Character and Leadership

Below is my Character and Leadership final essay for my leadership formation class. Please let me know your thoughts. *The format is weird on here so hopefully you can understand the flow of the paper. 

Character and Leadership

Amanda Hollen

PMIN 4303

Instructor: Brent Hinkle

October 22, 2012

1 Peter 1:15-16 reveals, “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy”. These verses display the character that Christ-followers are to mold themselves after. Jesus is holy and Christians are to be like Him, especially when regarding leadership. Character and Leadership go hand-in-hand in ministry. In this paper, I will dialogue with authors- Henri Nouwen and John Maxwell, and give my own view on the connection between character and leadership. I will unveil how this affects my philosophy of leadership. Then I will discuss three temptations and three anecdotes for those temptations from Nouwen and how these apply to my life. After that, I will share why the compelling story of Bill in the Epilogue in Nouwen's book is significant to leadership. Finally, I will propose my six month plan for continual leadership development.

       In John Maxwell's book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, he discusses the importance of trust for leaders to have with their followers. According to Maxwell, being trustworthy is the basic way of exhibiting character within leadership; “A leader's good character builds trust among his (or her) followers” (p.67). When character is present, it allows for easier communication. Maxwell believes that character communicates three important things: consistency, potential, and respect. In order to be have good character in leadership, a person must be consistent so followers know what to expect, if they do not know what they are getting, then they will stop following (p.65). A leader must also be able to show people their potential. Maxwell reveals,

“When a leader's character is strong, people trust him (or her), and they trust in his ability to release their potential. That not only gives his followers hope for the future, but it also promotes a strong belief in themselves and their organization” (p.66).

Character helps leaders earn respect. When leaders allow the Holy Spirit to lead him or her to make good decisions, not getting a big independent ego, and looking out for what is best for his or her followers, then this builds respect (p.66). People will trust and respect those who they know will take care of them.

     Henri Nouwen's concept of character and leadership are portrayed in a different way than Maxwell. Maxwell simply states 'this is what character and leadership looks like'... Nouwen's comes with a story of humbleness. Nouwen attended Harvard but journeyed to L'Arche, a community for mentally handicapped, after meeting Jean Vanier. Vanier inspired Nouwen to spend a year of writing in L'Arche. This is where he felt at home so he became a pastor there. The statement "go live among the poor and they will heal you", applied to Nouwen's life, would be that disabled people allowed him to not only recover from severe depression but become humbled. I believe through his humbleness, he built character and leadership within the community and he understood that, “The Christian leader of the future is the one who truly knows the heart of God as it has become flesh, 'a heart of flesh', in Jesus (Nouwen, 1989, p.38)”. A leader like that, truly displays character and leadership.

        Character is incredibly important to ministry, due to the fact if a leader is going to lead, he or she needs to be trustworthy and ultimately, people will follow truth tellers. This is exactly what John Maxwell said too; people follow those that they trust. Honesty within character is key! Good character keeps a person honest in life and on the right track, so I believe it is very essential. 1 Peter 1:15 applies to character formation in my life and the life of others because it gives a standard to live by and to strive to achieve. "Be Holy as He is Holy"; just hearing that, spurs motivation in me to live a better life and be a better leader. Thus, character and leadership should always be found together, because they enable a person to lead to his or her fullest ability.

       Due to the connection between character and leadership, my philosophy of leadership has been affected. Not only do I desire to be a better leader, by becoming more trustworthy, but I desire to be a better follower of Jesus. Lately I have been struggling to trust God but after reading all that Maxwell writes about character and leadership, I understand that is God who instills those aspects into a person's life and allows them to reach their potential. Knowing this, I understand that in order to allow God to take me to my greatest potential, I must trust Him before I can trust others or before they can trust me. Not only have I been struggling with trusting God but I have not been displaying humility lately. I have allowed self-doubt and bitterness build up in my heart and cloud my ability to surrender. After reading Nouwen's journey to L'Arche, I understand that I must have a surrendered heart in my ministry, so that God can use me to reach out to others without fear or doubt in myself or Him. When applying what I have learned to my philosophy of leadership, I believe I have gained a greater respect and deeper understanding of my calling to lead others to the throne of God.

        In Henri Nouwen's book In the Name of Jesus, he reveals three temptations and three anecdotes for these temptations that are present within leadership. The three temptations are: the temptation to be relevant, the temptation to be spectacular, and the temptation to be powerful. For these temptations, there are anecdotes (matching the order of those listed above): contemplative prayer, confession and forgiveness, and theological reflection.

       The temptation to be relevant is something that Nouwen dealt with personally. Like him, I have also been tempted to be relevant. Nouwen discusses his temptation of being relevant and how when he walks through the outskirts of Lima, Peru, and his desire to be able to turn stone into bread (p.30); I have had that feeling so many times while doing ministry. My thoughts of “Well if I could just do this....” haunt me constantly. To cure this temptation, Nouwen encourages contemplative prayer which allows a person to keep his or her self from being drown in ministry. “Contemplative prayer keeps us home, rooted and safe... (it) deepens in us the knowledge that we are already free, that we have already found a place to dwell, that we already belong to God...” (Nouwen, 1989, p.43). With both humility and discernment through contemplative prayer, a person can be on the road to success in ministry and avoid the temptation to be relevant.

         The temptation to be spectacular deals with the desire that so many leaders feel like they can 'show off' due to their ability to lead and they feel like they are good at everything. "Not too many of us have a vast repertoire of skills to be proud of, but most of us still feel that, if we have anything to show, it is something we have to do solo" (Nouwen,1989, p.55). Leaders must realize that they can't be the hero and do it all alone. Just as Jesus did, we must refuse to be tempted; "Jesus refused to be a stunt man. He did not come to walk on hot coals, swallow fire, or put his hand in the lion's mouth to demonstrate that he had something worthwhile to say" (Nouwen, 1989, p.55). We must first seek God and write His truth on our hearts and then allow others to hold us accountable when we are tempted. "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life" (Proverbs 4:23). Along with seeking God and His truth, a leader must confess and embrace forgiveness;

        “Through confession, the dark powers are taken out of their carnal isolation, brought into light, and  made visible to the community. Through forgiveness, they are disarmed and “ dispelled and a new integration   between body and spirit is made possible” (Nouwen, p.68).

Confession and forgiveness allow a leader to be free from the temptation to be spectacular.

         The temptation of power seems so irresistible to many leaders. The reason why is because “It is that power offers an easy substitute for the hard task of love. It seems easier to be God than to be love, easier to control people than to love people, easier to own life than to love life” (Nouwen, 1989, p.77). Nouwen unveils that theological reflection is the anecdote to wanting to be powerful. The reason theological reflection works is because it allows leaders to discern critically where they are being led (Nouwen, p.85). “Theological reflection is reflecting on the painful and joyful realities of every day with the mind of Jesus and thereby raising human consciousness to the knowledge of God's gentle guidance” (Nouwen, 1989, p.88). When leaders are using theological reflection he or she is allowing the Holy Spirit to guide what he or she is doing and not allowing for independence to kick in and take over. A leader must always be taking captive his or her thoughts and comparing them to the word of God, then casting out anything that is not of God that sneaks into his or her thoughts.

        Personally, I have been facing the temptation to be powerful for awhile now. So I have found that the saying, “When I am weak then I am strong, when I strong it is then I am weak” is a great reminder for me. I need to remember that when I am weak is when I am strongest because I have God carrying me and leading me in His path. Yet, when I am strong, is when I am weakest due to my reliance on my self-help and not allowing God to help me. Only when I surrender my heart to Him will He lead me and in order to do that, I must become vulnerable and weak to allow Him to fill me with His strength. I also must learn to take every thought captive and allow God to speak to me through theological reflection.

      In the epilogue of Nouwen's book, there is a compelling story of a man named Bill. This story is important to the portrayal of leadership because it speaks volumes of doing ministry together. Yes, the temptation to be powerful is present, but as I have already discussed, there is benefit in doing ministry with others. One leader cannot do it all by his or her self, all the characteristics and gifts are not available in one person. So, in order to succeed in leadership, people must rely on each other and build off of what gifts each person has, just as Bill and Henri did in Nouwen's speech. Bill's presence and input, allowed the audience to become more relaxed and feel more comfortable, something that Nouwen may not have been able to do himself. Also, Bill allowed Nouwen's temptations to fall away and for him to speak more freely and relaxed. When people have support like this is leadership, they are most likely to succeed.

        Over the next six months, I will do many things to ensure my continued growth as a leader. I will start off by searching God's word daily and seeking His will for my life. I will continue to trust Him and build my 'trust bank' with others. I will seek counsel from not only the Holy Spirit, but other wise and knowledgeable people who are Christ-followers. These people can hold me accountable in my walk with God and push me to become a greater leader. I will seek to build that support group and continue to listen to my mentor's, my pastor's, and the voices of those leaders that I respect, to know whether my ministry is headed in the right direction. I believe that God will through the people listed above, in order to let me know I am doing a good job or not. Thus, I must be in tune with the Holy Spirit so that I can clearly hear what God is trying to say to me. Listening to God and the respected leaders in my life will help me stay on track and push me toward success in my ministry.

         In conclusion, I now deeply understand the importance of character and leadership within my ministry. In this paper, I have engaged with authors- Henri Nouwen and John Maxwell, and given my own view on the connection between character and leadership. I have unveiled how this affects my philosophy of leadership. Then I discussed three temptations and three anecdotes for those temptations from Nouwen and how those apply to my life. After that, I shared why the compelling story of Bill in the Epilogue in Nouwen's book is significant to leadership. Finally, I proposed my six month plan for continued leadership development.