128. Letting Go of the Solo-Heroic Leader in You, with Bryan Sims, author of Leading Together

Spiritual Life and Leadership

Bryan Sims is the author of Leading Together: The Holy Possibility of Harmony and Synergy in the Face of Change. He is also a coach with Spiritual Leadership Inc. and a professor at Asbury Theological Serminary.
In this episode, Bryan Sims discusses the importance of shared leadership. As we lead through these challenging times, leaders need to be able to bring people together—to draw on all our gifts and talents and knowledge. We are called to lead healthy teams of people in order to fully participate in God’s mission in the world. We cannot do it alone.
THIS EPISODE'S HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

• Bryan Sims is the author of Leading Together: The Holy Possibility of Harmony and Synergy in the Face of Change and is a coach with Spiritual Leadership Inc. and a professor at Asbury Theological Seminary.
• Bryan Sims explains that healthy leadership requires working together and harmony among those that are working together, especially as we are living in times of disequilibrium.
• Disequilibrium creates a space of high possibility.
• Bryan Sims explains what he means by “technical challenges” and “adaptive challenges.”
• Covid has been a time of intense adaptive challenge.
• Overcoming adaptive challenges requires shared leadership.
• Shared leadership can involve staff, church members, and even people outside the church or organization.
• Kenosis is the Greek word that captures the self-emptying nature of Jesus. Healthy church leadership, according to Bryan Sims, also kenotic in nature. Controlling and manipulating is the opposite of kenosis.
• Bryan Sims demonstrates the early church exhibited kenotic shared leadership because they learned that kind of leadership from Jesus.
• Adaptive shared leadership is actually quite pastoral.
• Bryan Sims, in his work, asks a really important question: How do we discern what God is doing and how do we join God in that?
• Bryan Sims suggests that every leader needs a coach, a spiritual director, and a counselor.
• For leaders wanting to engage in shared leadership, Bryan Sims suggests finding a person with whom they can process their leadership challenges.

RELEVANT RESOURCES AND LINKS:

• Bryan Sims:
  • Website – www.bryandsims.com
• Church Leadership Inc.:
  • Website - www.spiritual-leadership.org
• Books mentioned:
  • Leading Together, by Bryan Sims
  • Surfing the Edge of Chaos, by Richard Pascale, Mark Milleman, and Linda Gioja
  • Canoeing the Mountains, by Tod Bolsinger

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