Tao of Leadership

By Curtis Ogden

Today's sermon at church was about leadership. Not so surprising given the election is 10 days away. And yet the message was one that continues this theme that I am hearing in many different circles. The leadership we need in these times is rooted in humility, curiosity, and in a genuine desire to join with others. This is really so counter-cultural in mainstream America. It isn't that we haven't been hearing for years the importance of being a good team player. It's just that the practice has not really been rewarded. And so now we sit alone in a corner with the rest of the world glaring at us, or increasingly ignoring us, and yet still we hear from certain politicians and presidential wanna-bes that we can restore our standing in the world as THE leader. We, or some of us, just do not get it!

At a meeting of Ford Foundation grantees last week, one German-born gentleman said that it is time for the US to understand and embrace its role as a PARTNER on the global stage, and that if we come of of this election cycle swinging like the leaders we so often strive to be, the rest of the world is going to "collectively puke." We have seemingly so long been stuck in adolescence, you can understand the collective groan from Old Europe, and even older cultures around the globe.

The preacher said that the great challenge of our time is to "see the whole of it." To this end we must do whatever it takes. Stop pretending that we are special, inquire, be ready to work in any setting, cross boundaries, let go, challenge others respectfully, and commit to something that nurtures our inner strength and sense of balance. And for God's sake, get over ourselves and our long standing leadership fetish.