28.6.06

Called to Irrelevance

Thank you, Darla - the book you so graciously sent me has been an inspiration.

As a Christian in business my feet often reside in two worlds. In one, the message I receive is to be overly confident, assertive, and project an image that conveys not just professionalism, but power. In this other world, where my foot is planted joyously on a path of following Christ, I am told almost the complete opposite. Not only am I to be humble, but I am to mold my heart to that of a servant, to fall on my knees with basin and towels and reverently wash the feet of my fellow human beings. What kind of business person is that?

That is a person in business who makes himself irrelevant. It means caring more about the customer’s needs than whether you will profit. It means sending someone to a competitor if they have exactly what the customer requires, instead of trying to make your own product fit. It means standing out there in the world emotionally title-less, because you might start feeling that title metamorphosing into a crown upon your head, and it’s hard to bend down and listen to people with something that heavy on your brow.

Many years ago I sat one afternoon at a friend’s cottage, visiting with his father, a man old and wizened, and semi-crippled by arthritis. With some prodding, Mr. Lundahl told me a little bit about his life. He had founded the photo intelligence unit of the CIA, and was also the one responsible for finding the missiles in Cuba that led to the Cuban Missile Crisis during the Kennedy administration. His sensitive government work opened up an amazing world of places and people. He had met Jack Kennedy, and Krushchev, traveled the planet, shaken hands with heads of state. On his wall was a large photograph of the earth taken from the moon and given to him as a gift by NASA. But then my friend's father turned the attention away from him and asked about me, and what I did, and if I would like some iced tea, and lamented the fact that he couldn’t rise from his chair to give me a proper goodbye. The gentleman I sat with that summer day epitomized the kind of person I would want to do business with; someone who, no matter how much they have accomplished in life, meets each individual person-to-person, without titles, without an inflated view of their own relevance.

Henri Nouwen, in his book “In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership”, talks about the need of leaders to become completely irrelevant and to stand in the world with nothing to offer but his or her vulnerable self.

Nouwen says, “The great message that we have to carry, as ministers of God’s Word and followers of Jesus, is that God loves us not because of what we do or accomplish, but because God has created and redeemed us in love and has chosen us to proclaim that love as the true source of all human life.”

Being a business person as well as a servant may not sound like good sense out in the world of a dog-eat-dog mentality. However, I believe that success isn't achieved by eradicating the qualities of humbleness and compassion, but by possessing them. More importantly, as a follower of Christ it is the path I am called to walk in all of life.

6 comments:

kingsjoy said...

Wow, this is so interesting. What a balance...to be humble and yet lead. I wonder how that looks in my new job, for instance, managing a coffee house? How do you mix confidence and humility? I feel a tendency to let the pendulum swing one way or the other.

Anne said...

Ah, the paradox indeed. You know what's interesting though, about people who are truly humble? You don't see confidence, or a lack of it. You just see someone you want to follow.

Anne said...

Oh, and Kingsjoy! Congratulations on your new job!

Don't I Know You? said...

i think the conflict arises when we assume that your first definintion of leadership is the standard against which we must stand in opposition when, in reality, it is not the standard and you don't "lose" if you don't buy into it.

on a slightly different track: confidence and humility are not opposites; nor are professionalism and humility.

humility is not loss of power; nor is it lack of professionalism.

lucky me, i see humility, confidence, assertiveness and power working together in the form of effective leadership all the time, and admire it immensely.

Anne said...

Wilsford, perhaps it boils down to personal experience. The standard I mentioned in the first paragraph was one I've seen a lot of in my own work environment.

I have seen the marriage of humility, confidence, and power, but only in a couple of people that I've worked with. Fortunately one is my pastor, and one is my boss. Lucky me!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for blessing me with this post, Anne!