LEADERSHIP AND FOLLOWERSHIP (4)

When we were young, we were encouraged to follow the leader and we did so willingly and fearlessly. We were without fear because we trusted our leader, trusted that he or she would not lead us into harm and would get us safely to whatever destination we were being lead. Good leaders must always be trustworthy, otherwise sooner or later they will have no followers.

Yet, a trustworthy leader is only as good as the leader’s followers. They, too, must be trusted to follow the lead. One cannot lead with one’s head either in the rearview mirror or by waking backwards to see if those who are following are indeed following. Followers trust the leader to lead and the leaders trust the followers to follow. It is a mutual trust without which there is no movement.

Trust, as Anthony B. Robinson in his article in The Christian Century (01-12012) asserts, is essential for parishes to function properly. A trusted leader keeps the congregation focused both inwardly and outwardly, on their ministry to one another and on their mission to share the Gospel message of love and concern for the wider community in service to those outside the parish.

Mission and ministry take work. Sometimes we do not want to hear that truth. That is why we need trusted leaders to remind us especially when we do not want to be so reminded. Yet we know from our own experience when we are in positions of leadership that our role is necessary, important and often difficult. We also know that no matter how great and experienced a leader we have or we are, no leader has all the answers to all the questions that arise and for all the decisions that must be made.

No one is that wise. No one. That is why, as Robinson avers, that leadership and followership both involve ongoing education. Life itself is a learning process from the moment of birth to the moment of death. When we stop learning we die. When we refuse to learn, we are dead even if we are still breathing. Yes, many of the lessons we have to learn as leaders and followers are often difficult to implement, but they are important and necessary for continued growth individually and collectively.

Learning is an art even if much of our learning comes from osmosis. We learn as we go and as we grow. But there are times when we have to be deliberate about learning, making and taking the time to learn through classes, sermons, practice. It means being honest with one another, giving feedback when it is necessary, even when it might hurt, as it often does. No one likes to be corrected, to be told that there is a better way or a better answer or that our answer and our way happen to be wrong.

Continual learning has to be or become a habit both on an individual and on a parish level. We learn from our mistakes and we learn from our successes. New ways are not always better ways nor are old ways, even successful ones, always the better way. Trying a new way and failing is often better than not trying at all. At least when we have tried and failed, we can learn from our failure. To not try at all is an even worse failure.