LeadershipConneXtions

Historic Mentors (With a Special Focus for Women Leaders)

A great way to learn about leadership is to read about and study the lives of great leaders. Today, we have no end of opportunities to do this.

Bobby Clinton calls this "historic mentoring" where we are guided by our reflections on the lives of these people indirectly. We learn from them "at-a-distance." They may be far removed from us  (I like to read about past American presidents). They may be current (Bush or Obama). They may be biblical figures (Moses, David, Esther) or from the history of the church (Wilberforce, Luther). They may be from the world of business (Jack Welch) or sports (Tony Dungy).

And for women leaders, there is a good list of great women leaders to learn from. In the past, I have recommended books on Queen Elizabeth, Mother Teresa, Esther (the biblical figure), Joan of Arc, Catherine Booth (Salvation Army), Amy Carmichael (served in India), and Dorothy Day (profound worker for social justice).

If you want a nice introduction to a good variety of women who have made major contributions to the church and mission, read Ruth Tucker's Daughters of the Church.

In the world of business, I recently came across an outstanding women leader through a review of her autobiography. It is Katherine Graham and the book is Personal History. After her husband died, Katherine took over the leadership of the Washington Post Company which had divisions devoted to the newspaper industry, TV and radio stations across the nation.  And Time Magazine.

In her book, you will discover a woman of stellar character, commendable skills, an avid life-long learner, and at the same time, a very real person who worked hard on her weaknesses and insecurities.

Women - find some of the best historic woman leaders you can and read good books about them.

Brian Rice

Leadership ConneXtions International

Courage: Luther and the German Princes Show the Way

I recently re-watched a great movie, Luther, starring Joseph Fiennes as Luther. I was a huge fan of Luther and read quite a few books on Luther and on the German Reformation.

So naturally, when this movie came out I had to watch it. My recent "view" was my fourth or fifth and it never gets old. While I am not a Luther scholar, since I've read a fair amount on Luther, it is my sense that the movie is quite accurate. I think Luther was such a dynamic character that the screen writers didn't have to invent too much stuff to make his story interesting!

There are two scenes especially, where courage is exemplified. First, when Luther stood before the Assembly of Roman authorities at the Diet of Worms (not a menu option, just referring to a meeting at the town of Worms, Germany). And when faced with excommunication and death, he uttered his famous words, "Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me." Luther knew he was signing his own death warrant with these courageous words.

Then, right at the end of the movie, the German Princes take their stand at Augsburg and refuse to give into the demands of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, for them to give allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church. These men, young and old, said they would not and that they would rather die first. One by one they knelt bowed their head in submission to death by beheading.

Of course Charles V caved in to their courage and the Augsburg Confession was produced. Read here for more on the Augsburg Confession.

These stories of courage are astonishing. For in the West, we live in a time when spiritual and moral courage like that is waning. The steel of courge is no longer so strong in the metal of our character.

Can you imagine yourself being that devoted to the cause of Christ that you are willing to die, to offer your very life as a stance?

Wow!

It has launched some reflections and searching on my own level of courage.

Brian Rice

Leadership ConneXtions International

Taking Jesus Seriously: Dorothy Day

In his book, the New Monasticism, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove had a fascinating and beautiful description of Dorothy Day by author Robert Coles

"She was always taking Jesus as seriously as possible."

Dorothy Day was many things.  She was a:

leader

teacher

social activist/visionary

prolific author

and a woman of deep, spirituality.

In significant ways, she integrated the many different streams of living water that Richard Foster describes in his book by that title.

For the women leaders who visit this site, one of the challenges you face is to discover women who can mentor you. One way to do that is to find historic mentors and allow them to mentor you through their writings.

I'd like to recommend Dorothy Day be a woman you consider as a historic mentor. I am far from an expert on her life, but here are a few thoughts to assist you in finding good resources.

Here is a blogsite devoted to Dorothy Day. You can check it out.

It is almost always worthwhile to do a quick visit to Wikipedia to see what resources are there. So, check out their article. 

You'll have to do a little surfing to figure out some of the better books, but I'll recommend one that I haven't read, but which has been recommended to me and which I am going to get.

Dorothy Day: A Radical Devotion by Robert Coles

Blessings on your journey to find women leaders to learn from.

If any of you choose Dorothy Day as a historic mentor, let me know what you find useful from her life and writings.

Brian Rice

Leadership ConneXtions International

The Power of Biographies (Amazing Grace by Eric Metaxes)

I've had several encounters with Gordon MacDonald over the years. He was a professor at  Gordon-Conwell, one of the favorites I might add. I heard him speak at conferences. Our church, Living Word, has been privileged to have Gordon with us on several occasions.

And, I was fortunate to have Gordon MacDonald as a professor for a  D.Min. course I had at  Bethel Seminary. The course was The Private Life of the Public Person. In preparation for that course, we had to read several biographies. And during the course, Gordon emphasized the importance of regular reading of the best biographies for the formation of our inner life.

I mentioned in a previous blog (see this post) that 2008 is a year when I am doing a lot of leadership work in the area of historic mentors and the insights to be learned from great leaders.

I have just finished Amazing Grace by Eric Metaxas and I can say that reading this book was almost a spiritual experience. I cannot begin to communicate the motivation that Wilberforce was for me to be passionate about Christ and passionate about the cause of Christ. Wilberforce had a mission and calling that were incredibly beyond his reach, yet by God's grace, he was sustained in a lifetime of "battle" to fulfill that calling.

Metaxas writes with such skill and feeling that the reader easily moves into the story of Wilberforce.

I am grateful for his contribution to the world of excellent biographies. Reading his book and watching the movie are a powerful tandem.

Brian Rice

Historic Mentors: Cyrus the Great

Xenophon's Cyrus the Great: The Arts of Leadership and War, edited by Larry Hedrick.

This was one of the books I read while on the flight to South Africa. I saw it while browsing in Borders when I was looking for a few books to take to Tony Nzanzah.

I knew next to nothing about this warrior, general, emperor and leader until I read this book. It is a significant modernization of Xenophon's classic on Cyrus. It is the story (retold in the first person) of Cyrus' rise to fame and power.

Cyrus the Great was the leader who merged the two empires of the Medes and the Persians into one empire that challenged and conqueored the Babylonians.

Was Cyrus a good leader? Well, the Persians called him - Father. The Babylonians called him - Liberator. The Greeks said he was the - Law-Giver. And the Jews referred to him as "Anointed of the Lord" (see Isaiah 45 for how God raised up Cyrus to, among other things, liberate his people who were in Babylonian captivity. Cyrus was the one who freed the Hebrew people and allowed them to return home).

Here is a "brief" list of things that impressed me about Cyrus as I read the book.

ONE:  He was a deeply moral leader. Character, ethics, doing what was just and good for others was in his DNA.

TWO:  He was a profoundly humble man who had relentless determination to become the greatest emperor of his time (and he succeeded). In Jim Collins' language, he was a Level Five Leader.

THREE:  He imprinted his values on everyone around him. He inspired his friends, officers and troops to live for and attain the same ideals that guided Cyrus. He succeeded.

FOUR:  The welfare of his people was his greatest concern and he paid a great deal to insure their wellbeing.

FIVE:  He resisted the perks and privileges that were normally due a leader of his stature. He wanted the "common soldier" to know that Cyrus was one of them and endured the same hardships they did.

SIX:  He had a capacity to inspire and sustain loyalty that was unbelievable. His officers and troops would risk everything for him. He did this because he genuinely loved people (and they knew it).

SEVEN: He was creative and innovative in his leadership and war-craft.

EIGHT: He was loaded with courage in the face of great odds.

NINE: He was committed to being fully self-aware and he spent time in reflection on his actions and motives.

TEN:  It seems that Cyrus was a "God-seeker" who had embrace monotheism of a sort. Perhaps he was even influenced by the Hebrew faith!

This book is an easy read and a good read.  I found it very inspiring.

If you need any more motivation to get it, here is what Peter Drucker says about the original work by Xenophon.  "Still the best book on leadership."  Hedrick's new edition makes it even more accessible.

Brian Rice

Historical Mentors - Theordore Roosevelt

Years ago, Brian Newman introduced me to Bobby Clinton's concept of historical mentors. A historical mentor is someone from the past who influences you through their writings and your reflections on their writings. Over the years I have picked a number of different  people to use as historical mentors.

As I was thinking about picking a historical mentor for 2008, I decided not to focus on any one person, but to read quite a few biographies. That was one reason why I read Paul Johnson's - HEROES. I wanted to get some ideas for historical mentors for this year.

One name came to mind quickly. Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt. I recently read a very intriguing story about his approach to learning and personal development. That hooked me.

I recently read two books about Roosevelt. One was a biography which was interesting. Lion in the White House: A Life of Theodore Roosevelt by Aida Donald.

But the other one was great. It fits into the genre of books that I call leadership biographies. That means, the book looks at issues of leadership but does so through the lens of historical, biographical material about the individual. So, get a copy of Theodore Roosevelt on leadership: Executive Lessons From the Bully Pulpit, by James Strock.

Here are five reasons why:

1. You'll learn about the importance of highly intentional life long learning and what it can do for you.
2. You'll learn about how a determination to do the right thing (and to succeed in doing the right thing) in spite of virtually impossible circumstances, will sustain your leadership.
3. You'll learn about and have a great illustration of the importance of becoming a great communicator.
4. You'll learn about a leader who was not only a great leader, but a great family man.
5. You'll come away with about 100 great quotes by Roosevelt.

Brian Rice

The Leader as Hero

HEROES!

Probably the image below comes to mind.

But this popular TV show (as interesting as it is) is not the heroes that I am referring to.

Paul Johnson has written many books which I have enjoyed. Heroes is one of his recent ones. In this book, Johnson looks at 30 heroes divided into about 13 different categories. There are a number of individuals who are quite unexpected and there are many who are expected but delightfully discussed.

Some of my favorites in this book are:  Henry V, Sir Thomas Moore, Queen Elizabeth, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Churchill. One that was very unexpected but very enjoyable was the intellectual hero - Wittgenstein! I also enjoyed reading his thoughts on Ronald Reagan who had enormous deficiencies, but was able to stay focused on that small number of things he did very well. I also liked his words on John Paul

This is not the place to cover this "rabbit trail point" but I find myself wondering if the leader as HERO is a valid biblical metaphor for us to use? With that said, I'll go on and tell you the four criteria that Johnson says are the ways to recognize heroes.

1. They think everything through with absolute independence and view the current consensus with suspicion.
2. Once their mind is made up, they act with decisiveness, resoluteness and consistency.
3. They ignore and reject everything the media says about them.
4. Finally, they act with great personal courage at all times, regardless of the consequences to themselves.

Interesting list of qualities . . .

What do you thing?

And how heroic are you?

Brian Rice

Bonhoeffer on Visionary Dreaming

One book I read while in Paraguay a few weeks ago was Under the Radar: A Conversation on Spiritual Leadership by Douglas Webster. I am always interested in the question of spiritual leadership and servant leadership and what it looks like in theory and in practice. So I was interested in this little book.

Overall, I was disappointed by it and don't recommend it. Webster has legitimate concerns, but he has no real hermeneutic or engagement with culture in a way other than to become DUALISTIC. So he offers simple solutions and moralizing that is uninspiring.

There are some good moments in the book. One of them was when he uses a quote by Dietrich Bonhoeffer on the issue of vision. Here is that quote, and Webster's thoughts about it:

Every visionary scheme not linked to the Bible comes from the devil, who is often masquerading as a talented marketer. Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it bluntly, "God hates visionary dreaming. It makes the dreamer proud and pretentious." His warning admonished us to reconsiderour dreams for the church and our lives to see whether they are in line with the biblical experience.

Webster gives numerous stories of flawed, failed pastoral leadership that had its origins in the leader building their own kingdom according to the values of the world. This is one of Bobby Clinton's TOP SIX REASONS why leaders don't finish well. The problem of PRIDE as it applies to vision.

This is one of the reasons why self-awareness is so important for leaders. The only caveat is that the very ones who need it (self-awareness) the most are the ones most incapable of having it.  (Goleman has good insight on this in his book - Primal Leadership).

Brian Rice

Wins, Losses, and Lessons

Wins, Losses and Lessons is the autobiogrpahy by Lou Holtz. I read most of it on my way back from the Miami airport. It was a great book. What did I like about it?

• His story of very humble beginnings.
• His emphasis on the importance of character!
• His emphasis on the value of being responsible and doing hard work!
• His emphasis on teamwork!
• His emphasis on how important faith was to him!
• His emphasis on how God works in unusual ways that we don't see when we are in the midst of some hard times!
• His emphasis on excellence and always doing the best you can with what you have (and going out to get more if you need it).

I usually read leadership autobiographies for motivation and inspiration rather than for large amounts of information. That was exactly what I got. I came back fired up for hard work and the pursuit of excellence.

Brian Rice

John F. Kennedy on Leadership

One of my recent reads was John F. Kennedy on Leadership: The Lessons and Legacy of a President by John Barnes. This book falls into the genre of what I like to call "leadership biography." That is, taking a look at leadership principles by illumining and illustrating them from the example of a historic figure.

I'll admit up front that I knew very little about JFK other than the basics of his presidency (The Bay of Pigs/Cuban missle crisis fiasco, the nuclear arms race, the cold war, the civil rights movement, etc.).

Here were three things I came away with from the book.

1.  JFK was not a natural born leader like many say he was. He worked hard at becoming a leader. Hard work pays off.   (See a previous post on determination.)

2.  He was not initially a good communicator but instead, worked hard at learning how to communicate. Chapters five and six are devoted to this theme and they are great chapters.  JFK became the first, modern, TV communicator. Not all communicators are leaders, but great leaders are at least good communicators. If you are not naturally gifted at communicating, JFK's example provides encouragement.

3.  He had serious faults and failings. He had an unrestrained sexual appetite that he gratified without hesitation with movie stars, White House secretaries, wives of colleagues, and prostitues. He had an enormous pride. And his home life (social base) was a mess. SEX, PRIDE, SOCIAL BASE ISSUES. Three of the six reasons why leader's don't finish well. It would have been interesting to see how JFK would have finished if he had not been assassinated.

If you like reading leadership biographies, this was a good one.

Brian Rice

Amazing Grace & Amazing Leadership

Many years ago Brian Newman introduced me to the concept of "historical mentors" which he had learned from Bobby Clinton.

Since then I have had a number of these historical mentors and accessed the lessons of life, faith and leadership from reading good biographies on them.

One leader that I have been interested in for some time, and have read a little about, is now the subject of a new movie! William Wilberforce is being brought to life on the big screen in the movie Amazing Grace!

The life of Wilberforce is a rich source of leadership lessons. In Wilberforce, we see the depth of character, the power of vision and a life committed to a great purpose, the results of long-suffering and perseverance, a profound faith and a thorough integration of faith into his vocation as a public official.

With all the attention to Wilberforce in light of this new movie, you might want to access him as a historical mentor for 2007.

For more thoughts on Wilberforce, click on the link below.

Download eric_metaxas_author_of_amazing_grace.pdf

Brian Rice

Historical Mentoring

If you have a few minutes check out this link to Bobby Clinton's website. No, Bobby is NOT the brother of Bill. Bobby is a professor of leadership at Fuller Seminary and influenced our thinking in LCI quite a bit.

Bobby has an article/letter on the home page of his site about historical mentoring. I have found that most leaders do not know much about this concept. It's worth considering.