Too much has been written about leadership. It is a topic we all have an opinion on, talk about, argue about it, think about it. The qualities of a leader are far ranging depending on what agenda the promoter is promoting. Seminars, TED talks, books, lectures, sermons tell us how to be a leader, who should be a leader and why. So here I am throwing out another diatribe about being a leader, another anthem about the ills of our current state of lackluster leading. My struggle with all that has been said, written and espoused is that leaders are seen as a separated, uniquely qualified group and only certain people, with certain characteristics and personalities traits. You see I think we all have the tools, the capacity, to lead. We lack the desire, the need, the confidence, the energy. No doubt leading can be an exhausting endeavor, constant strain on your emotional and physical being can destroy any of us. Leading is a demanding task, as it should be. Yet, we have consistently elevated leaders not because of their depth, or knowledge, but because of their charisma. The ability to inspire, to evoke, to challenge are the things we should grasp to when picking our leaders. Just look around, we live in a world where personality is mistaken for talent, control for strength, manipulation for concern. We have the leaders we deserve, we have them because we are unwilling to ask for anything better, we have them because they clearly represent what we value. Enough diatribing, lets talk about what a leader can be, what they should be, what they must be.
I was working to help a church plan a new facility and part of the project was creating a new office space for the large ministry team. During the planning process the team made it clear they had a different take on leadership for their organization. We worked with them to create spaces that promoted collaboration and a non hierarchical physical environment. They had a clearly defined hierarchy but they did not want it to inform how they built their collaborative work space. My team was a little perplexed we usually designed spaces with defined areas typically based on a hierarchical system. During the planning one of the senior members died. The team was utterly devastated but was determined to complete the project to honor their friend and mentor. We sat and listened to stories of how the man who had died lead his team. He believed to his core that his task as a leader was to elevate others to take his place. He was continually stepping back to allow someone less experienced lead. This man lived out a humility that inspired his team, allowed them to take the risks, make the mistakes that created a culture of creativity and empowerment. I think he saw his job as a leader as one of being able to become invisible, melt into the background when one of his team was encouraged to step out to lead. By the time we were done with the meeting everyone in the room was in tears, everyone inspired to be better than they were. The examples of humble leading from this departed one still inspiring, still impacting.
A few years after that trans-formative project I had the pleasure of meeting a person who again showed me what a real leader should be. I had started connecting with people around the world discussing the current state of the church. The vast majority of this connecting was through the internet, through words shared with the occasional face to face meeting. I had connected with two Joes, both creating new churches, both pushing boundaries, both leading a group. Each Joe had a distinctly different view of leadership. The first Joe was moving from a large western US city to a large European city to start a new church. He had hand picked a team, a location and time. His team was in place ready to go when I first started talking with him about leadership. The second Joe was also in the midst of starting a new community. This Joe however was seen as a thought leader in a new way of doing church. He had gained a following and many were looking to him for direction. His view of leading was the antithesis of the other Joe’s.
These two Joes did not know each other, so I connected them and what resulted was a dialogue that unpacked two distinct views of leading. You see the first Joe had a model of leading that dictated roles, responsibility, potential for growth and position. It was clear this Joe was in charge and everyone else on the team was their to implement his vision. The other Joe although seen as the leader never claimed the role, never demanded to get his way. Some days he was the one making the decisions about content, direction, intent, others he was sweeping the floors, not because he had to but because he wanted to. This Joe understood that if he claimed the role of leader that claim would destroy the very thing he was helping create. In his not claiming that role he helped create a community where all could participate, all could contribute, all could lead, all could follow. The community that this Joe was part of became a center for a new movement, in large part because Joe would not claim that role. A year or so later I connected with the other Joe and he told me that his adventure in Europe had failed miserably, he was divorced and disgraced. It was a saddening but not surprising conversation.
We are at a time where we need a new generation of leaders to step forward. Leaders who live out humility, live out service, live out empowerment. We are reaping the results of generations of leaders like the first Joe, controlling and powerful. Yes there are effective and inspiring leaders in any generation but I think we have mistaken noise for ability in our time. Our leaders must be willing to leave the title of leader unclaimed, allow the ones they are leading to take the fore, allow all to participate, no matter who they are. A leader who is willing to sweep floors one day and cast vision the next is the kind of leader we need. We must demand this, must seek it, must be it. I want to be part of community where its leaders are this, teach this, embody this. I want to follow a leader who will inspire me to be a servant, to be humble, to take risks, to make mistakes. I want to be part of community where this idea of leadership if the fabric that holds it all together. These leaders are all around us, in our mirrors, at our dinner tables, in our meetings, walking our streets. Let us build communities where all are allowed to lead, to follow, to grow, to express, to risk, to fail, to love. Let us be a generation of leaders that others will follow and who will in turn follow others.