Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto

Reflection: Leadership as Ministry

Phyllis Cassel
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Palo Alto, CA

A few years ago during my annual performance review my supervisor Pat asked “How do you see your role on our nursing unit, Phyllis?”   “I am usually the team leader and sometimes the charge nurse but as I only work three shifts per week I have very little power and I don’t see myself as a leader.” How often does your supervisor roll in side- splitting laughter during your performance reviews? My goals at work were to give the best nursing care that I could, to learn everything that I could and to have a good time. Why did Pat think that I was a leader from my part time position? I remembered a workshop I had taken as part of a Leadership Palo Alto Class. The particular workshop was drawn from a book by James Kouzes and Barry Posner. They summarized five practices of exemplary leadership:

1. Encourage the Heart
2. Model the Way
3. Enable Others to Act
4. Inspire a Shared Vision
5. Challenge the Process

Notice there is no mention here about chairing a good meeting, staying within a budget or developing a long range plan. My lack of traditional power at work had pushed me into using these techniques to accomplish my goals.

Here at church I haven’t been deliberately practicing these skills. When our ministers remind us that we are part of a shared ministry, my initial response is, yes, but how can I take on that responsibility? How can I add one more thing to what I am already doing? However, it doesn’t take more time to give a sincere compliment. Now you are noticing that I have mixed up leadership with ministry. But for me these leadership characteristics help me care about others a little better. For example:

Encourage the Heart. Think about the work that the Board of Trustees did to prepare and present last week’s annual meeting. The portion I was able to attend went very smoothly. And did you notice the work the staff was doing behind the scenes to make that meeting go well? Thank you, Board and Staff.

and

Enable the Way. To remind us to keep the doors closed when it is cooler outside than inside, Ben Hammett has suggested placing signs on our doors with polar bears on melting ice packs. Go for it Ben!

Think about the Relational Covenant we just read. That was written because members of this congregation cared about how we work with one another. They challenged how we were communicating. While developing the covenant, they modeled a better way to communicate and they inspired us to see that there were better ways to relate to one another. We read that covenant today as Inspiration before Rev. Darcy’s sermon.

Challenging the Process is likely the hardest practice to think about as ministry. Yet, I think, it is essential if we want to improve our relationships. The difficulty is to be kind while looking at new options for our time together.

My experience at work told me that it doesn’t take more time to care for those around me and the benefits were immeasurable. I have decided that I will try to be more intentional in using these leadership characteristics as a way to accept my responsibility for ministry within this congregation.

 

Sermon: Sharing the Ministry by Reverend Darcey Laine