I have dozens of books and many more magazines on the subject of leadership in my library. Most of them are written from the Christian/Biblical perspective, but many are secular and come from the business world. In my humble opinion one of the best secular books written on leadership is entitled Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence, by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee (Harvard Business School Press, 2002). Their argument, and it is compelling, is that a leader’s ability to positively affect the emotions of those around them is as important to leadership as having a high IQ. In short, the leader will either be able to instill a sense of goodwill and confidence in the organization, which the authors call resonance, or they will create a negative climate, which they call dissonance.
My wife has worked in the retail business for several years for one of the major retail giants. During this time she has worked in several different stores and with many different store managers. I’ve listened to her describe the working climate in these stores under various managers and what she has observed is what Goleman, Boyatzis and McKee have studied and documented, namely, that the emotional intelligence (EQ) of the leadership will either have a positive (resonance) or negative (dissonance) effect that will filter throughout the organization. This effect will flow from the highest levels of leadership down to the cart pusher in the parking-lot.
Goleman, Boyatzis and McKee list four elements of healthy emotional intelligence: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management. Briefly, these four areas relate to the following:
SELF-AWARENESS: awareness of one’s own emotions and their impact; knowing one’s own strengths and limits; and, a sound sense of one’s self-worth and capabilities.
SELF-MANAGEMENT: keeping disruptive emotions under control; displaying honesty and integrity; being flexible and adaptable; a drive to improve; readiness to seize opportunities; and, seeing the upside in events.
SOCIAL AWARENESS: sensing others’ emotions and understanding their perspective; reading the currents, networks and politics of the organization; and, recognizing and meeting client or customer needs.
RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT: guiding and motivating with a compelling vision; utilizing the power of persuasion; provide feedback and guidance to bolster the abilities of others; initiating, managing and leading in a new direction; resolving disagreements; cultivating and maintaining a web of relationships; and, cooperation and team building. (p. 39)
Unlike intelligence and personality traits, which many believe are genetically predetermined, EQ can be developed and improved. With these four “Emotional Intelligence Domains” one can be effective in creating resonance and thereby creating a positive work environment with people who are willing to work together to accomplish the goal and vision of the organization.
I realize I began this series with a discussion of the leadership lessons we gain from Jesus, and it may seem that I have deviated, but as I looked at the four EQ domains it occurs to me that Jesus exemplified each of these. Jesus had an acute sense of “self-awareness.” He knew exactly who He was, who had sent Him, and what His mission was.
Jesus was a master at “self-management.” He knew what He had to do to accomplish His mission and He able to exemplify honesty and integrity while He pressed toward that goal.
Jesus had a keen sense of “social awareness.” He knew the thoughts of people and understood their inner turmoil. He could clearly see the needs of the people, even if they were only focused on their wants.
And finally, Jesus was an expert at “relationship management.” He initiated, managed and led the world in a new direction. And He built a team around Him who would continue the mission even after He ascended to the Father.
There is a difference between leading people and manipulating people. Great leaders utilize EQ to positively affect the emotions of others so that they can see, believe in, and pursue the vision and mission of the organization. The opposite is to create a climate of distrust, frustration, cynicism and discouragement. An organization can only remain static for so long; it must either move forward or it will move backward. A positive attitude that filters throughout the organization can empower the people to overcome obstacles, create innovative approaches, and work together as a team for the health of the organization.
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
XVIII) HAVING A SERVANT’S HEART
In light of the record of the Synoptic Gospels it is interesting that in John’s Gospel, as we come to the Passion of Christ and anticipate the Lord’s Supper, we find Jesus washing His disciples' feet. I agree with those who see here an intent on the part of John, via the Holy Spirit, to place Feetwashing within the framework of a Sacrament. I agree with the view held by Chris Thomas, Ph.D. (a professor at the Church of God Theological Seminar) that Feetwashing is a powerful symbol of the continual cleansing of the blood of Christ. Water Baptism is a Sacrament that symbolizes the initial cleansing experienced at salvation and Feetwashing represents the daily and continuing cleansing of the believer through Calvary.
With that said, however, I want to focus on another lesson in this account, that being the example of servant leadership displayed by Christ to His disciples and to us today. Jesus gives us a powerful example of great leadership and at the heart of that example is the picture of the teacher kneeling down and washing the feet of His students.
The idea of servant leadership is not new. It has been explored and probed through countless articles and books on the subject and I probably have nothing novel to add except to reiterate the point. Great leaders are not focused on raising up people who will cater only to those above them on the corporate ladder, but will be a servant to those coming up behind them as well. Leadership writer John Maxwell has often expressed that great leaders will always be looking to help lift the lives of others up and to develop more great leaders. Great leaders, developing great leaders, developing great leaders, will insure the life and longevity, as well as the future and vitality, of the organization or the church.
I was blessed to be able to have lunch with our denominational Administrative Bishop of our state this week. He came and spoke for us at the church which I pastor but I didn’t know him very well. Given his position and the propensity for politics at that level of leadership I had tended to assume that while he was likeable and seemingly amicable, he would operate according to what was politically expedient. After talking with him and breaking bread with him I soon found that he is a man who is willing to take a stand on principle. In addition, he asked me if there was anything he could do to facilitate my functioning in a small leadership position I hold in the state. I came away from that lunch with a new respect for this man’s leadership because I sensed in him a man of principle, compassion and a servant’s heart.
Jesus knelt down and washed His disciples’ feet. This was the task of the servants in the house, not the Rabbi, not the Master. Peter tried to stop Jesus from washing his feet but Jesus insisted and Peter eventually relented. Jesus was showing us that if we want to be a great leader then we must have a servant’s heart. We must be willing to kneel down and wash the feet of those we want to teach servant leadership to.
Jesus also shows us that we must be willing to lead by example. Jesus didn’t just say that we are to serve one another (though He did teach this on several occasions), but Jesus showed us what it looks like to be a servant. When others see the leader serving, they will be more inclined to serve as well.
As the senior pastor of a medium sized and growing church I cannot personally wash the feet of every member, I cannot visit every home and counsel every member, but I can wash the feet of my elders and staff members and teach them to serve others. I can be a servant to those I want to raise up in leadership positions in the church so that they will be servant leaders as well and everyone in the church senses that they are cared for and ministered to.
Some see the servant leadership model as a weak model for leadership, but we see the strength of Christ as Peter tried to resist the lesson. Jesus was serving but He was still the leader and He was still in command of the encounter. There is nothing weak about this model. It takes confidence and a high level of personal security in one’s role to be willing to employ the servant leader model. Insecure and egotistical leaders simply cannot bring themselves to serve in this fashion. Such leaders need constant affirmation and control of others. But these leaders do not reflect the leadership model displayed by Christ kneeling down and washing the feet of his disciples.
With that said, however, I want to focus on another lesson in this account, that being the example of servant leadership displayed by Christ to His disciples and to us today. Jesus gives us a powerful example of great leadership and at the heart of that example is the picture of the teacher kneeling down and washing the feet of His students.
The idea of servant leadership is not new. It has been explored and probed through countless articles and books on the subject and I probably have nothing novel to add except to reiterate the point. Great leaders are not focused on raising up people who will cater only to those above them on the corporate ladder, but will be a servant to those coming up behind them as well. Leadership writer John Maxwell has often expressed that great leaders will always be looking to help lift the lives of others up and to develop more great leaders. Great leaders, developing great leaders, developing great leaders, will insure the life and longevity, as well as the future and vitality, of the organization or the church.
I was blessed to be able to have lunch with our denominational Administrative Bishop of our state this week. He came and spoke for us at the church which I pastor but I didn’t know him very well. Given his position and the propensity for politics at that level of leadership I had tended to assume that while he was likeable and seemingly amicable, he would operate according to what was politically expedient. After talking with him and breaking bread with him I soon found that he is a man who is willing to take a stand on principle. In addition, he asked me if there was anything he could do to facilitate my functioning in a small leadership position I hold in the state. I came away from that lunch with a new respect for this man’s leadership because I sensed in him a man of principle, compassion and a servant’s heart.
Jesus knelt down and washed His disciples’ feet. This was the task of the servants in the house, not the Rabbi, not the Master. Peter tried to stop Jesus from washing his feet but Jesus insisted and Peter eventually relented. Jesus was showing us that if we want to be a great leader then we must have a servant’s heart. We must be willing to kneel down and wash the feet of those we want to teach servant leadership to.
Jesus also shows us that we must be willing to lead by example. Jesus didn’t just say that we are to serve one another (though He did teach this on several occasions), but Jesus showed us what it looks like to be a servant. When others see the leader serving, they will be more inclined to serve as well.
As the senior pastor of a medium sized and growing church I cannot personally wash the feet of every member, I cannot visit every home and counsel every member, but I can wash the feet of my elders and staff members and teach them to serve others. I can be a servant to those I want to raise up in leadership positions in the church so that they will be servant leaders as well and everyone in the church senses that they are cared for and ministered to.
Some see the servant leadership model as a weak model for leadership, but we see the strength of Christ as Peter tried to resist the lesson. Jesus was serving but He was still the leader and He was still in command of the encounter. There is nothing weak about this model. It takes confidence and a high level of personal security in one’s role to be willing to employ the servant leader model. Insecure and egotistical leaders simply cannot bring themselves to serve in this fashion. Such leaders need constant affirmation and control of others. But these leaders do not reflect the leadership model displayed by Christ kneeling down and washing the feet of his disciples.
Friday, August 12, 2005
XVII) MAKING TOUGH DECISIONS
Being a leader can be very gratifying. There are rewards, such as seeing a project completed on time and on budget, or getting the ministry up and running, growing and touching lives. There are the accolades and “at-a-boy’’s”, the recognition and the sheer satisfaction of knowing we have made a positive impact on so many people’s lives. If it weren’t for these returns not many people would invest themselves in leadership because along with the rewards, there are also the challenges. There are the difficult people (check out my sermon, “Dealing With Problem People”). There are the critics whom the leaders cannot please regardless of how hard he or she tries. There are the limited resources, the unfair demands, the undeserved blame, the long hours and the stress. Then there are those tough decisions that have to be made and the leaders is the one who has to make them.
Recently I was on my way to Denver to attend the Christian Book Distributors Convention, and in the airport in Atlanta I saw a book that caught my eye. It is entitled, Tough Management: The 7 Ways to Make Tough Decision Easier, Deliver the Numbers, and Grow Business in Good Times and Bad, by Chuck Martin (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005). The title is long, but the part about making tough decisions easier got my attention. I’ve been reading the book and it is helpful, full of research and insights from business leaders, but when you get right down to it tough decisions are still tough. In the end, however, the effective leader must be able to make even the tough calls.
Jesus was willing to make tough decisions with eternal and universal significance. In business and in church leadership we often have to make decisions that will affect the lives of people in profound ways. When revenue is down the decision to let people go can be gut wrenching. Who to hire, who to fire, who to promote and who to downsize are all tough calls and all calls that ultimately end at the desk of the leader. Jesus made tough calls that impacted more than just the pocketbook or the bank balance. For Jesus the decisions He made had eternal impact. The future of humanity hung in the balance as Jesus made the decision to pray, “Not my will but thine be done.”
In chapter two of his book, Martin gives seven guidelines to assist the leader in making difficult decisions. First, he says to put off the tough calls. He isn’t suggesting that one procrastinate, but give time and perspective the opportunity to help clarify the issues. The decisions may be difficult, but they should not be rash or rushed decisions.
Second, he says to give yourself a timeframe. If possible break the decision down in bite sizes and schedule them in a way that gives others time to adjust.
Third, recognize your own personality traits. Are you a duck or an eagle? Ducks tend to follow other ducks; they are more comfortable in a flock. For them, making a tough decision is easier if others around them have to do the same thing. In other words, if all other department managers are cutting back staff, it is easier for the duck to do the same. The eagle is more independent. He or she simply makes the decision and moves on. Martin gives three steps to forcing hard decisions: (1) Collect and consider the most information for the decision at the time. (2) Make the decision and communicate it. (3) Move on.
Fourth, leaders must recognize and accept the fact that tough decisions have to be made and it is the leader’s responsibility to make them. Leaders who try to delegate those decisions in order to defer the difficulty will quickly lose the respect of peers and workers. Martin says, “A key in making tough decisions is to actually make them, rather than procrastinate and make a situation linger too long.”
Fifth, “segment tough decisions by time”. Martin observes that “trying to deal with all tough decisions at the same time is pointless and, at best, can be overwhelming.” To overcome this, he says to “categorize tough or even significant decisions by the time frame in which they should be made.”
Sixth, Martin says to “segment tough decisions by level.” There will be times when employees in leadership positions beneath you in the organizational flowchart will need to be the ones to make the call. Your decision may be to tell the manager that six people will have to be let go from his department, but you will allow him to make the call as to which six will go.
Last, Martin says that when tough decisions must be made, they should not be affected by office politics. Tough decisions should be made objectively and without prejudice. The overall good of the business or the church must be paramount and the greater good should never be sacrificed out of personal friendships or political pull.
Martin says one should ask the following questions as guidelines for considering and weighing difficult decisions:
1. Who does this decision affect?
2. What else does this decision affect?
3. What is the long-range implication?
4. Who would oppose it and why?
5. What is the alternative?
6. When should the decision be made?
Tough decisions are tough, but Jesus demonstrates that making the right decisions (tough or not), at the right time, for the right reasons, can bring about the greater good.
Recently I was on my way to Denver to attend the Christian Book Distributors Convention, and in the airport in Atlanta I saw a book that caught my eye. It is entitled, Tough Management: The 7 Ways to Make Tough Decision Easier, Deliver the Numbers, and Grow Business in Good Times and Bad, by Chuck Martin (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005). The title is long, but the part about making tough decisions easier got my attention. I’ve been reading the book and it is helpful, full of research and insights from business leaders, but when you get right down to it tough decisions are still tough. In the end, however, the effective leader must be able to make even the tough calls.
Jesus was willing to make tough decisions with eternal and universal significance. In business and in church leadership we often have to make decisions that will affect the lives of people in profound ways. When revenue is down the decision to let people go can be gut wrenching. Who to hire, who to fire, who to promote and who to downsize are all tough calls and all calls that ultimately end at the desk of the leader. Jesus made tough calls that impacted more than just the pocketbook or the bank balance. For Jesus the decisions He made had eternal impact. The future of humanity hung in the balance as Jesus made the decision to pray, “Not my will but thine be done.”
In chapter two of his book, Martin gives seven guidelines to assist the leader in making difficult decisions. First, he says to put off the tough calls. He isn’t suggesting that one procrastinate, but give time and perspective the opportunity to help clarify the issues. The decisions may be difficult, but they should not be rash or rushed decisions.
Second, he says to give yourself a timeframe. If possible break the decision down in bite sizes and schedule them in a way that gives others time to adjust.
Third, recognize your own personality traits. Are you a duck or an eagle? Ducks tend to follow other ducks; they are more comfortable in a flock. For them, making a tough decision is easier if others around them have to do the same thing. In other words, if all other department managers are cutting back staff, it is easier for the duck to do the same. The eagle is more independent. He or she simply makes the decision and moves on. Martin gives three steps to forcing hard decisions: (1) Collect and consider the most information for the decision at the time. (2) Make the decision and communicate it. (3) Move on.
Fourth, leaders must recognize and accept the fact that tough decisions have to be made and it is the leader’s responsibility to make them. Leaders who try to delegate those decisions in order to defer the difficulty will quickly lose the respect of peers and workers. Martin says, “A key in making tough decisions is to actually make them, rather than procrastinate and make a situation linger too long.”
Fifth, “segment tough decisions by time”. Martin observes that “trying to deal with all tough decisions at the same time is pointless and, at best, can be overwhelming.” To overcome this, he says to “categorize tough or even significant decisions by the time frame in which they should be made.”
Sixth, Martin says to “segment tough decisions by level.” There will be times when employees in leadership positions beneath you in the organizational flowchart will need to be the ones to make the call. Your decision may be to tell the manager that six people will have to be let go from his department, but you will allow him to make the call as to which six will go.
Last, Martin says that when tough decisions must be made, they should not be affected by office politics. Tough decisions should be made objectively and without prejudice. The overall good of the business or the church must be paramount and the greater good should never be sacrificed out of personal friendships or political pull.
Martin says one should ask the following questions as guidelines for considering and weighing difficult decisions:
1. Who does this decision affect?
2. What else does this decision affect?
3. What is the long-range implication?
4. Who would oppose it and why?
5. What is the alternative?
6. When should the decision be made?
Tough decisions are tough, but Jesus demonstrates that making the right decisions (tough or not), at the right time, for the right reasons, can bring about the greater good.
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