ARE WE A PEOPLE AT HALF TIME? - Leadership Network

Warren Bennis, well-known leadership consultant
and author, suggests that today's leadership
effectiveness requires seven essential leadership
attributes. These include technical competence (a grasp
of one's field), conceptual skills (the capacity for abstract
thinking), track record (a history of achieving results),
people skills (an ability to communicate, motivate and
delegate), taste (the ability to identify and cultivate
talent), judgment (making difficult decisions in a
short time frame with imperfect data) and, above all,
character (“Leadership That Serves Followers,”
Leader to Leader, Spring ’99).
That seventh attribute, character, points us
toward what we might call “authentic"
leadership. While an exhaustive description
of authenticity might elude us, we know it
when we see it. Authentic leaders are
surrendered to God, self-aware, surrounded
by colleagues and sensitive to followers'
needs.
Surrendered to God. Authentic spiritual
leaders cultivate an audience of One. They
have been captured by the heart of God.
Their personal agendas, hopes and ambitions
both yield, and are informed by, the heart of
God for them. They benchmark their lives
against God's calling on them, not on their
own or others' expectations. They know why
they are on the planet. This insight lends
intentionality to their leadership. They can
articulate the life vision they have discovered
from the heart of God. This personal mission
is not just spoken, it is incarnated in the leader.
Authentic leaders maintain a correspondence
between what they espouse and what they
model. Their core values support their life
goals. The attitudes and actions of authentic
leaders betray a life sold out to God, enjoying
on-line connectivity with Him.
Self-aware. The single most critical insight
a leader possesses is self-understanding.
Without this, leaders live reactionary lives,
hampered and hurt by unresolved familyof-origin
issues and personal dragons. They
often are unaware of hidden addictions and
compulsions that set them up for everything
from burnout to stunted social skills to
character shortcomings. Leaders who have
not reckoned with themselves can live in
denial, not having confronted their own dark
sides. On the flip side, some wonderful
discoveries are reserved for those who practice
self-learning. An unexamined life rarely
operates out of strengths and gifts. Authentic
leaders know what they are good at and what
they bring to the table, and they practice
doing that. While this self-awareness journey
may never be completed, it must at least be
undertaken. The failure to do so robs a leader
of the ring of authenticity.
Surrounded by colleagues. Authentic
leadership is also collegial. It creates an
empowering environment that fosters others'
development. Authentic leaders do not
brandish imperial airs about themselves,
rewarding some and exiling others on
personal whims and insecurities. They don't
develop winning organizations by
demanding that others swear personal loyalty
to them. They have winning ministries
precisely because they have not made it all
about themselves. Rather, it's all about getting
in on what God is up to. This focus calls out
enormous commitment and creative energy
from those who share the leaders’ aspirations.
Authentic leaders make, and are made by,
great groups that accomplish
God-sized missions.
Sensitive to followers’ needs. Authentic
leaders serve followers; they do not seek to
be served by their followers. This shapes how
they pay attention to people and treat their
relationships. People aren't in the way of their
pursuing their dreams and ambitions. People
aren't merely potential recruits, sources of
funding or talent pools to be tapped by the
leader. People weren't created to make sure
the leader is successful. Authentic leaders
understand they were called to help make
people successful. They know the kingdom
is people. Authentic leaders don't manipulate
and exploit others (even when the effort is
veiled as a spiritual enterprise).
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