Leaders Important Relationships
A. The reading from chapter 3 was a reminder to me about how important it is to be able to project confidence as a leader but also know what your weaknesses are. Leaders are human too which means they are susceptible to errors as well, but they are also held to a higher standard. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful (1 Corinthians 4:2 NIV). We need to be constantly striving to be better, to have the highest standards in our decision making, and to be faithful in what is entrusted to us. We need to set high standards and persevere in the face of difficult circumstances (p. 66). We learn such valuable lessons through the tough and challenging times. People need to be able to see how important ethics are to us and to see consistency throughout our lives, at work and at home. Leaders are called on to make the tough decisions, to be able to confront issues and deal with them in a quick but fair way. I found most of what Johnson said to be very challenging to me personally in the role that I have at the school. One of the things that stood out the most was habit number five, from the list of the seven habits of effective leaders (p. 79). I do need to remember to take the time to seek first to understand, then to be understood. Relationships with those I work with are important and need to be cultivated, instead of just trying to fix whatever that days issue is. I need to remember to build stronger relationships with each person individually and not be so task oriented.
What stood out to me the most from chapter 4 was the emphasis on the need for forgiveness. Forgiving is a tough thing to do when we do feel like we have been wronged; though as Christians we are called to forgive as Christ continually forgives us. I believe that forgiveness is one of a leader's most powerful weapons in the fight against evil (p. 109). Forgiving does not necessarily always mean condoning the act or acting like everything is fine, but we are commanded to try and restore all relationships as possible. This really convicted me this week because I really do need to forgive a friend of mine and act like a good Christian leader and individual by trying to restore that relationship. One other aspect that I find that is very applicable to my situation is the need to watch your language. Language is one of the evildoers' most powerful tools (p. 102). Being a part of a small community that I am in and with those that I work with, I need to be careful about gossip and what is said about others. If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless (James 1:26). I need to be a good example of one who does not talk negatively about others and need to encourage and build up rather than to tear down.
B. Case Study 3.3 - Blindness: Merck Does the Right Thing
Vagelos is a great example of a moral leader who put the needs of people ahead of his desire for a larger wallet. Though he had lots of power and wealth he did not let that get the better of him and he always remembered what the important thing was, mainly that the medicine was for the people and not to make him rich (p. 93). Vagelos could have made the decision that it was not profitable enough to provide the medicine to the poor people who needed it the most, but he sacrificed the financial bottom line in order to provide the medicine to the people and cure them from a debilitating disease. This is a good reminder for me, especially as I hope to get back into working in development work in the future. The bottom line needs to always be how to help the people and that all the aid and help that comes in from outside sources, does need to make it to the people. Too many times NGO's are making a profit while working in third world countries instead of making sure that all the funds are making it to the people since they are the ones that need it the most and who the funds are intended for.
Case Study 4.3 - Covering up Evil
What a sad example of how those in the catholic church used their power to cover up evil that should have been brought to the light at an early stage in order to have saved so many more people getting hurt. The church should have been a better example of bringing any sins to the light; we do not belong to the night or to the darkness (1 Thessalonians 5:5b). Leaders need to be proactive in seeking out any issues that might need to be addressed and confronting them before they snowball. The ultimate goal of developing ethical capacity is to cast light rather than shadow (p. 52). When sin is covered up and kept in the darkness many times it just gives it an opportunity to grow more and spread to affect more people. Leaders need to be well aware of what is going on around them and look for areas that might lead to temptation and sinful behavior by those around them. One issue that we deal with at the school quite frequently is theft. So far the best way that we have determined to deal with this is to limit their temptation by not leaving desirable things just lying around where they can see them and want what they don't normally have access to. This does not take care of the core problem in any way at all, but hopefully helps in some way. I think in the example of the catholic church, those in power did not help to limit the temptation of those involved in the sin. Many of them were quietly removed from the situation and then restored to ministry (p. 123) elsewhere, when what should have happened is that they should never have been put back into tempting situations where they had one on one access to children. The biggest battle in fighting sin is to know what our weaknesses are and to avoid any situation that will lead to temptation in that area.
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