Leadership and Culture: Leadership Profile

My Shortcomings

When it comes to leadership, the only truly good leader is like the only truly good government: theocratic. When a leader or government relies wholly on and responds wholly to God, that leader or government will be genuinely good. In Peter Northouse's work (2010), it becomes clear that, though there are many approaches to leadership, none are without criticisms. Those approaches that have the possibility of being acceptable are inevitably fouled by the very fact that they rely on the leader (doomed since about Genesis 3) or the team being led (doomed since about Genesis 3). The absolute best a person can do in a situation of leadership is to quite simply give it up realizing the impact of their sinfulness. Only when this happens is a leader truly able to lead, taking on the best aspects of each approach and most closely resembling the Authentic Leader (Northouse, 2010). When given the dreadful task of comparing myself to the description of an Authentic Leader, I undoubtedly come as close to this standard as I do the standard of getting myself into Heaven: inconceivably far.

Authentic Leadership is described as purposeful, value centered, relational, self-disciplined and compassionate (2010). When looking at this brief description, it is easy to see that I am not looking into a mirror. Instead, I am convinced that I am looking into the Gospels at the image of my Savior. Christ exemplified purpose and self-discipline as He “humbled himself by becoming to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8, English Standard Version). His compassion and values were exemplified throughout the Gospels as He healed many, and debated those who stood against Him: “And He looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of hearts.” (Mark 3:5, ESV) It is important to note that the term “grieved” can be described as almost sorrowful, showing His steadfast understanding of God's righteous judgment alongside His compassion for their lost state. Perhaps the most important image of Christ (which is also neglected in the aforementioned description of Authentic Leadership) is seen in an excerpt from Philippians 2:7: “emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant.” (ESV) Christ was a servant.

In the regretful comparison of Christ and myself in this manner, I see that I have what Northouse described as “Trait Leadership,” (2010) which pales in comparison to what Calvin Miller addresses as “Servant Leadership.” (1995) The effectiveness of a servant leader cannot be immediately measured by pie charts and bar graphs in carefully orchestrated presentations, but through the loyalty and love of those who follow the servant leader. Granted, this love and loyalty can almost be achieved through Reward Power (Northouse, 2010), but these would dissipate with the rewards. An example of loyalty and love directed towards me is sadly elusive, but John Maxwell does have an example speaking of Southwest Airlines:

I love what Southwest's employees did on Boss's Day in 1994 because it shows the kind of connection [Herb] Kelleher made with his people. They took out a full-paged ad in USA Today and addressed the following message to Kelleher:

Thanks, Herb

For remembering all of our names.

For supporting the Ronald McDonald House.

For helping load baggage on Thanksgiving.

For giving everyone a kiss (and we mean everyone).

… from Each One of Your 16,000 Employees. (2004)

When I read this, when I look through Christ's example in the Gospels and when I look in the mirror, I see the leadership gifts and abilities God has allotted me and realize that I have relied on these traits instead of developed a heart born to authentically lead through service.

As it stands, I see the problem. The next step will be for me to consciously address my shortcomings and pursue a life of service, not leadership. When I am able to do this, I declare that it is not I who leads, but Christ who leads in me. (II Corinthians 5:17, paraphrase) Beyond His leading, He also lives in me, which allows me to achieve the goal of being an Authentic Leader instead of relying on the traits I have been given. Admittedly, an effort to be an Authentic Leader will only go so far as there is an inevitable need for me to have “buy in” for the company and its purpose and as I find myself obeying God's call in between His callings, this buy in must also be developed.

Culture Intelligence and Intercultural Sensitivity

Looking at the Cultural Intelligence scale, I was unable to find an clear scoring guide, so I made my own and got a 76%. I arrived at this number by adding my cumulative answers and divided by the maximum number a person could score. This might not delve into the scientific and mathematic based results Moodian (2009) achieved, but I do feel it is accurate. What I glean from my results is a propensity to glean knowledge and love for understanding various cultures I encounter. I believe this score is a good starting point, not a benchmark though. Yes, by many standards, I would be passing, but by my standards, I am little more than an avid learner. Only through increased intercultural experiences (and perhaps language studies) will I be able to understand and consequently aptly serve the influx of Russian, Marshallese and Nepalese immigrants coming to the Inland Northwest and (prayerfully) the world through both short and long-term missions.

Looking at the Intercultural Sensitivity Inventory, I arrived at a score of 4.2 for the first two sections addressing individualism and collectivism. With these results and my quest to be a servant leader, I see a great need for me to “deny myself” (Mark 8:34, ESV). In doing so, I would be embracing the collectivism that is valued in such cultures as Confucian Asian. (Northouse, 2010) My results for the third section addressing flexibility and open mindedness is not very surprising, revealing that I am decidedly middle of the road. Perhaps this betrays my rural American upbringing, which further betrays a need for me to throw aside my ethnocentrism and embrace the world outside of my little corner. The results of these two assessments reveal a need for greater intercultural immersion and understanding on my part. When this need is addressed (or at least in the process of being addressed), my intercultural leadership abilities will follow.

References

Maxwell, J. (2007). The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson.

Miller, C. (1995). The empowered leader: 10 keys to servant leadership. Nashville, Tenn.: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

Moodian, M. A. (2009). Contemporary leadership and intercultural competence: exploring the cross-cultural dynamics within organizations. Los Angeles: SAGE.

Northouse, P. G. (2010). Leadership: theory and practice (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.