Category: DOC Thoughts
On Leadership
The business section of The Washington Post ran an interesting “panel” discussion of the evolution of leadership over at Facebook. Having read all the panelists it seems to me there is some wisdom to apply to our evolution of leadership within our denomination, specifically ministerial leadership, in every manifestation: congregation, region, and general. Click the title to visit the “On Leadership” main page.
Facebook’s Leadership: Time for an Update?
By Amy Fraher: For example, a good leader needs to not only provide a clear vision but also reevaluate it, considering whether it remains valid or needs modification along the way. To accomplish this, the leader needs to build a team that will provide the direct, honest feedback required; even when news is unpopular. Facebook could follow other startups like Google and Apple, hiring senior industry veterans to round out their workforce. Yet, I am not convinced that strategy would immediately solve Facebook’s problems. The organizational culture must evolve as well.
By Michael Useem: Here’s the leadership wisdom for a creative young founder: If you believe that you can master the next levels of leadership demands and complexity, embrace them, as both Meade and Smith have proven can be done. But if you are ambivalent about your capacity – or taste – for ever rising responsibilities, stay engaged but get out of corner office.
A Lesson for DOC Reformation
I characterize this time that the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is living through as the third DOC reformation. I use this term because it reflects the seriousness of our roaming and experimentation during the last 15 years. But, roaming and experimentation has led to a loss of identity, a lowering of the theological bar of what ordination means, and we have lost touch with the spirit of our founders, Stone, Campbell, and Smith. We have lost something of our uniqueness while trying to blend into the Christian landscape of consumer religion in America.
David Brooks writes for the New York Times. He is one of the people I read each week. Here are a few paragraphs of his latest column. His observations about how the Army changed in a short time are important for Disciples as we live through this third reformation. The question is who will be our Petraeus? Click the article title to read more.
Leading with Two Minds
by David Brooks | The New York Times | May 6, 2010
They say that intellectual history travels slowly, and by hearse. The old generation has to die off before a new set of convictions can rise and replace entrenched ways of thinking. People also say that a large organization is like an aircraft carrier. You can move the rudder, but it still takes a long time to turn it around.
The transformation began amid failure. The U.S. was getting beaten in Iraq in 2004 and 2005. Captains and colonels were generally the first to see this, but only a few knew how to respond. Those who did tended to have dual personalities. That is, they had been steeped in Army culture but also in some other, often academic, culture.