Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Leading on the Edge

Sorry I've been away from blogging for so long. With the start of another academic year, its always crazy... and always exciting! Life in Three Hills could be pretty boring with PBI students.

Yesterday (LabourDay) the big news - other than that the Calgary Stampeders trounced the Edmonton Eskimos in the annual Labour Day Classic! - was that Steve Irwin, aka "The Crocodile Hunter" died in a freak accident while shooting a special new series of his famous television show. And as I thought about that news item, it did bring me back to the theme of leading on the edge of danger or leading in treacherous waters. One book that I found helpful over the last year on this topic was Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky's Leadership on the Line (Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 2002).

While anyone in leadership will experience critical/dangerous situations in which the outcome can literally hinge or one or two crucial decisions, I would also suggest that for a Christian leader, the element of the spiritual battle cannot be overlooked as a part of steering an organization in turbulent times. Throughout the Gospels and the rest of the NT, followers of Jesus were warned to be alert spiritually and to pray in order to deal wisely in decision making.

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