Weakness, Humility, and Agility: Leadership in the Blizzard
"Conventional strategy isn't much help right now, as it presumes visibility that none of us have. Instead, it is a time to prototype everything.”
(Strategies for Winter: Redemptive Leadership in Survival Times, Andy Crouch and his team at Praxis).
As I read this, it hit me. An overwhelming feeling of helplessness and weakness. It reminded me of the first time I drove in the USA. Having grown up on the equator and only seen snow for a brief moment in Australia, I found myself driving on the “wrong” side of the road from Chicago to Huntington, Indiana. It was the second week of January, and the endless fields of snow had already filled me with dread. So far the trip had been successful, and the kindness of strangers had been welcome. But now I was totally by myself. I was coping well until it became evident that I was surrounded by a blizzard coming straight off the Great Lakes. Not only did I not have any conventional strategies—I could not see the way ahead.
Are you experiencing something similar? It’s easy to feel as if we’re lost in the middle of a storm considering the challenges of today and the realisation that we are called to lead knowing we have “left undone those things which we ought to have done, and...done those things which we ought not to have done” (Morning Prayer, The Book of Common Prayer).
During times such as these, the conventional strategies may not work, and the blizzard is disorientating. I think the way forward will start with repentance. As Luther reminds us, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent’ (Matthew 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” The extent to which we embrace this need for repentance is the extent to which we can also embrace weakness.
This is important because, in the context of repentance, the way forward in the blizzard is to embrace weakness and humility. This leads to agile leadership. And as we will see, agile leadership is something we may not have been equipped for previously, but it is something we can develop without leaving what is important behind.
Firstly, I invite you not to move on too quickly, but to stay in the moment. To feel hopelessness and weakness of the blizzard. Because, as it turns out, it might be just the thing we leaders need. For years now, most of us have led in situations of change, complexity, and weakness, but not in such overwhelming ways. As one leader described it, COVID-19 was so overwhelming that there is now a new category of pastor—the “powerless pastor.” Of course, this has always been true, but it took a pandemic to bring it into focus.
When I say “stay in the moment,” I don't mean that you should avoid professional help if you need it. I mean that you should embrace the helplessness and weakness as if it was your friend. A real friend only wants the best for you. This friend can lead us to see what is truth about this world and ourselves that we otherwise could not see.
As Paul concludes his second letter to the Corinthians, he speaks of Jesus and reminds us that:
“He was crucified in weakness, but He lives by God's power. For we also are weak in Him, yet toward you, we will live with Him by God's power.”
2 Corinthians 13:4 (Translation found in Paul and Union with Christ, C.R Campbell)
The first part of the verse reminds us that Christ was crucified in weakness but now lives by God's power. Then there is the statement of our weakness. Acknowledging this allows for the implications that follow.
Paul follows with the phrase: “yet toward you, we will live with Him by God's power.” This is also a valuable truth, and means that believers accompany Christ in his resurrected life, both now and in the future.
The implication here is that believers are called to embrace their weakness in order to live towards others in Christ, by and through God's resurrection power. This reality is breathtaking. Paul is telling us the extent to which we embrace weakness is the extent to which we are able to live towards others with Christ and in God's resurrection power.
The call to live towards others in this way is also the call to embrace the posture of humility. In some contexts, the posture of humility sounds like surrendering expertise, strengths, and achievements to become an obsequious leader. In others, it can be associated with being conquered or shamed. In the Australian context, there is a false humility that comes from not wanting to look like a “tall poppy,” with the accompanying shameful mockery of those who have God-given gifts. None of these are the ways of humility.
John Dickson's book Humilitas examines the history of humility, focusing on the radical nature of Christian humility. He suggests the "humble person is marked by a willingness to hold power in service of others." C.S. Lewis also speaks of this centredness on other people:
"The essence of gospel-humility is not thinking more of myself or thinking less of myself; it is thinking of myself less."
Why is humility born of weakness critical at this time? As it turns out, humility born of weakness and a union with Christ is fundamental if we are to find the way forward in the blizzard.
Connecting humility, agility, and leadership
In the Praxis article “Strategies for Winter: Redemptive Leadership in Survival Times,” the authors list six essentials for redemptive leaders seeking to survive the winter by building for the ice age:
Embrace your role.
Maximise your runway.
Prototype in sprints.
Organise for resilience.
Lead by naming.
Design for a different future.
What these six essentials have in common is that they all require a leader to develop greater agility. Examples from the article include:
"You are an essentialist now...avoid that path. Instead, ‘protect’ your organisation—create as much capacity as possible to find the new offerings, operations, teams, and funding models that will fulfill your mission next month, next quarter, next year."
"Use this time to demonstrate to your team how agile and fast they can be.”
Before we continue, I invite you to step back for a moment and consider where we are going. We have noticed that weakness is a feature of Christian leadership. What we have also noticed is that the stance of weakness that embraces a union with Christ and his resurrected power brings with it the attitude of humility towards others. What we will now see is that humility is the foundation of agility. And agility is what we need to develop in this season if we are to embrace the future well.
How are weakness and humility important to agility? In their book, Leadership Agility, Joiner and Josephs define leadership agility this way:
"In a broad sense, leadership agility is the ability to take wise and effective action amid complex, rapidly changing conditions."
The book then outlines five levels of agility. One of the things that stands out about these levels is that humility is the bedrock of each of them. The most effective and agile leaders are those with the most humility.
Let's consider the levels of agility as described. The first three levels are the most useful as, by their own admission, the authors acknowledge that levels four and five are unattainable for 99.9% of the population.
These are the first three levels of leadership agility:
Expert level leaders use their technical and functional expertise to make tactical organisational improvements, supervise direct reports, and identify and solve critical problems, selling their solutions to others.
Achiever level leaders set clear organisational objectives, lead strategic change, motivate and orchestrate team performance, work across boundaries, and step up to challenging conversations.
Catalyst level leaders are rare. These leaders lead transformative change and develop agile organisations and highly-engaged teams. They collaborate with others to develop creative, high-leverage solutions to thorny organisational issues.
It is important to see that this is a developmental model and that the levels are built on each other. It is not possible to skip a level:
"As you grow from one stage to another, you develop a distinct set of mental and emotional capacities that enable you to respond more effectively to change and complexity. In other words, leaders become more effective as they grow into the more advanced stages because, in doing so, they become increasingly adept at responding to the degree of change and complexity."
What does this look like in action?
Let's engage in a thought experiment around how leaders with different levels of agility might react when presented with the same situation, as they survive the winter by building for the ice age.
The particular form of leadership agility exercised in this example is the wisdom of knowing when to be accommodating or assertive. The greater the agility of the leader, the greater the ability to apply this skill in the moment. The greater the agility of the leader, the greater the humility of the leader. The leader is able to "hold power in the service of others.”
The Praxis article reminds us that in this season leaders will be asked to "reconsider how work is done inside and outside…teams." The genuine possibility is that in the future, team members may not continue, either through lack of finances or a need to change the focus of a ministry.
The expert level leader looks at this situation, gathers all the necessary information before making a decision, and then asks the team member to come to a meeting. At this meeting, the decision is communicated to the team member. Most church leaders will do this with compassion and empathy.
The achiever level leader looks at this situation and gathers all the necessary information before concluding the best way forward. At a meeting with the team member, the achiever level leader presents the current circumstances, explains the situation, and then invites the team member to respond. Consideration is given to the team member’s point of view. The conversation is filled with curiosity and empathy. The final solution would reflect the team member’s views and concerns, even if it costs the organisation more.
The catalyst level leader looks at the situation and gathers all the necessary information before forming an opinion on the best way forward. Prior to the meeting, the team member receives a briefing on what the conversation will be about and is asked if there is anything they would like to add to the agenda. At the meeting, there is the opportunity to discuss any interpersonal issues and consideration of any potential creative solutions with the desire for a genuine collaborative outcome. The outcome may be very different from what either party had considered at the beginning.
The problem: I love being an expert
The problem is that as a leader I love being the expert. I’ve been around long enough to notice this in others too. There might be a number of explanations for why I’m this way, but I think a contributing factor is how I came into ministry. I love the seminaries I was formed in. The skills and resources they gave me have served me well over the last 35 years. They have done exceptionally well at helping me develop the skills of being an expert leader. I love the role of an expert leader. Most of the leaders I have worked with—and for—are outstanding expert leaders. There have occasionally been leaders working at achiever levels of agility. I have mostly observed catalytic styles of leadership from afar.
This love of being the expert leader can be seen in certain responses to COVID-19. Numerous articles and webinars are being produced to help leaders respond well. Leaders are developing new expertise in fields such as public health, grief, lament, remote teams communication, and online church services.
These are essential and necessary moves for leaders who have a deep love for the people they serve. However, my concern is this expertise will only take us so far because the focus primarily remains on pastors being experts and this, in turn, entrenches our leadership with limited agility.
The good news is that, as Christian leaders in this season, we are not called to be experts. We are called to weakness and humility in our union with Christ and in his resurrection power.
In advocating growing our agility based on humility, I am not advocating that expertise should be left behind—particularly not the expertise that comes from spending hours soaked in the richness of God's word. More agile leaders do not leave behind their expertise, but rather take it with them as they grow in agility and deal more effectively with change and complexity.
It is also true to say that agility is not just about the posture of humility. As I coach leaders and help them grow in leadership agility, there is also a need to develop particular skills and abilities around teams, pivotal conversations, and organisational change.
What I am advocating in this season of increasing complexity and change is that we make a commitment to leadership agility with the posture of humility, founded in living towards others in Christ and by God's power. To embrace being the “powerless pastor.”
Pretend I am your coach. How will you develop your leadership agility at this time? What aspect do you need to sit with—weakness and hopelessness? The words of Paul that address this? Humility? The skills of agility? Or all of them? What is your next objective?
About the Author
Roger Bray is the Coaching Catalyst for City for City Asia Pacific and Director of Coaching Australia. Roger recently concluded his ministry at Newtown Erskineville Anglican Church in Sydney Australia where he oversaw four congregations. Having been in ministry for the last 35 years, Roger has had lots of opportunities to be involved in planting, repotting churches and walking alongside those in Church leadership.
Roger is married to Jane, a social worker who is involved in Parakaleo, a program that supports pastor’s wives. They have two married children and one grandchild.