Summer Reading (iii)

Nathaniel Philbrick's, Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery, The U. S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 (Penguin Books, 2003) tells the story of the United States Exploring Expedition or Ex.Ex., which sent a small American naval fleet into the Pacific to discover and chart the islands and shores of that ocean.  More than anything else, however, the book is about the leadership of the expedition's commander, Lt. Charles Wilkes, and the reaction of his officers and men to his leadership.  The book itself is a good read, well-written and well-researched.  History buffs will enjoy it.

Philbrick's account of the Ex. Ex. does give one pause to reflect on effective leadership styles.  Under Wilkes' leadership the expedition achieved a remarkable number of accomplishments under the most difficult of situations.  Wilkes' men, on the other hand, despised him.  He was a martinet who seemed to take delight in humiliating subordinates.  He chose favorites, always less competent men.  He was rash and absolutely insensitive to the feelings of others.  He made enemies that he didn't need to make, and he was by all accounts his own worst enemy.  It seems that the main reason that the Ex. Ex. is an obscure event in history even though it was a greater and more epic achievement than the Lewis & Clark Expedition was the antipathy Wilkes' naval and political superiors had for him.  Philbrick makes the point, however, that Wilkes' leadership was effective during the voyage of discovery and in the years after the voyage when Wilkes published its findings.  His stubborn determination to succeed and gain glory brought him a measure of the success, if not the glory.  He made bad decisions, but he still achieved his goals in spite of them.  He bludgeoned his way to those goals.  There was, of course, a high price for this style of leadership, which both he and his men had to pay.

Effective church leaders cannot exercise Wilkes' style of leadership, at least not for long.  One can hardly call it a Christ-like model, which is our fundamental benchmark in the church.  Still, Sea of Glory is a reminder that pastors and other church leaders are called to exercise effective leadership, which is something different from comfortable or "nice" leadership.  Discipline remains an issue in church life however much we tend to ignore it today.  Christ himself was not the nice guy leader popularly imagined in the pews.  Effectiveness in the church sometimes requires directness and even some bluntness, but of course a church leader has to be especially discerning and wise in exercising that kind of leadership.  Wilkes tended to confuse his own needs, wants, and fears with the larger goals of his expedition, a "luxury" we do not have in the church.

Real Leaders Know When to Give Up

In a recent op-ed posting entitled, "Five Reasons 'Kicking the Can' Leadership Leads to Disaster," Thom Rainer writes, "Real leaders find ways to work with others. Real leaders accept responsibility instead of blaming others."  His subject is leadership in Washington, and in the posting he voices the same frustrations with D. C. politics that so many Americans have become unhappy with.  I was particularly struck, however, by his statement about "real leaders" just quoted.  It requires modification.

Those who seek to exercise responsible leadership seek to work with others when those others can be worked with.  Working with others requires a certain level of trust, however modest.  Working with others requires a certain level of willingness to be worked with.  Blame for dysfunctional relationships is not necessarily symmetrical as can be testified to by large numbers of abused spouses and children.  Leaders do not have control over many of the factors that limit their effectiveness, including whether or not other leaders are willing to work with them.  In our current political climate, there is a set of influential individuals for whom the very idea of compromise is anathema.  They will not be worked with, and it is their fault that they will not compromise even for a greater good—if fault is to be found.

"Real leaders" thus accept responsibility for their own actions and the degree to which they make a full-faith effort to work with others.  They do not own a dysfunctional relationship they tried to make work to the best of their ability.  "Real leaders" also understand that there are others with whom they should not work under any circumstances.  One of the things an ethical leader has to learn is who can be worked with and who cannot, who can be trusted and who cannot.  An effective leader, in sum, won't buy into absolute, dogmatic statements about "real leaders."  As with most things in life, effective leadership is complicated and requires wisdom rather than axioms.  Rainer's axiom concerning "real leaders" assumes that such leaders are always in control of the situations they face, and that is seldom true.

Dr. Rainer's statement should thus be modified to read, "Effective leaders find ways either to work with or, if necessary, work around others.  Effective leaders accept responsibility for their own actions in light of the real world situations they face.  Finger pointing is another issue entirely."

The Quality of a True Politician

P. M. Yingluck Shinawatra

An AP article (here) marking Yingluck Shinawatra's completion of her first year as Thailand's prime minister, notes that it is a surprise to many that she survived a year in Thailand's fractured, volatile political climate.  Although there have been some rough patches, PM Yingluck, displays a number of political skills that have made her a reasonably effective national leader and a good politician. Most important among those skills? One leader of the Red Shirt popular faction, Korkaew Pikulthong, is quoted as saying that she has matured as a leader and that, "She is very responsive to problems of the people and is very keen to solve them, and that's the quality of a true politician."

In an interview with ABC before the election last year , below, Khun Yingluck spoke of her goals for the nation and articulated a political philosophy that is built on reconciliation and governing for the whole nation.  It is worth remembering that she has no prior political experience and has widely been seen as her exiled brother's "cat's paw".  If you have six minutes, the clip is worth listening to, especially in our own supercharged political environment in the U.S.

Leadership & Followership Once More (xiii)

For twelve posts now, we've been working on the Mars Hill eight-point definition of the church (here) and have gotten as far as the fourth criterion, which has to do with the sacraments.  Forgive me, if I digress for one posting to go back to the second criterion, "The church is organized under qualified and competent leadership."

Isaiah 11:2-9 contains a powerful description of the biblical understanding of leadership.  Reading from Today's English Version (TEV) [here], the salient points are:

• leadership is God-given and has a spiritual focus;
• the inspired leader is wise, knowledgeable, skillful, pious, and fair with all esp. the poor & defenseless;
• this ruler can make the hard decisions concerning those who are a danger to peace;
• "He will rule his people with justice and integrity" (11:5)
• under inspired leadership those led will live in profound peace, and there will be no harm, no evil;
• "The land will be as full of knowledge of the Lord as the seas are full of water." (11:9)

The business of leadership is peace.  The marks of leadership are wisdom, knowledge, justice, and integrity.  The foundation is a trusting faith in God.  The end product is a people who "know" God, that is faithfully put their trust in the divine—and consequently themselves live in peace.    Recalling the fifth posting in this series (here), however, it is important to remember that leaders and followers live in a dynamic, reflexive relationship.  If the people aren't open to and themselves seeking wisdom, justice, and peace, their leaders will fail.  The above list of biblical traits of leadership thus also applies to followership.  Amen.