Leadership from the Middle
Mick Daly (Elder, Purpose Leader:
Leader Development)
October 2007
Last
month I told you the story of the five-year-old “great leader” who
“doesn’t make us follow him. He just tells us where we’re going and then we
all go there together.”
That perfectly illustrates the
core concept of leading people from the middle. In his book by the same
name, William Robinson explains: that this “refers to influencing from
among, rather than from above, below, or in front of one’s group,…
positioning ourselves alongside those whom we’ve empowered, … living in the
center of a mission. Leading from the middle refers to leadership that
“incarnates” the mission … the method God chose to lead a fallen human race
to redemption by becoming flesh and dwelling among us.”
That’s worth reading again (and
again)! In fact, this is one book I thoroughly recommend if you want a
practical guide to becoming a leader, and to becoming an effective leader. I
make no apology for using a lot of material from the book for this article.
Bill Robinson is way better than me on leadership!
I love paradox. It just
appeals to me, not least because Jesus was a master of paradox, especially
in his modeling of servant leadership, which is the ultimate paradox. In
this book, Robinson describes six qualities of successful leaders in the 21st
century, the first of which is Paradoxical Leadership. Complex
situations require paradoxical leadership, which “leads back and forth
between firm standards and generous forgiveness”. That describes Jesus
pretty well.
Modern Americans place paradoxical
demands on leadership. They want:
-
powerful, popular leaders who solve big problems; yet they are suspicious
of strong centralized leadership;
-
a common person, but also a heroic,
visionary performance;
-
a just, compassionate leader, yet they
admire a cunning, at times ruthless leader;
-
powerful, self-confident leadership, yet
they are suspicious of leaders who seem arrogant and above criticism;
-
leaders to be visionary, but
not unrealistic.
Can you see the paradox, and how
challenging it is for leaders to live up to these demands, in the home, at
work, at church, in government?!
The author suggests 3 ways for
leaders to deal with these paradoxes.
-
Go wide. When it’s time to be king, don’t wimp about it.
Leave no doubt who’s running things. When it’s time to be commoner lose the
symbols of office.” This requires going way out to the opposite poles of
your role, being healthily ‘bipolar’.
- “Angle into the Current.” That is, like the current in a river
or ocean. We must know the ‘currents’ of our own preferences and
personalities. So, for example, I prefer action and change, and my default
style is directive. So ‘upstream actions’ for me involve stopping, being
still, resisting the desire for change and being more consultative in my
leadership style. This is an occasional, intentional, corrective action, not
a permanent state.
- “Don’t become too predictable. In general, impact and
predictability are inversely related… For the most part distance from the
opposite pole creates impact.” Leaders skilled in the paradoxes know
that the unexpected packs more of a punch than the next step in a standard
pattern.
One benefit of leading from the
middle is that we get close to those who we are called to lead. This
closeness permits us to move from one paradox pole to another, and to be
unpredictable without scaring them. “It’s in the middle of our group that
we are granted the freedom that comes from our authenticity being seen at
close range. People know we go to the poles to be effective, not for
effect.”
I’ve watched Joy Schneiter
discover some of these truths as she led her women’s team in a recent
24-hour relay (details at
www.runningonfaith.us). Joy and here husband Mike attend church@nite.
During the race last year, Joy caught the vision of putting together an all
women’s team for 2007. Joy recruited 9 other runners, 2 drivers and 2
volunteers and led them through their training to get to the start line.
Then the real challenge began! 60 mph headwinds slowed the first 4 runners
dramatically putting them way behind schedule. So Joy had to drop her
personal goals and adapt – very successfully. Her team and each individual
runner finished strong and in high spirits. Joy is a lot like me –
competitive, (over)enthusiastic (at times), but an encourager and wanting
the best for her team. She learned well and is becoming a paradoxical
leader. Well done Joy!
Brian Magee has been the
Running on Faith team captain for the last 2 years, and this year he led
the men’s team to an incredible 14th place out of 146 teams,
finishing in 23 hours 32 minutes; great leadership Brian, and great job
team!
Wherever you are in life, learn to
be a paradoxical leader who leads from the middle, and you will make
a difference.
Do what you love in the service of others who love what you do
More next month ...
~ Leadership ~
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