April Te Grootenhuis Crull
I was recently having a conversation with a ministry consultant who does leadership development with tribal groups in developing countries. Instead of bringing in his own images, he begins by asking the tribes what images come to mind when they think of a good leader and then helps them to expand on those images. In this way, the leadership styles he promotes are based on tribal values and concepts, not on outside values and concepts.
In the globalized context of 21st century ministry, a larger variety of people are being ministered to in one group. In the international context of Christian Associates, this mixture has long been an issue. However, as tribalism is one of the marks of the emerging culture, the identity and mixture of groups will increasingly need to be addressed in leadership development as well (Rohde). One of the ways in which this can be addressed is through expanding the definitions and images of leadership. Traditional images of leadership have been based on scholarly definitions whose studies have generally been relegated to middle and upper class, white males (Porter, 18). As culture as a whole acknowledges and deals with the way that certain populations have been left out of important discussions, the church needs to lead the way in acknowledging how it has disenfranchised people groups, such as different ethnicities and women, in important discussions, such as theology and leadership definitions, and provide opportunities for those discussions to happen again with new language and images available.
In this paper, I will be explaining the images that Jeanne Porter, Ph.D. develops in her book, Leading Ladies. Porter is a professor at DePaul University in Chicago, IL, and a consultant in the areas of multicultural communication and leadership development. She says that the current understanding of leadership is expanding, but there are not images and language that gives space for that change, in other words, people need new images (24). According to research, the language and images people use, not only describe reality, but also shape it (Pauwels). The images that come to mind when thinking about leadership and the language used to describe leadership form the understanding of who leads and how leadership happens (Porter, 23). Porter suggests that rather than using the new images to replace older images, both can be retained in a way that provides a broader base of models and styles for a multitude of people, both male and female, to understand leadership. By elevating and empowering female language and images without discarding male language and images, the definition of leadership can be liberating for all people (19).
Porter’s intent is to provide images that encourage transformative leadership. Transformative leadership is defined as a “movement of people toward collective and mutual goals of spiritual growth, higher purpose, and empowerment” (14). A transformative leader helps individuals to see who God has called them to be and frees them to lead out of that calling. In addition, transformative leadership envisions and calls forth people as groups and individuals to accomplishments they would never have dreamed of on their own (16).
In Leading Ladies, Porter develops four images of transformative leadership based on women who led in the Bible. She looks at Miriam and the analogies that can be drawn from a choreographer as leader. Second, she explores the leadership of Puah and Shiprah, the midwives of Egypt, and the image of a leader as a midwife. Third she studies Deborah and compares her leadership style to a weaver. Finally, Porter explores and develops Esther and her role as intercessor.
Miriam: Choreographer as Leader
Miriam was clearly a leader along with her brothers in bringing the Israelites out of Egypt. One of the first explicit examples of her leadership is after the miracle and destruction at the Red Sea; she led the women in a dance of praise and celebration (Exodus 15). She provided an opportunity for the Israelites to acknowledge the end of the old way of life, of slavery and Egypt, and to look forward to the new future they were walking towards (Porter, 69). Later, as the Israelites were wandering through the desert, Miriam and her brother Aaron got angry and possibly jealous and challenged Moses’ leadership (70). God punished Miriam with leprosy that banished her from the Israelite camp for a period of time. This was probably a very humiliating experience for Miriam and also possibly a time of remembering that she was human and that God had created her for His purposes (71). Miriam’s story shows that God uses people at different times, in different ways, according to who they are, and even though they stumble, His grace allows them to dance (73).
The image of a choreographer as a transformative leader has a lot to do with vision. Choreographers “dance their vision of life, develop dance routines that enable others to dance the vision, translate the significance of the dance steps, and free people to dance” (77). The vision of choreographers can develop out of their awareness of the circumstances around them and the need for change (78). Part of their role is creating space for people to do their own dances (82). As a leader, the choreographer shows why each step is significant and helps the dancers understand that significance for their own lives (82). In addition, the choreographer helps include the spirit- the heart, joy, grace, and love into the vision and the steps (84).
To provide people with the freedom to dance and to move to their own rhythms and heart, the choreographer reinforces success, not failure and listens carefully to both the verbal and nonverbal communication of the dancers (87-88). She or he helps people move past their barriers of fear, mental blocks, emotional issues, or shame so that they can dance on their own (88).
In addition to the vision for the dance, choreographers also realize how to transform the “independent actions of individuals into a collective, orchestrated, purposeful movement” (89). They can find simplicity and clarity while at the same time appreciating syncopation and complexity (80). By being able to hold both of these together, they can synchronize the activities and rhythms of individuals (89).
Finally, the choreographer recognizes the power of celebration in life (77). Celebration of all victories, no matter how small or large, provides an opportunity to breathe between battles. Celebration also provides the chance to reflect back on the old and look forward to the new. It provides closure and a new start. It “gives us permission to see the old for what it was and motives us to look ahead to what might be” (69). Celebration both evokes and celebrates transformation in people’s lives.
Puah and Shiprah: Midwife as Leader
Puah and Shiprah were most likely the leaders of more than 500 midwives in the country of Egypt (Porter, 33). They were the ones called to Pharaoh when he decided to instigate methodic genocide by killing all male Israelite babies (Exodus 1). However, through sharing one of the most intimate times of life with the Hebrew women, they learned to fear the Hebrew God, and through using their knowledge of the birthing procedure, planned a strategic way of resistance to Pharaoh by arriving at the end of the birth (Porter, 37-38). In this way, they were unable to quietly dispose of the male babies without the Israelite families interfering. Puah and Shiprah were women who knew their profession well and were able and willing to risk the anger of Pharaoh to obey God (40).
Building on not only the actions of Puah and Shiprah, but also on the roles and responsibilities of a midwife, Porter explores the transformative power of this image. The leader as midwife is able to recognize pregnant possibilities and nurture this potential to achieve goals (47). This may be in the field of business as an entrepreneur or with new products, as a teacher seeing potential in students, or in recognizing potential leaders in a church or civic setting. In addition recognizing pregnant possibilities, midwives provide the important conditions for birth – a safe space, a nurturing care, an encouraging word. Some births would end in death without the care provided by a midwife (48). Midwives also understand the timing and process of birthing. They recognize the patterns: they know when to wait, when to push, when more time is needed, when action must be taken immediately. They also realize that although a general pattern of birthing exists, each person and each birth is different and ultimately the development and success is in God’s hands (52). And finally, midwives are often present and most needed during the pain of birth. They know pain is worth it, they have lived through pain before, they know both how to manage pain, and when pain is helpful. Most importantly, they know how to encourage and lead a person in pushing through pain (55).
Deborah: Weaver as Leader
Deborah led Israel through relationship. She carved out a space, an actual location under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel, where people could share their concerns and learn to trust her judgments (97). Later she partnered with another leader, Barak, to accomplish what God had called them to do (Judges 4-5). She was called the mother of Israel (Judges 5:7) and was able to genuinely hear the people, discern their deepest needs as well as the broader issues, and envision a new future that was better than their present reality (Porter, 98, 104). She demonstrated that when leaders lead, people follow and change happens (102). In addition, she remembered to thank and praise those who helped her and to remember that ultimately, all power for transformation comes from God (102).
Porter compares Deborah’s leadership style to a weaver. A weaver in leadership starts with a dream and weaves together the necessary people and tasks to produce that dream (108). The weaver needs to start with creativity given from God. Creativity that is able to envision something that will be created from nothing. The weaver sees that which does not yet exist and realizes how it can be brought into being (110). A part of this process for the weaver, particularly for the leader as weaver, is to spend time hovering and brooding in the Spirit of God as the original Creator also hovered over the waters before creation (Genesis 1:2, Porter, 110).
Weavers need to have an in-depth knowledge of their materials. They need to understand the strength and skills of their team members as well as understanding their needs and motivations (108, 114). In addition to understanding the materials, a weaver needs to know the best way to pull them together, including the fact that different patterns will require different weaves (109). In this way, the weaver is able to transform nothing into something while simultaneously transforming the lives of those involved to achieve something they never would have been able to on their own.
Esther: Intercessor as Leader
Esther was most likely one of those people who fell into a position of high leadership and power without intending to and through a series of events she had little control over (Esther 1). However, once she was in that position, she took the opportunity to be an advocate and spokesperson for her people, an intercessory leader (Porter, 123). Yet, she was not really able and willing to tell her people’s story until she took time to realize that the story of her people was also her own story (125). As a leader she recognized her very clear purpose, sought spiritual direction, and waited for God’s timing (126, 127). Through her uncle’s prodding, she was able to recognize the opportunity that her position gave her to speak into two worlds – the Jewish and the Royal (125). She learned the language of both worlds and was able to translate the story of her people into the language of those in power, and through doing so drastically affected the course of history (130).
An intercessor is often overlooked as a leader. In leadership, an intercessor can mean someone who mediates reconciliation efforts, or someone who appeals on behalf of someone else, or someone who accompanies someone to provide support and strength (133). Often the role of intercessor is uncomfortable because this person needs to live in the tension of contradictions, paradoxes, and the realization that she or he has access to power, information, and resources that others do not (134).
In the midst of this tension, the primary gifts of the intercessor are to tell the story of others in a way that moves the hearts of those in power and to enable those with no voice to gain a voice (134). This often occurs through four actions. First, intercessors must listen so that they truly understand the powerless and can help those in power make decisions “with” the powerless, not decisions “for” them (138). Second, intercessors needs to connect with both the powerful and the powerless to realize the similarities to themselves and to recognize the different kinds of knowledge people have to offer (139). Third, intercessors translate by learning to speak the language of both parties and how to transfer meaning and experience (140). Finally, intercessors help people to gain their own voice by providing a space to speak and training them to participate (141). Ultimately, intercessors realize that they have been placed “in-between” for a reason and seek to transform the lives of those around them from that place (143).
Conclusion
In Leading Ladies, Porter provides brief and evocative new images for transformative leadership. She provides plenty of stories from ancient and modern women in leadership, in addition to many though-provoking personal challenges and questions to help one recognize these images in oneself.
Porter creates a starting place for developing new images and new language to talk about leadership. These images provide a broader base for everyone to understand leadership. However, the challenge doesn’t stop with her, it continues. As we grow in our understanding of leadership during the 21st century, we need to ask for more images from a larger variety of sources.
We can learn from the process the ministry consultant used and instead of trying to impose leadership styles on individuals or groups of people, we can ask them for their own images of a good leader, and then help them to expand and explore those. In this way, not only is leadership transformative, but hopefully even the process of discovering that leadership and talking about it is culturally relevant and transformative.
Bibliography
Pauwels, A. “Gender, Power, and Communication in a Transnational World.”
Ed. Anne Pauwels. 18 April 2005. Transcultural Englishes and Gender-Inclusive
Reform of Language. 28 April 2005.
Porter, Jeanne, Ph.D. Leading Ladies. Philadelphia, PA: Innisfree
Press, Inc., 2000.
Rohde, Ross. “Practical Considerations for Postmodern Sensitive Churches.”
Written 2000. Posted March 2005.
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