Connections

Earlier this summer I was invited to submit some reflections on leadership to the team of youth ministers leading the Christian Leadership Institute (CLI) in the Diocese of Buffalo. The youth department was celebrating the 25th year of CLI in that diocese and as part of the celebration they were publishing a type of journal of lessons on effective leadership.

I directed more than fifty CLIs between 1979 and 1990 from Alaska to Florida, from Maine to California, from Canada to Louisiana, including the first one in Buffalo in 1980. Retreat houses, college campuses, and summer camps all hosted the program. Years later I have met youth from these programs who are now pastors, NASA specialists, teachers, farmers, social workers, lawyers, youth ministers, and many more things. I have hundreds of stories to tell about youth and adult leaders I had the pleasure of learning with through these workshops. Funny stories mix with some wonderful “ah ha” moments about leadership and church and life.

I never stopped learning about leadership during these programs and the study of leadership continues to be a passion of mine. Millions of pages have been written in an attempt to define leadership. The author Warren Bennis has stated that “Leadership remains the most studied and least understood topic in all the social sciences. Like beauty and love we know it when we see it but cannot easily define or produce it on demand.”

It may only be possible to fully understand leadership when it can be observed in action. What do you notice about leaders you admire? What qualities do you look for in leaders? What have you learned from your own leadership experiences? As a diocesan administrator I am concerned about how best to invite and prepare new leaders for our ever-changing church. Here are some lessons that guide my work that I shared with the youth ministers in Buffalo. Perhaps this will be an opportunity for you to name your own lessons of leadership and renew your commitment to effective ministry.

• Leaders build relationships. Leadership involves first and foremost, not skills but relationships.
• Leaders use power wisely. Instead of relying on dynamics and approaches that control people, effective leaders put emphasis on collaboration and cooperation rather than competition and control.
• Leaders are effective agents of change. Organizations and groups are living organisms undergoing constant change. Change is a process, not an event. The leader provides direction for others as they move through the change process.
• Leaders are to be servants first. Effective leaders attend to the needs of others (followers) as the highest priority.
• Leaders empower others. Good leadership evokes in other persons the willingness to lead.
• Leaders are adaptable. Effective leaders adapt their personal leadership style and approach in accordance with the particular situation they find themselves dealing with.
• Leaders are team builders. In order to build ownership for a particular decision, leaders employ a team approach. Even in conflictual situations, negotiation skills, which apply win-win concepts, can keep a team of people united.
• Leaders are decision-makers. Thoughtful analysis and careful consideration of options are important but often the courage of conviction is what is needed at times when a choice must be made.
• Leaders are effective communicators. Communication is the basis for all human relationships. Effective communication skills are a fundamental requirement of good leadership.
• Christian leaders model their actions on Jesus himself. His foot-washing style exemplified the true meaning of gospel leadership, service to others.