The way of non-violence

Palmer describes violence as anything which violates the integrity of another person. The examples he gives (e.g., insults, demeaning, treating others as disposable, etc.) make me think that dignity might be a better term than integrity in this definition. Regardless of this minor issue, he points out that a circle of trust can show how abnormal violence really is. This reminded me of a story told by a military chaplain out on patrol with fellow soldiers yet he was the only one without a weapon. One soldier noticed this and remarked that not carrying a gun must feel strange to the chaplain. The unit’s leader corrected the soldier by saying the chaplain “is here to remind us that it’s unusual to be carrying weapons in this world.”

Palmer outlines three options of conflict responses: fight, flee or honour the soul of the other. The purpose of this chapter is to encourage his reader to choose the third way. I think this chapter would be complemented greatly with Ken Sande’s (2004) The Peacemaker : A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict. Sande is actually an attorney who explores in greater detail what peacemaker responses – as opposed to escape responses or attack responses – can look like. Here is Sande's model.

For Palmer, acting non-violently means holding the tension of opposites long enough to break our hearts open to new ways or ideas; or as he puts it, “until a new vision emerges” (p. 176). I like this idea quite a bit as I tend to shy away from hasty decision-making, especially when it is not clear what to do next. Holding such tension open (i.e. neither fight nor flee) seems to bring more creativity to the surface.

I imagine some situations limit this though. For example, workplace bullying is sometimes called workplace violence. How long does one neither fight nor flee from that? A lack of safety can only be tolerated for so long. Palmer suggests four resources for the person wishing to serve as an agent of non-violent change (p. 171) but I think these should take the direction our moral compass points in the situation.

I do find it surprising how little forgiveness is discussed in this chapter. While it is important to teach on honouring the soul of another as to not enact violence on them, what are we to do with those who bring violence to us? Practicing unforgiveness in the workplace has many expressions: gossiping, workplace deviance, grudges, refusing to trust, exclusion from power, etc. Honouring the soul of an offender is equally important and part of keeping civility. In fact, I would suggest that forgiveness is a pillar moral virtue in Christian spirituality.

References:

Palmer. P. J. (2004). A Hidden Wholeness. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Expressions of companioning

“He who falls alone remains alone in his fall, and he values his soul little since he entrusts it to himself alone.” - St. John of the Cross

Palmer begins the chapter “Living the Questions: Experiments with Truth” by relating his personal struggle with growing older and the fear of “becoming a 72 year old man who doesn’t know who he is when his books are out of print and the audiences are no longer applauding” (p. 131). Confronting this fear with a group of friends led him to develop a retirement plan for exploring who he might be besides a writer and speaker. This reminds me of a story well-known Christian author James Dobson told during a time when he put so much pride in being a good writer. His perspective on the importance of writing books changed after finding his first best seller Dare to Discipline (1970) in a garage sale for less than a dollar! Suddenly he realized the longevity of even his “best work” was not that long after all. This event triggered a time of soul searching for Dobson much like Palmer describes.

It is at these times Palmer recommends a person seek the help of a “clearness committee” – a concept from the Quaker tradition whereby a group of trusted friends gather around a focus person to ask the right questions that enable to soul of that person to arise and provide clarity. This concept reminds me of Proverbs 20:5, “The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out” (NIV). For Palmer, the drawing out of the soul’s purposes comes through a structured session of open-ended questions, observing, confidentiality and prayer.

Such spiritual support has been well-known throughout church history and across many traditions. In many cases it has been referred to by the catch-all term “spiritual direction”, whereby directors help a person notice and respond to the movement of God. In my spiritual tradition, (Evangelical/Pentecostal) people have long gathered in small groups for cottage prayer meetings, as accountability partners, and so on. However, the dynamic of strictly following open-ended questioning, listening, observing, and drawing out the soul/inner teacher seems like a much needed addition. I would guess it is because Pentecostals are so drawn to manifestations of spiritual gifts of prophecy and words of wisdom or knowledge that there seems to be a lot more telling than asking in that tradition!

What seems common to all these expressions is companioning. The inner journey is probably best not taken alone. We are either too soft on ourselves or too hard on ourselves – I know I do. It has been suggested to most important things ever said are the things we say to ourselves. A fellow traveler often helps us find a better perspective.

References:

Palmer. P. J. (2004). A Hidden Wholeness. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

What is the spirit of leadership? Part 3

Here’s a collection of particularly good quotes from Miles Munroe’s Spirit of Leadership (Witaker House, 2005):

• Learning comes from education, while knowing comes from revelation. Learning is cognitive, while knowing is spiritual. You do not really change until you “know.” Knowing changes your mind, which transforms your attitude, which, in turn, directs, and regulates your behavior. (pp. 44-45)
• …the secret to greatness is in serving everyone else. To understand this principle, you must answer the question, “What do I serve to others? I believe that this is the greatest revelation of true leadership I have ever discovered and exceeds all the theories and research from the past. What Jesus is stating here is that, to become the great leader you were created and destined to become, you must discover your unique inherent gift and assignment (your original purpose) and serve that to the world of mankind. Do not seek greatness, but seek to serve your gift to others to the maximum extent that you can, and you will become a sought-after person. (p. 96)
• If you find your unique gift or special talent and commit to serving it to the world of mankind, then your significance will cause people to seek you out. You will become an influence through exercising your gift, rather than through manipulation. The more you become a person whose gift is valued, the greater your influence will be. (p. 97)
• Exerting proper influence means inspiring others through the leadership gift that we have been given. The true nature of leadership is the attraction of others to our gifts, which are deployed in their service. (p. 103)
• In effect, the nature of the leadership spirit is to be comfortable in the presence of power, authority, and might without being intimidated. When the leadership spirit is fully restored, you revere and respect God and his authority but are never fearful in his presence; you rejoice in his company. True leaders respect and honor authority but are comfortable in its presence. (p. 116)
• The nature of the leadership spirit includes the following: 1) manager of one’s environment; 2) exerter of influence; and 3) comfortable with power. (p. 122)
• Manifesting the spirit of leadership is a matter of discovering and nurturing your true self so that you naturally evidence your leadership nature. (p. 124)
• Again, self esteem is your awareness of your value to your environment…Our disposition toward ourselves and the world comes from our self-estimation. Our self-estimation, in turn, comes from our awareness of our value to our world. This is where we get our sense of significance and contribution in life…You must come to the point where you are convinced and convicted that you and your gift are necessary. True leaders believe that they are needed by their generation and the world. (pp. 133-134)
• The answer, I believe, is not a lack of raw material or potential but the absence of right information, training, and an environment conducive to producing the mentality, mind-set, and altitudes necessary for this leadership potential to be ignited. This is the spirit of leadership. True leadership has more to do with mind-set than with methods and techniques. (p. 186)
• Attitudes are nothing more than habits of thought produced by your self-image, self-worth, and self-esteem, and habit can be acquired and changed by the reconditioning of the mind. (p. 219)
• The day we take responsibility for our attitudes is the day that we truly grow up. (p. 220)
• One of our major responsibilities as leaders is determining what is best for us according our life’s purpose and vision. (p. 240)
• Attitude is the power of leadership. Nothing can stop a person from achieving success who has the right attitude. You can always make up in attitude what you lack in education. Yet nothing can help the person who has the wrong attitude. (pp. 288-289)

Quotes: Leadership attitudes worth catching…

Indra Nooyi, chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, on Learning: “The one thing I have learned as a CEO is that leadership at various levels is vastly different….As you move up the organization, the requirements for leading that organization doesn’t grow vertically; they grow exponentially….If you want to improve the organization, you have to improve yourself and the organization get pulled up with you….Just because you are a CEO, don’t think you have landed. You must continually increase your learning, the way you think, and the way you approach the organization.”

One of the most important leadership lessons Gary Burnison, CEO of Korn/Ferry International learned in his career was that “leadership is all about the other person. No matter the topic—whether someone is being fired or has just told you about a serious health issue—that person should leave your office feeling better than when he or she entered.… For the CEO there is no off-the-cuff remark. Leadership demands introspection and an understanding of the clout that one’s words and actions carry.”

Sam Palmisano, Chairman and CEO of IBM remarks, “Some of the best advice I ever received was unspoken. Over the course of my IBM career I've observed many CEOs, heads of state, and others in positions of great authority. I've noticed that some of the most effective leaders don't make themselves the center of attention. They are respectful. They listen. This is an appealing personal quality, but it's also an effective leadership attribute. Their selflessness makes the people around them comfortable. People open up, speak up, contribute. They give those leaders their very best.

Indra Nooyi: Chairman and CEO, Pepsico: “Whatever anybody says or does, assume positive intent. You will be amazed at how your whole approach to a person or problem becomes very different. When you assume negative intent, you're angry. If you take away that anger and assume positive intent, you will be amazed. Your emotional quotient goes up because you are no longer almost random in your response. You don't get defensive. You don't scream. You are trying to understand and listen because at your basic core you are saying, "Maybe they are saying something to me that I'm not hearing." So "assume positive intent" has been a huge piece of advice for me.”

What is the spirit of leadership? Part 2

Munroe heavily weights his theological position on Gen. 1:26, 28. He interprets God’s design for mankind to “rule” and “subdue” the earth as denoting leadership. Probably as a means of supporting this thesis, the author refers to God as “the Creator” the majority of the time. Since this book is boldly Christian in its worldview, I find it odd that Munroe does not explore the spiritual gift of leadership (cf. Rom. 12:8). Then again, to do so would probably undermine his thesis that every human is created to be a leader, rather than acknowledging leadership as a distinct spiritual gift – a gift not everyone would possess. Taken together, these are examples of a limited theological premise in Spirit of Leadership.

Unfortunately, Munroe also makes insufficient use of theological resources by merely stating the lexical root definitions of key Hebrew and Greek words (pp. 89, 109) without studying the word in its context or its morphology. This is worth mentioning because Munroe makes key points in support of his message here, yet claims it is “careful investigation of the Greek.” He also uses some eisegetical approaches (i.e., the interpretation of a text by reading into it one’s own ideas) in his exposition of John 14:1-2, especially the meaning of the term “mansions” (p. 109). Overall, the author is not really demonstrating scholarly theological competencies in this book.

The question remains then, has Munroe solved the problem? Has he provided the “missing ingredient” that many people lack in becoming the leader they were created to be? I would suggest that any encouragement in attitude development is a valuable resource. Spirit of Leadership is probably most valuable for emerging or reluctant leaders and those breaking free of fatalistic mind-sets. I hesitate to endorse Munroe’s over-generalized interpretation of Gen.1:26, 28 as indicating every human was created to be a leader, but I can support the critical importance of attitude development he so fervently posits.

Spirit of Leadership admirably addresses the importance of matching your gifts to your environment for ensuring leadership success. Its emphasis on the fruit of a proper attitude is certainly appropriate and offers well thought out counsel for improving attitude. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Munroe’s perspective of viewing leadership as a gift you serve to others is good theology and an essential part of a healthy philosophy of leadership.

What is the spirit of leadership?, Part 1

Dr. Miles Munroe is a noted author and international motivational speaker who focuses on numerous issues pertinent to government, business and discipleship contexts. In this series of posts I will look at his popular book, Spirit of Leadership (Witaker House, 2005).

According to this book’s biographical information, Munroe’s ministry purpose is “the transformation of followers into leaders and the maximization of individual potential” (p. 299). Munroe’s motivation for writing Spirit of Leadership is to address a problem he perceives as “the missing ingredient” that prevents many people from breaking through to the leadership capacity he believes exists in every follower (pp. 13-14, 26). With this book, Munroe examines how any person can experience his or her personal revelation of leadership. According to the author, “every human has the instinct and capacity for leadership, but most do not have the courage or will to cultivate it” (p. 15). Therefore, Munroe’s goal is to help his reader rediscover and recover that leadership spirit.

The author argues that leadership has become a role that one plays rather than a life that a person leads (p. 19). This, he says, causes people to lead double lives. As a result, leadership must be seen not as a technique, a style, or the acquisition of skills, but rather the manifestation of a spirit (p. 20) and an attitude of the heart (p. 22). For Munroe, a converted attitude is the key to a transformed life (p. 29).

Munroe justifies his message theologically by rooting it in creation theology – equating leadership with God’s command to rule and subdue the earth (Gen. 1:28). He insists that “each of us was created to rule, govern, control, master, manage, and lead our environments. You are in essence a leader, no matter who you are” (p. 33). For Munroe, leadership is the essence intrinsic to all human beings (p. 37). It should be noted that the author does not appear to negate the appropriate place of followership (see pp. 34, 82), but repeatedly posits his thesis that leadership is God’s intention and purpose for every person.

So what is the “spirit of leadership” as Munroe defines it? He believes it is “the inherent capacity of the human spirit to lead, manage, and dominate, which was placed there at the point of creation and made necessary by the purpose and assignment for which man (humanity) was created” (p. 83). In Munroe’s theology, this “assignment” is the Creator’s purpose for mankind – “to rule (i.e., have dominion) over all the earth” (p. 91; cf. p. 196).

For Munroe, training in the spirit of leadership is essentially training in attitude. He writes:

Attitude determines everything. It is not enough to know the principles, precepts, and skills of leadership. We must acquire the spirit of leadership by discovering and applying the attitudes of true leaders. Training in leadership really means training in attitude because attitude has to do with how we respond to life. (p. 212)

Munroe challenges his reader to discard their intimidation and develop the spirit of leadership they were created to manifest (p. 30). He spends the first half of the book building this case. In the second half of the book, he discusses key attitudes that will transform followers into leaders.

Unfriending the false self

In chapter three, Palmer describes “living behind a wall” as the truth of our inner self living in disparity with our outer performance. He illustrates various expressions and motivations for such a way of life (the Saddam Hussein illustration is especially disturbing). Yet he astutely observes that while there are clear external enemies of the soul, there appears to be collaborators to those enemies right within our true self. For example, Palmer writes: “When our impulse to tell the truth is thwarted by threats of punishment, it is because we value security over being truthful” (p. 34).

One example from my experience stands out here. I have noticed a dilemma in my own life and others when faced with an authority figure’s leadership style, ethics, or direction that not a fit with your true self. Human resources management experts say when employees feel this way about their leader but do not leave they inevitably begin to act out in deviant ways at work, e.g. showing up to work late, leaving early, phoning in sick when they are not, deliberately taking longer to complete tasks, isolating themselves from others, etc. So I wonder what the collaborating aspect of their true self is that makes them put up with this?

Another similar example is becoming absorbed in values that are at variance with the true self. There are many reasons why a person begins to conform to such incongruent values. I found an interesting illustration recently when listening to a radio theater broadcast from the Adventures in Odyssey series (my kids and I love these!). In one show, a dialog occurs between two characters – Kelsey and Eugene – about the problem Eugene has with embracing the Hollywood lifestyle when give the opportunity. Kelsey defends this life as, “Here you have to keep moving. You have to play the game like everyone else does. That’s the way it is.” Here is the remainder of the dialog:

Eugene – “Perhaps I’m just uncomfortable with all the artifice, the fakery, the make believe. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I get the impression that everyone in this town is acting. Acting like a friend only so long as it serves a purpose. Acting as though they care when they really don’t. Acting as though the entire world revolves around what happens here without any regard for the rest of the world. Frankly I’m not sure how you cope with such a life.”

Kelsey – “You cope by doing it the same way. You cope by becoming a big star making tons of money so you buy whatever you need including friends. You cope by becoming powerful enough so you can create your own world. You cope by being better at it than everyone else!”

Eugene – “I think that’s very sad…to be so cynical. Couldn’t it be argued that by creating your own world you are actually missing out on the real world? True friendships, true feelings? Don’t you every wonder what would remain if the artificial world you created suddenly collapsed? What would you have left?”

Kelsey – “No Eugene, I don’t wonder. I don’t want to know.”

Sadly, it is as Palmer says: “Live behind a wall long enough and the true self you are trying to hide from others becomes hidden to yourself as well” (p. 43).

References:

Palmer. P. J. (2004). A Hidden Wholeness. Jossey-Bass.