As a female lay rostered person in the ELCA, I feel that I lead from the margins. I am not quite legitimate. When I was a student at Luther Seminary, I had other female students in the MDiv track tell me,"One day, you will be one of us." That made me feel like a second class person in the church. When I was in the rostering process, the psychological evaluation needed to find a reason why I decided not to be ordained. In his report, the psychologist decided that I must have had a poor relationship with my father that I chose not to be ordained. As I talked to two other women in the Associate in Ministry track like me, they also had statements in their psychological evaluations which indicated something was wrong in that they decided not to be ordained. Obviously deciding not to be ordained was considered deviant behavior by this psychologist.
Another story - About 10 years ago the leadership of the congregation in which I was serving, wanted to participate in a program at Luther Seminary which placed students in congregations for their contextual education experience. A student had contacted the congregation and was very interested in the outreach we were doing in the Liberian community. The Senior Pastor felt he was too busy and asked if I wanted to be the mentor for this person and attend the group meetings. I said yes. When I went to the orientation meeting for the mentors, the director of the program at Luther Seminary said to me while I was checking in, "Now Diane don't be offended if I refer to everyone as Pastor because everyone else is a pastor." Of course, I was instantly offended. During the orientation it was made very clear that all the mentors were pastors and were expected to be pastors. I went back to the Senior Pastor and told me that I had to withdraw from being a mentor as I was not ordained and this would be a hindrance to our participation. Our congregation withdrew much to the dismay of the student.
Even now after 20 years of serving in four congregations, there are positions in the church for which I would not be considered because I am not ordained. Only clergy need to apply. Sometimes that is stated clearly in the job description and sometimes told to me. So what does this all mean for me as a strong female lay leader in the Church?
To be continued...
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Key leadership skills
I have been reading "The Four-Fold Way" a book by Angeles Arrien. I have been re-reading and pondering this book for about 8 months and learning more about being an effective leader. It does not have a Christian perspective but comes out of a Native American spiritual perspective.
This week I have studied the Way of the Healer which has an emphasis on the power of love. We reach out in love to people when we do five things.
1. Acknowledge them
2. Show gratitude
3. Validate others
4. Recognize others
5. Have an accepting attitude.
We are better leaders when we acknowledge others in four areas:
1. Skills
2. Character qualities
3. Appearance
4. Impact we make on each other
As I thought about what I was reading I created a list for myself of some key leadership skills that I have learned from multiple places.
1. Showing up - Leaders are those who keep showing up, even when tired, discouraged or bored.
2. Paying attention - Leaders are observant and notice what is doing on around them. They also pay attention to others and how people around them are interacting. Who looks at who when a person is talking reveals power structures.
3. Reframing - Leaders look at a situation, issue, problem, or conflict from multiple angles. What is going on here? What is the problem? Whose problem is it? Is there a way to turn around to see it from the other person's perspective?
4. Acknowledge and thank others. See a more specific list above. I feel that every thank you note I write is time well spent.
5. Invite others into leadership and learn to delegate. This relates to acknowledging the skills of others. None of us can do it all or do it alone.
6. Model the behavior you want others to demonstrate.
7. Nurture yourself spirituality, physically and emotionally. Also make sure you nurture others on your ministry teams.
This week I have studied the Way of the Healer which has an emphasis on the power of love. We reach out in love to people when we do five things.
1. Acknowledge them
2. Show gratitude
3. Validate others
4. Recognize others
5. Have an accepting attitude.
We are better leaders when we acknowledge others in four areas:
1. Skills
2. Character qualities
3. Appearance
4. Impact we make on each other
As I thought about what I was reading I created a list for myself of some key leadership skills that I have learned from multiple places.
1. Showing up - Leaders are those who keep showing up, even when tired, discouraged or bored.
2. Paying attention - Leaders are observant and notice what is doing on around them. They also pay attention to others and how people around them are interacting. Who looks at who when a person is talking reveals power structures.
3. Reframing - Leaders look at a situation, issue, problem, or conflict from multiple angles. What is going on here? What is the problem? Whose problem is it? Is there a way to turn around to see it from the other person's perspective?
4. Acknowledge and thank others. See a more specific list above. I feel that every thank you note I write is time well spent.
5. Invite others into leadership and learn to delegate. This relates to acknowledging the skills of others. None of us can do it all or do it alone.
6. Model the behavior you want others to demonstrate.
7. Nurture yourself spirituality, physically and emotionally. Also make sure you nurture others on your ministry teams.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Practices of Successful Leaders
I would like to continue my comments on the #1086 posting of Tomorrow’s Professor about Practices of Successful (Group) Leaders
To create this list Kouzes and Posner (2002) surveyed and interviewed more than 500 leaders of organizations and business. They found five common practices of successful leaders.
1. Challenging the process
2. Inspiring a shared vision
3. Enabling others to act
4. Modeling the way
5. Encouraging the heart
I already discussed the practice of inspiring a shared vision in a ministry team. Leaders will explore new ways of doing things and is willing to take risks. Problems are seen as an opportunity as well as a challenge. Leaders will need the skills of creativity and problem solving. “It is not necessary for a leader to come up with every new idea or to provide the ingenuity for every shift in direction. Rather, the leader can be a facilitator of creative process, using strategies such as asking provocative questions (such as “What has been your most memorable event today?” or “What would make this meeting most enjoyable?”); setting up experiments (such as every person contributing one object that is in his or her present possession as a way to ascertain a common group theme); and involving people in retreats (everyone could make a sandcastle that represents an ideal concept such as building bridges between different groups of students); brainstorming sessions (such as one focused on how many functions can be identified for a roll of dental floss); or even art exercises that elicit more creative, right-brain ideas.” Change creates anxiety so leaders are able to show that the stress of change can be managed. A leader also helps the team determine which new ideas are worthwhile and useful.
In my study of leadership, I found that modeling is crucial for helping team members move in new directions. A leader needs to demonstrate new skills and give the team members opportunity to practice. Kouzes and Posner list five ways that a leader can model good practices.
1. A leader communicates in a manner that is clear, understandable, and up-front. This can be accomplished by stating the purpose and motivation for any group activity or agenda. The leader avoids covert, hypocritical, and ambiguous messages.
2. A leader demonstrates a caring and respectful attitude toward others when in face-to-face contact and also shows a sense of consideration and dignity for others outside the immediate environment.
3. A leader shows engagement and works intently toward completing the tasks of the group. A true leader energizes a group by modeling the commitment and effort needed to make things happen, inspiring the group to establish strong norms for hard work and achievement. However, to be productive, a leader must also pay attention to counterproductive factors such as job stress, burnout or fatigue, or emotional tension, and work to reduce of prevent them.
4. A leader acts to maintain behavior that reflects fair play and integrity and established standards for ethical conduct.
5. A leader models effectiveness, the single most important action a leader can demonstrate.”
The fifth and last element in this posting was recognition of team members for doing the little things that make a difference and for reaching goals and succeeding in major accomplishments. “Sincere acts of unselfish kindness, observations and gestures reflecting interest, and acknowledgment of individual uniqueness are all ways a leader is responsive and encouraging to members.”
I thought that this information worthwhile to consider when reflecting on my leadership practices. It is only through reflection on how I function as a leader that my skills will improve.
To create this list Kouzes and Posner (2002) surveyed and interviewed more than 500 leaders of organizations and business. They found five common practices of successful leaders.
1. Challenging the process
2. Inspiring a shared vision
3. Enabling others to act
4. Modeling the way
5. Encouraging the heart
I already discussed the practice of inspiring a shared vision in a ministry team. Leaders will explore new ways of doing things and is willing to take risks. Problems are seen as an opportunity as well as a challenge. Leaders will need the skills of creativity and problem solving. “It is not necessary for a leader to come up with every new idea or to provide the ingenuity for every shift in direction. Rather, the leader can be a facilitator of creative process, using strategies such as asking provocative questions (such as “What has been your most memorable event today?” or “What would make this meeting most enjoyable?”); setting up experiments (such as every person contributing one object that is in his or her present possession as a way to ascertain a common group theme); and involving people in retreats (everyone could make a sandcastle that represents an ideal concept such as building bridges between different groups of students); brainstorming sessions (such as one focused on how many functions can be identified for a roll of dental floss); or even art exercises that elicit more creative, right-brain ideas.” Change creates anxiety so leaders are able to show that the stress of change can be managed. A leader also helps the team determine which new ideas are worthwhile and useful.
In my study of leadership, I found that modeling is crucial for helping team members move in new directions. A leader needs to demonstrate new skills and give the team members opportunity to practice. Kouzes and Posner list five ways that a leader can model good practices.
1. A leader communicates in a manner that is clear, understandable, and up-front. This can be accomplished by stating the purpose and motivation for any group activity or agenda. The leader avoids covert, hypocritical, and ambiguous messages.
2. A leader demonstrates a caring and respectful attitude toward others when in face-to-face contact and also shows a sense of consideration and dignity for others outside the immediate environment.
3. A leader shows engagement and works intently toward completing the tasks of the group. A true leader energizes a group by modeling the commitment and effort needed to make things happen, inspiring the group to establish strong norms for hard work and achievement. However, to be productive, a leader must also pay attention to counterproductive factors such as job stress, burnout or fatigue, or emotional tension, and work to reduce of prevent them.
4. A leader acts to maintain behavior that reflects fair play and integrity and established standards for ethical conduct.
5. A leader models effectiveness, the single most important action a leader can demonstrate.”
The fifth and last element in this posting was recognition of team members for doing the little things that make a difference and for reaching goals and succeeding in major accomplishments. “Sincere acts of unselfish kindness, observations and gestures reflecting interest, and acknowledgment of individual uniqueness are all ways a leader is responsive and encouraging to members.”
I thought that this information worthwhile to consider when reflecting on my leadership practices. It is only through reflection on how I function as a leader that my skills will improve.
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