A leader is best when people barely know he exists
when his work is done, and his aim is fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.
—Lao Tzu
My all-time favorite book is Richard Bach's 'Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah'. It details the relationship between a teacher and a reluctant student. Donald W. Shimoda is a retired Messiah and sees himself in Richard and believes they are fellow messiahs. Richard hasn't and wouldn’t come to terms with this idea. Over time, Shimoda teaches Richard how to be a messiah since he has grown weary of performing miracles and has decided to retire from the art. He explains to Richard that the miracles he performs are in fact miracles; instead, they are just illusions of reality. By the end of the book, Richard graduates with the knowledge of what it means to be a messiah receive his calling, and begin.
Reading Illusions once more made me think and reflect on what I have observed lately. At these times, we see many reluctant leaders in the workplace like Richard- people who may have been promoted on the strength of their technical or operational abilities, not on the perceived leadership capabilities. Most of the time, they struggle to be the leader that they believe their colleagues expect, to be the best mediator, the approachable manager who can motivate teammates to where they need to be. I come to conclude that perhaps, there is a little of the “reluctant leader” in all of us.
Leaders come and go. They also come in different packages. There are those who like to go about their leadership in an open manner. There are those who go about their work with quiet dignity. They are the leaders who coach, mentor, and support their team, almost always in the background. They are the ones who hold their team jointly accountable for results – good or bad and aren’t driven by ego but by service. Most of the time, they are the “reluctant leaders”. Forced by circumstance, they lead.
Ralph Nader, named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential Americans in the Twentieth Century, says that the function of leadership is to create more leaders – not more followers. A Reluctant Leader, while reluctant, may see this as both an obligation and an opportunity. His motivation is advancing the goals of the team. He has his eyes set on the sincere appreciation of the people he works with. He can lead up, across, and down and encourage the team to do the same.
Checking on the scripture, it says we need far more laborers to go out and do the Father's work. We need leaders to help make that happen. But, leaders are in short supply because many are reluctant to lead. For what it is worth, it can be said that these reluctant leaders are in good company. Gideon felt that he lacked the qualifications of a good leader. Moses always doubted his leadership potential. Saul even tried to hide. The story of Moses, among others, is inspiring. When God called on him to lead the Israelites, Moses tried voicing out that he cannot be the leader, saying: I’m a nobody; I don’t speak well; I’m not brave. But the job was given anyway. He became the ultimate model for reluctant leadership. It is clear then that leadership is unpredictable. Circumstances thrust certain responsibilities upon these leaders, and they have no choice but to take up their assignments.
One defining characteristic of this leader is that he himself is self-divided. He feels pressured to do things he’d rather not do. On the one hand, if the reluctant leader is passionless, his actions will be halfhearted which may lead to failure. The successful reluctant leader, on the other hand, is motivated by his conscience. He makes himself believe that he has to accept the fact that while it is not his choice, it is his duty and he will follow it to the end.
Hence, the reluctant leader can be more realistic, and even more skeptical. At times when he is engaged in an unpleasant task, he just keeps doing it. He doesn’t have to worry about coming down because he never felt good about it in the first place. And yes, at times, that’s what the organization needs. The reluctant leader can be more collaborative too. Since he didn’t want his task, he was eager to share it. Most often than not, this is best for the organization. The reluctant leader, though less confident must see this as a task fulfilled, a mission accomplished.
As seen in Exodus 3:12: “And God said, ‘I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain." It is like God is saying – I am sending you and I am going with you. All authority belongs to God and He who calls you is in total control. This message may as well be for all the reluctant leaders… as they are… everywhere.
[This article first appeared in PAGE Professional Digest in 2014]
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