that when I don't take the time to do that, my spirit (and leadership) suffers. I've been fortunate to cross paths with some really great books...the sort you wish you'd read a lot sooner because you know if would have helped you be a better leader...or person...But at least moving forward, it does.