Selfish leadership
Adobe
I learned some powerful leadership truths while attending seminary. Many of those lessons didn't occur in the classroom but during ordinary life.
As a graduate student, I was employed full time at a psychiatric hospital for troubled teens. I had two preschool sons at the time and carried a full load of doctoral studies. I worked the graveyard shift for two years, but that schedule almost put me in the graveyard!
I finally switched to the evening shift that ran from 3:00 to 11:30 p.m. I spent each evening trying to prevent extremely troubled teens from harming themselves or anyone else.
Many seminary students worked there, and most just wanted to put in their eight hours and return home as quickly as possible. I was stretched to the limit during that season of my life, and I was not looking for any more projects to undertake.
Friday evening shifts were particularly challenging. While everyone else was having fun or spending time with their families, I was in a locked-down psychiatric facility supervising a bunch of teenagers who desperately wished they could be out partying with their friends.
One day, I came up with an idea. It wasn't earth shattering, but it would change my world. I developed a plan to have a party in the unit where I worked every Friday evening.
We'd make it a lot of fun with hilarious games, pizza, and ice cream. The key was that the patients had to follow the rules and behave themselves all week.
I checked with administration, and they agreed to spring for pizza and ice cream. Additionally, whichever room's residents had behaved the best that week (there were typically three patients per room) could stay up an extra hour watching TV in the community room.
The patients eagerly embraced the challenge. Our unit quickly became the best-behaved unit in the hospital. It was actually fun hanging out with the patients on Friday nights!
Soon, other units adopted our practices and there were parties going on all over the hospital on Friday nights.
What had happened?
One low-ranking orderly had seen a problem and come up with a plan to make things better. I must confess, my inclination was to keep my head down and put in my eight hours.
But God was teaching me important lessons. I could not have known then that the lessons I learned in a psychiatric hospital in Texas would be exactly what I'd need as the pastor of a church in Canada!
When I arrived at my church in Winnipeg, the congregation was demoralized. It needed to be led to a healthier, happier place.
But I knew that God could use just one positive, available, willing leader to transform an entire culture.
One way to evaluate the quality of leadership is whether it is selfish or organizationally focused.
Today's society is inundated with selfish leaders. They are present at every level of business and politics.
Far too many politicians have enriched themselves while holding elected or appointed office, even as they fail to solve their constituents' problems.
Some civic leaders have held their office for decades, yet the crime and poverty rates in their city remain among the highest in the nation.
Still, before every election, they offer dire warnings of what could happen if they are not re-elected!
Many business leaders whose companies are suffering dramatic losses in sales and market share continue to pay themselves lavish annual bonuses. They fail to address their organization's problems but retain their lucrative positions. These leaders are practicing selfish leadership.
Selfish leadership occurs when someone is motivated by personal ambition rather than by a desire to improve their organization. Some leaders use people to advance their careers. They manipulate, cheat, and lie to reach the next rung on the corporate ladder. Those practices are toxic and disruptive.
A healthier form of leadership is when leaders strive to exert a positive influence on their organization. These leaders tend to be pleasant and good for morale. They lend a helping hand. They are generous with praise and gratitude. People like to serve on their team. They care about the organization and are willing to make a positive difference in any way they can.
During my time working at the psychiatric hospital, I was never promoted into management or given special recognition. Going the extra mile never advanced my career in that field (which didn't really matter to me, since I was preparing to enter a different field).
But my place of employment improved significantly. Instead of dreading Friday evenings, patients looked forward to the fun night ahead. I experienced an innate reward from making my workplace better. I felt joy as I watched that positivity spread to other parts of the institution.
Selfishness is ugly. It builds walls and silos. It erodes trust. It alienates people. A greedy, selfish environment is a terrible place to spend eight hours each day!
Strive to be a positive leader who makes your workplace better. I have committed to being a positive change agent wherever I work. Whether I am employed there for three years or thirty, my hope is that when I walk out of my office for the last time, my organization is a much better place because I worked there.
 | Richard Blackaby is the president of Blackaby Ministries International and lives in Georgia. He travels internationally speaking on spiritual leadership in the home, church, and marketplace as well as on spiritual awakening, experiencing God, and the Christian life. Richard regularly ministers to Christian CEOs and business leaders. He has written or co-authored 33 books . This article was first published on RichardBlackaby.com. Used with permission from Blackaby Ministries International. Learn More » |
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