Lessons in Leadership
6th May 2009 by Linda Bond
This opportunity to write about leadership to young leaders is not a privilege I take lightly. I am writing to you having served as a Salvation Army Officer for 40 years, so what I share here is experience-based leadership principles that I live by.
I attended a full day's seminar several years ago, when leadership profiles were the new thing. We answered a questionnaire and then the trainer helped us score it to understand our leadership style. Then we did it again but this time it was to reveal how we react under pressure. The idea was that we usually revert to our less dominant stance. That was not the case for me. When placed in a corner, I came out fighting.
When the trainer analysed my profile, he said something like this: "you would die for a cause, wouldn't you?" I said, "Yes". Then he said, "But you wouldn't know what you were dying for". He then wisely told me that I needed to value people around me who did not act impulsively but took time to think through the issues in order to make informed decisions.
It hit home to me, for I was in a team type ministry. I would get so frustrated when in a group meeting, the decision seemed so obvious to me and yet some others would be weighing the options. Everything to me seemed so urgent, like "the house is on fire and we need to do something - NOW!" The truth of the matter is that is rarely the case.
I learned two important leadership lessons from this experience.
Lesson #1: Don't die on small hills
Jesus didn't. Several times he could have but timing was everything and then when the hour was right, he died for the greatest Cause. How often have we argued our point, took some great stand, pressured everyone into actioning our idea, when in truth all we were doing was fighting to get our own way? Little things became major things and we risked everything to win a worthless argument just to prove we were in charge. And yet in truth, sometimes when the big hill faced us, something really worth dying for, we failed.
The Bible has a great example of taking a stand on the minor thing when you miss the opportunity to die for a real cause. Pontius Pilate dug in his heels when the religious leaders wanted to change the signage on the cross. He insisted, "What I have written, I have written" (John 19:22). He wanted them to know that he was the boss around there. But he died on a small hill. The big hill for him was to stand for Christ, against the enemies and at cost to his career. History never thinks of Pilate for his insistence on an inscription. It just views a man washing his hands, wiping them free of the blood of Jesus, blaming everyone else.
My best advice to you would be to choose your battles. Make sure they are just causes, not petty peeves. Fight for others, not yourself. Jesus taught us that the biggest hill is one of self-sacrifice for the sake of others. And when you know the time is right, die for a cause if you must.
Lesson #2: Value the team
No one has all the answers, no matter what position they are given or what education, experience or natural ability they have. I have been in the presence of some very gifted leaders who have a natural instinct for wise decisions and future direction. And the crazy thing is, ideas and analysis come to them in a flash and leave the rest of us awe-struck. It is so tempting to just let them lead and the rest say "yes".
If you are one of those gifted leaders, resist the temptation to be the driver. I know you are excited and in a hurry, but valuing the team's perspective is never wasted time.
And if any of you are team members with a gifted leader, don't be "yes" men or women. Speak your mind. Check the blind spots. Bring your opinion into the discussion. You will be surprised at how often your conviction helps to shape the final outcome.
There are numerous leadership profiles out there and what they do prove is that we all have skills to bring to the table. You've got yours. They're needed. Use them wisely!
Commisioner Linda Bond oversees all of The Salvation Army's work throughout NSW, Qld and ACT as Territorial Commander for the Australia Eastern Territory.
Originally from Canada, she has been a Salvation Army officer for over 35 years and has served in Canada, the UK, the USA and at The Salvation Army's International Headquarters in London prior to being appointed to Australia in May 2008.
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Comments
ohhhhh this lady inspires me!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Linda Bond all the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Praise God for the leadership of the salvation army in Australian Eastern Territory!!!!!
Thanks for your wisdom and insight in this area Linda, so valuable because it's tested and refined from years of service, experience and ministry. It's something I've been thinking about lately, what hills are worth dying on if I'm planning stay in this fight for the long haul? Really helpful article, thanks again!