Mary Kate Morse on Leadership as a Stewardship of Power

Photo Credit: pedrosimoes7

From Mary Kate Morse's book, Making Room for Leadership: Power, Space and Influence:

"When we walk into a room, the visuals and viscerals of our presence are quickly calculated by the members of the group as they figure the amount of influence they will give us. The process of addition and subtraction are continually active.

We all do this in social settings. We make snap decisions about whether newcomers are safe and can be trusted with who we are and what we're about. These decisions have sticking power; once they're made, they're hard to change.

Each of us is given a measure of power. There is a steady exchange of power potential negotiated within groups. Like dance partners, we move in social space exchanging meaning in a quiet rhythm of relational cues and discernment. Some people are given more power and some less, but everyone is involved. Power doesn't belong to any one person -- it belongs to the group that constitutes it. The exception is when force is used to make the group follow the will of the leader. 

So the use of power is not just a moral issue...it's also a stewardship issue. God called us to steward the resources of his creation, and I suggest that power is one of those resources. The acquisition, management, consumption and distribution of resources are economic issues. So also are the acquisition, management, use and distribution of power for equipping people to do the work of God's kingdom. Anyone who has an interest can learn to understand the economics of the forestry industry or small business. But how can we understand and manage the economics of power?

Even though we value servant leadership, which has a lot to do with the use of power, we usually aren't mindful of the stewardship of power. We tend to equate servant leadership with spiritual, internal character qualities manifested in a leader's public behaviors. However, authentic servant leadership involves stewardship of power, power used thoughtfully for God's purposes as an exchange with a group. It is a kind of bean-counting that acknowledges gestures, invitations and "time attended to" all add up and matter. What a leader brings into a social space plus what happens between people in that space results in influence. Everything about the leader, from the first hello to the final decision, is a reflection of his or her stewardship of power - either for service of for personal gain."

Weekly Web Roundup (10/1/16)

Photo Credit: Brook Ward

Here are some interesting stories from around the web that I've seen during this past week:

4 Principles for Political Witness in our American Babylon by Bruce Ashford (The Gospel Coalition)

"Similarly, evangelicals shouldn’t submit to the false political gods that flourish and abound in the United States of America. How do we identify the “false gods” in our own nation? We look for anything raised to a level of ultimacy that God alone occupies."

Is Columbus Day Going Extinct? by Lizzie Crocker (The Daily Beast)

"Businesses in the entire state of Alaska, however, will be closed for Indigenous Peoples Day, after Gov. Bill Walker renamed the holiday last year. The city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, will also celebrate its first Indigenous Peoples’ Day, after the City Council voted unanimously in June to change the name of a holiday whose namesake, they decided, was not worthy of celebrating."

Black Women Are Leaning In And Getting Nowhere by Emily Peck (The Huffington Post)

"Part of the problem is “invisibility,” Purdie-Vaughns writes. When the average person thinks of a “woman leader,” she argues, the image that comes to mind is a white woman ― like Sandberg. If you picture a black leader, you’re more likely to think of a black man than a black woman. “Because black women are not seen as typical of the categories ‘black’ or ‘woman,’ people’s brains fail to include them in both categories,” Purdie-Vaughns writes. “Black women suffer from a ‘now you see them now you don’t’ effect in the workplace.”"

Yes, You Should Say Something: Overcoming Awkwardness with Grieving People by Nancy Guthrie (The Gospel Coalition)

"It’s not up to you to say something that answers the significant questions they’re asking. Those take some time to work through, and if they sense your willingness to linger with them a bit in the midst of the questions rather than offer simplistic answers, they’re more likely to want to explore them with you down the road. It’s not up to you to recommend the book they need to read, the counselor they need to see, the drug they need to take. You don’t have to provide a framework for thinking and feeling their way through their loss. Really, you just have to show up and say little. What they need more than someone with a lot of words is someone with a willingness to listen without judgment, someone who seems to be entering into their hurting world for the long haul of grief."

How Should Universities Atone for Their Past Mistakes? by Alia Wong (The Atlantic)

"While black enrollment at colleges and universities has increased dramatically in the last two decades, the share of students at top-tier institutions who are African American has actually dropped. Fewer than 4 percent of students at the most competitive colleges in the United States come from the nation’s lowest socioeconomic quartile. Statues, seals, and buildings continue to honor people who embraced slavery and sought to keep these kinds of students out."

How Did Hitler Rise to Power? : New TED-ED Animation Provides a Case Study in How Fascists Get Democratically Elected (Open Culture)

Does Oprah Have Too Much Power?

Perhaps you were one of the many people that visited your local Kentucky Fried Chicken last week with your coupon for a free grilled chicken meal. If you were, you're a lot braver than me. Now, don't get me wrong, I love me some KFC but after seeing the wait at Denny's when they offered free grand slams recently, I had no desire to wait in line for a couple hours in order to save a few bucks.

The KFC promotional offer was inspired by Oprah Winfrey, who highlighted the deal and offered the coupon on her website. Of course, people from all walks of life bum rushed KFCs from sea to shining sea to cash in on the free meal. As would be expected, KFC was not prepared for this onslaught of visitors and ran out of chicken. They had to offer vouchers for those that were unable to satisfy that finger lickin' craving during their visit.

This whole situation raises a serious question: Does Oprah Winfrey have too much influence over Americans? We all know that if she endorses a product it is going to sell well. Simply because Oprah says so. I don't think it's unreasonable to argue that the most powerful person in the U.S. is not a black man, but actually a black woman. I wonder if one day my grandchildren will join in playground version of a game called "Oprah Says."

Catherine Larson, of The Point, offers her feelings on Oprah:

"Now is it just me, or is anyone else just a little freaked out about how powerful Oprah is, to control the reins of the populace like this? Oprah loves The Shack. Everyone loves The Shack. Oprah hails grilled chicken. KFC is inundated by consumers. Oprah becomes an adherent of Eckhart Tolle and his wacko beliefs. Lo and behold, so does your neighbor, and three out of five of your friends on Facebook.
Don't get me wrong, if Oprah-tunity came knocking on my door, I wouldn't turn it down. But just the very fact that her word holds so much power is a little... chilling. I think if she told Americans that standing on their head for five hours a day would cure cancer, the world would, well, be turned upside down."

It is something to consider...