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Servant Leadership & Fighting corruption

Servant Leadership as a tool for fighting corruption and multiplying growth. Innocent Forteh The problem. A recent comment by the EU commission, declared that corruption across the EU is “breathtaking” and costs the EU economy at least 120bn euros annually (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26014387) ! 76%, of Europeans, believe that corruption is widespread according to a recent Eurobarometer survey. What is the root cause of corruption and business mal-practice? You do not need to look very far to identify the reason why. It is completely based on putting self-interest before anything or anyone else. Obsessive self-interest or desires to ‘win’ at all cost, will generally, bury any sort of principles or morality as an elevated sense of survival takes the place of any form of reason. When used literally, such as in computer lingo, the term/adjective “corrupt”, describes a system that is utterly broken. I advance that the reason why, traditional leadership seems to have been powerless in dealing with or effectively fighting corruption is due to its approach, as it’s a heart rather than a head issue. International Institutions like Transparency International have done a formidable job in combatting corruption but this is not enough. Organizations, governments and businesses need to change how the people are led. It is as basic as that, but if indeed everything rises and falls on leadership (John C Maxwell, The 21 irrefutable laws of leadership), then we need to re-think the way we do leadership! Picture this. The problem of corruption, mismanagement and various other malpractices in the market place are central issues to the effective running of any successful 21st century organization be it in Asia, Africa, Europe or the Americas. The high profile public failures, (moral and other), of leaders ranging from politicians, businessmen and sports figures begs the question of morality in the definition of wholesome leadership. Most materials on traditional leadership, unfortunately promote self-interest and the lust for power, directly or indirectly. These seldom concern themselves with issues of personal choices, in a moral way, as pertains to leadership. Somehow, performance is detached from the personal life of the leader and the spot light is focused on individual skills development for greater effectiveness and hopefully overall organizational benefits, through a ripple down effect. This in itself is not the problem but goes against simple logic. The leader is “wholesale” rather than “piecemeal”. Divide and rule therefore, as in laying emphasis only on certain aspects of the leader, has little place in the formation of an excellent and exceptional transformational leader, who has the potential of driving teams to exceptional levels of performance, in the current global village. From former American President, Clinton and his now infamous, Lewinsky scandal, to one of the greatest Ponzi schemes of all times, by ex-stock adviser Bernard L Madoff; the leadership world seems to have seen it all. Recently, the case of sportsman, Lance Armstrong took the sports world by storm, as he confessed to having used performance enhancing drugs in some of his famous races. We live in an age that expects continuous excellence and “superman” performance from its own kind. The bigger, smarter or stronger, the better. We go wild when a new world record is set by Usain bolt, the fastest man alive, and expect pristine performance out of our leaders. Believe it or not, when all is said and done, we remain mere human; an attribute that should probably be celebrated a little bit more. Are the cases of failures mentioned earlier, just a few exceptions to the rule or the rule itself? Is it possible that as leaders grow in their influence and position they seem to actually believe the rules no longer apply under the current dispensation of most widely practiced leadership styles? Should public leaders be held to a greater accountability than everyone else? Is there one, sure foolproof leadership style that not only focuses on the leader but on all stakeholders? It’s my opinion that there is a model that can contribute to dealing with the corruption ‘virus’ and it’s called servant leadership. Servant what? I strongly recommend the implementation of the servant leadership model as an effective tool to help tackle the problems of lack of responsibility and initiative, corruption, lack of innovation, inertia and various other ills and malpractices in the marketplace. While traditional leadership seeks to place power on one person, at the top, who then exercises a sort of pyramidal control, servant leadership on the other hand, is more concerned with deliberately empowering people. Power, responsibility and success are shared in an environment where people come first and the power of a positive example is key and consciously promoted. Power by itself, unregulated, generally degenerates to dictatorship. Servant leadership focuses on the development and needs of the whole man and his responsibility towards others and the organization. It transcends every bit of the person and maximizes the best from the “head” and the “heart”. It brings into play issues that have been proven to enhance performance such as good morality (solid foundation or integrity), empathy, emotional intelligence and personal responsibility. At the very core of servant leadership, is true customer service (both internal and external). I have worked in firms where staffs were directed to provide excellent external customer service, even though; the reverse was true for internal customer service. Psychologists have constantly proven that a man will generally treat others as he has been treated in the past, yet we hope to by some miracle, achieve excellent results by providing archaic leadership, whose primary focus is results. Yes, results matter but are we talking about just meeting your goals or exceeding them (wholesome success)? Are we talking about staff that care and protect their jobs, or staff that see their jobs as a sort of a cash cow? It is an open secret that a firm or organization that deliberately invests in truly developing customer service and firmly believes and invests in its people will spend less on trying to figure out what its competitors are doing. Servant Leadership, forces the leader to see the leader in others, maximize their potentials and build other servant leaders who together serve the organization and each other in an atmosphere of true team spirit and trust. That is a perfect mix for a corruption free, highly performing environment! What’s the difference? This (servant leadership) is not a new concept either in the corporate world or in leadership circles. The bible records Jesus saying “He came to serve rather than be served”. This is a beautiful model of true leadership, service, nothing more, and nothing less. If we had more leaders, modeling and leading (mentoring) through service, we’d probably have fewer cases of corruption and business mal practice. Author Kent Keith, states in his book, “The Case for Servant Leadership”, that servant leadership is ethical, practical and meaningful. Servant leadership therefore seeks to build capable model leaders out of followers rather than mindless followers, who’re there just to follow the rules and receive instruction. Author, John C Maxwell in his work, “the 21 irrefutable laws of leadership” seeks to demonstrate that growth can be achieved in either a leadership situation where there is a strong leadership and followers (“big-boss”) or where there is a strong leadership which has as objective to transform followers to leaders ( “servant leadership”). In the later, growth is multiplied rather than just added as in the former. Double digit growth, greater competitive edge/ transparency and lower levels of turnover are some direct benefits of adopting servant leadership in an organization. Other proven advantages of Servant Leadership include: • Maximizing and benefitting from the potential of the whole workforce at all the levels of the organization. A last in the line, mechanic, like anyone else in the chain, might end-up being the one who proposes that bright idea, which revolutionizes production, achieves huge savings and stream lines the process. The problem with traditional leadership in this regards is, this same mechanic may never have the opportunity to be heard, may get disgruntled and start looking for another job, while “killing” time with his current employer. • Increased competitive advantage through, increased innovation and creativity. When staff across the organization understand they are taken seriously and are directly involved in decision making as pertains to production, marketing or other key aspects of the organization, their “buy-in” to the organization and its leaders are greater. When staffs have an unforced “buy-in” into the company or enterprises’ values and leaders, they become the values of that organization, their customer service is second nature and their creativity is greatly enhanced. Who does not want to walk in such a team? • Loss prevention through the creation of ownership and greater buy-in. Servant leadership creates a very strong sense of ownership and revives a feeling of accountability. You can’t hurt an organization you love. • Increased accountability. • Greater empathy, emotional intelligence, trust and collaboration. Traditional leadership sometimes address the need for creating empathy and developing emotional intelligence as a means of being in a place to better discern and meet the needs of your staff. Servant leadership lays the onus on the leader to not only consider it as a nice principle but model and teach the same. • Increased loyalty and reduction in staff down time. Loyalty like ownership is good for business, any day. Not without road bumps! The implementation of the Servant leadership model can be difficult in a context which is traditionally used to and has come to expect, “big-boss” or autocratic leadership. This is precisely why; organizations need to consider seriously adopting transformational servant leadership as the model par-excellence for the practice of leadership. The case of specific cultural contexts should not also be ignored. In the push for the markets of the world to become more accessible, hence realizing the global village dream, the thin line between cultures is slowly being erased. I understand this is a bold statement but dominant cultures have always dominated lesser cultures and in some cases completely replaced them. Everything rises and falls on leadership (Maxwell) and the market place of the 21st century is experiencing rapid constant change with the development of tools, partnerships and technologies to ease access to new markets, increase productivity and return on investment. The one factor often ignored which is key to making the machinery succeed is the state of the human resource. The workforce unfortunately is usually seen as an expendable and hence underdeveloped and ill equipped to achieve the desired or optimal results. Forward thinking leaders will consider the necessity of adopting the servant leadership model in empowering and positioning their organizations for success in this new era.

Note to a Friend

In response to his e-mail clarifying the role of the woman as defined in the bible, and other issue!

It's hardly tenable to declare the Bible a chauvinistic book without committing some form of intellectual fraud when the very first pages of the Good Book, Genesis 1, which talks of God's creation, shows how God created man and woman in His image and….yes… equal. The word used there is in the plural form. So both man and woman are created in God's image (I believe we all understand here that this has little or nothing to do with God's physical)! The bible further goes to show God's assignment was given to both (read Genesis 1: 26-28), rather than to the male only.

Genesis 1

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they (notice the plural ie Male & Female) may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

After the fall (temptation), God declared the outcome of their disobedience but we should not forget that this was as a result of their disobedience rather than His created order. Jewish culture and worldview (into which Jesus was born), had very negative views of women, stemming not from scripture but rather from the Rabbi's Mishna & Tosefta!

In Mark 10:2-12, Jesus‘ teaching on marriage and divorce basically, to say the least, was radical for the Jew. Look at verse 12, where Jesus indicates a woman could divorce her husband. The concept was shocking in Jewish culture, where women were chattels and men could divorce them at will, but women could never divorce a man.

Some background

As Jewish history approached the time of Christ, the Rabbis codified the oral traditions into the Mishna. Then just to solidify the law, they further created the Tosefta, the Jerusalem Talmud and the Babylonian Talmud. These authoritative documents were written by the Rabbis in order to ―make a fence for the Torah or the God-given law. In this way a form of rabbinic Judaism emerged, which was increasingly legalistic, bound by endless rules and regulations of man‘s making. You wonder why Jesus was hard on them?  Amongst the edicts of these new works, women were considered chattel, not to be educated and men could divorce them at will, but women could never divorce a man.

Jesus’ teaching however that a woman could divorce her husband was therefore to say the least, extremely radical!

 He was basically restating the obvious (in Genesis 1). He equally had quite a few prominent women disciples (I'm not talking about the 12) including the sister of Lazarus, Mary and Martha etc. His interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well was equally unheard of. Bottom-line, Jesus not only recognized women, He gave them a prominent place in His ministry and did not hinder them from speaking (the society did)!  Some folks have sought to contend that because the woman was created as a "help meet" Genesis 2, this implies a position of inferiority. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Greek work used in that verse, Ezer, is better translated as "deliverer" (the other usage defines God’s role as a deliverer), showing that her role transcends that of a side-kick! That said, I'd like us to take a look at the few verses which have drawn a lot of ink from the camp against the bible.

1. 1 Timothy 2:11-15 (seems to be addressing a particular situation rather than providing the standards for all women, everywhere).

2.1 Corinthians, chapters 7, 11 and 14. Describes roles.

3. Ephesians 5. Even before saying Wives should submit themselves to their husbands, the Apostle takes out time to declare that submission is mutual (Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ 5v21)

These texts mainly describe roles with the first seeming to speak to a particular woman (History has it that the church at Ephesus was kind of unruly and Timothy was its Pastor. Because we do not have Timothy's own letter to Paul, we really can't say with a 100% accuracy what was happening there. Some hold that this is an eternal restriction on women to preach in the church See this article .Paul elsewhere and as we have seen before, taught that in Christ there is neither male nor female (Galatians 3:28). Could he be contradicting himself? Here is an Article contending for a different interpretation. My take, different sides of the same coin. Paul‘s Epistles are filled with instructions on how the sexes should relate to one another. He repeatedly reminded them that in Christ “you are all children of God through faith. For all of you who were baptized in Christ have clothed yourself with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, neither male nor female,for you are all one in Christ.” Gal 3:26-28       

In Rom 16:1 Paul says ―I commend to you Phoebe, our sister who is a diakonos of the church.‖ Diakonos has been translated as servant, deacon and sometimes minister. It is exactly the same word Paul uses to describe any of his male co-workers.

Let me tell a short story. An old lady had just left her son's home to visit a daughter 2 blocks away. Thirty minutes later, the son received a call from his friend saying his mother had been in an accident and was being taken to the hospital in an ambulance. It appeared the accident was mild and nothing of grave concern as she could be seen talking. After he put down the receiver, another friend called, less than 5 minutes and explained that his mother had been in an accident and had died instantly from the shock. He gave his condolences and dropped the receiver. The gentleman was extremely confused? Which of the 2 was telling the truth? He was operating on the false premise of either/or rather than complementarity. What he didn't know at the time was that they both were right. His mother had indeed been in an accident, and was apparently OK. The ambulance carrying her had just left the scene when a truck drove straight into it spilling all its occupants and killing the old lady.

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 Same story, different perspectives. Without the correct perspective and complete information, it's easy to Judge and proclaim a story contradictory unless we have the full picture? Men and women are created equal. Do men and women have the same physical make-up? Negative. This difference is both emotional and physical. We complement each other yet are called into different roles. Sometimes it is OK but at other times it is not. I’ll show you two seemingly contradictory counsels, existing in the bible:

Proverbs 26: 4-5

4Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Or you will also be like him. 5Answer a fool as his folly deserves, That he not be wise in his own eyes.

Different, no. Complimentary, Yes!

No matter how hard a man tries, he can never replace a mother and vice versa. The Samaritan woman, we are told, brought many to repentance from their sin by her testimony/preaching/sharing of what Jesus had told her (I believe her city included men)! Paul worked with Priscilla (female), in the ministry in Corinth. Peter clearly says women and men are equal (1 Peter 3:5-8), even though his Jewish worldview did not recognize that equality. This begs the question of the true influence of society in shaping Church History and Practice. A lot of what has become church Practice, putting on of trousers or not, head gear or not etc. is as a direct result of cultural influences and the prevailing worldview rather than an actual command from God. With increasing globalization, worldviews also clash with the dominant one prevailing over the lesser. It is safe to say the Greco- Roman view dominates most of western thinking today (the East is also making rapid advances, e.g. New age, Ying-Yang etc.). How were women perceived in the Greek culture? I wrote an article here (http://www.forteh.blogspot.com/#!http://forteh.blogspot.com/2013/10/on-jokes-about-women.html), which you may find interesting. In summary, women were perceived as an evil. A Roman would pray and thank his god, he were neither a woman nor a slave. In America, a lot has been done to try and establish a greater balance in recruitment and pay, but even America (http://money.cnn.com/2013/10/24/news/economy/gender-equality/) the great, is failing woefully to achieve results in this area ( well few see this as an issue to complain about). In short, the perception of women as being lesser than men is a secular or other worldview issue rather than a Christian worldview issue. How women are treated in YOUR CONTEXT?

Men everywhere need to understand God created us equal gave us the same resources (redemption through his son and empowerment through, Holy Spirit) and declared both men and women heirs to Christ. Some Christian leaders take the worldview of the culture around them on the subject of women but this doesn’t make it right, no matter the name of the structure, "church", Ministry or sect. When Jesus comes back the second time, there is one groom (Him) and one bride (the Church i.e. those who like the wise virgins, have ample oil in their lamps and are waiting expectantly for Him).The Sadducees sought to ridicule the doctrine of the resurrection but Jesus used the opportunity to reveal that we lose our male/female distinction/ID after the resurrection. We are equal but our responsibilities differ. The same is true for the home, as in church and elsewhere.  I believe this is too long already, but will be happy to speak directly to you or your friend via, any media of your choose.

Yes SOME preachers of today unfortunately chose sections of the bible that jive with their agendas while intentionally ignoring sections that contradict those agendas. The bible has talks about such!

You don't need to look too far to find them, reason why discernment and wisdom are required. If you lack any, pray for it and God will give it to you (James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God). That is a promise. Even Jesus said not all those that call Him Lord, Lord will get into heaven but those that do the will of his father. Just because some bitter beans found its way into your teeth doesn't mean you get to throw away the whole dish!

 

On Wine, Paul's teaching on acting out of love should prevail. This (1 Timothy 5:23) passage sees Paul asking Timothy to take a little due to his stomach problems. This on the other hand calls wine a mocker (Proverbs 20:1). I know fine Christians who take the occasional drink and know criminals exist who never touch a drop of alcohol. Personally I made a choice not to drink. If you must drink, then moderate is the key word. Paul says however that if your liberality should cause a weaker person/brother or sister to sin, then you sin (1 Corinthians 8). A true Christian is his/her brother’s keeper. The implication is, if by practicing my liberality, someone who has less self-control will become intoxicated, I am held responsible. What we need to remember is that the Bible is a library of books that communicate God's mind in the context of History. As a true Father, He communicates both sides and allows us to make a choice out of love rather than obligation. All choice has corresponding results and both choice and result are in the same book. It is indeed THE book of Life and with regards to inspiration read what Paul says below:

2 Timothy 3:16-17

King James Version (KJV)

16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. 


Blessings- Inno

On "jokes" about women!

Most of the junk jokes and contemporary thought on the place of the woman in society, seem to result from Greek thought. Greek and Roman thought rule the majority of what we call the civilized world today.


This has not been helped by the now reality of a global village.
The main architect of Greek thought being Hesiod.  Through Theogonyand Works and Days, Hesiod expressed a hostility toward women that was endemic throughout Greek antiquity. His misogyny is best revealed through his story of Pandora, the creation of women. The very idea that women were created as an affliction for mankind proves that Hesiod looked down upon women with disdain.

The role of women in Hesiod's Theogony and Works and Days is outstandingly subordinate. There are a number of times in Hesiod's text that despises women, being mortal, immortal, or flesh-eating monsters. The overall impression of women from Theogony and Works and Days, leads one to believe that Hesiod is a misogynist.
 The very creation of women was set as a punishment to man because Prometheus, son of Iapetos, tried to trick Zeus into eating bones and then, with the tube of a fennel, steals fire to give to mankind. Zeus then proclaimed, "To set against the fire I shall give them an affliction in which they will all delight as they embrace their own misfortune." Out of Zeus' anger came Pandora, the first woman.

Most of the jokes (spoken lightly or not) on women seem to offer no harm, but it doesn't require a Bsc in Robotics to understand by observation from our society if this concept prevails in the subconscious or not. Greco-Roman thought both put women in a demeaning position or compared her to a necessary evil. The story of the origins in the Bible however, demonstrates a completely different image. God created both man and woman on the same day, and in His image. Interpretation and application over the centuries of this timely truth and the unfortunate event of the fall seems to have redefined the context. In actuality what has changed is man, not God. Society’s consideration for the girl child even in so called developed countries is skewed. Gender selective abortion and education, abuse and a host of other ills can only continue to be perpetuated, not because one of the sexes has been endowed with greater strength, but rather because of the prevailing worldview, as expressed in contemporary songs, fables, jokes and all sorts of writings and beliefs that shape culture.

We need to go back to the place where we are careful of what we support especially in subjects that have a profound worldview effect. Do we want these thoughts to prevail or do we want to squash them and rather enhance the strength of God's beautiful creation to maximize output in all spheres of society and realms? 

The choice is ours!
Forteh

FireProof May 26 2013 chez Enow and Eli Nkeng /Co'ord- Bells

FireProof, Shalom!

It's my pleasure to present the theme for this month's meet:

"Working together as a team".

As agreed, Br & Mrs Enow will be hosting and the Bell's will be co'ordinating.

Due to various chaanges and unavoidable situations , we also thought
it wise to vote in a new bureau during this meeting, so please clear
your Agenda and prepare to participate fully come 05/26 2pm.

Kindly forward this e-mail to any couple I may have missed.

With humility and glad to serve.

Inno


P.s. This meeting will be strictly for married couples only. Please do
not invite our friends (fiancess etc) who are not yet married.

--
The truth never changes.Do you know Him?
www.forteh.blogspot.com
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Day 38: Love fulfills dreams

Day 38: Love fulfills dreams

Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.
—Psalm 37:4


TODAY'S DARE
Ask yourself what your mate would want if it was obtainable. Commit
this to prayer, and start mapping out a plan for meeting some (if not
all) of their desires, to whatever level you possibly can.

FireProof Day 37: Love agrees in prayer

Sometimes I ask myself, 'Are my fireproof brethren' really reading and
applying this? I was taking a walk yesterday when it dawned on me,
that our relationships are strengthened just by the togetherness with
other couples. They kind of serve as 'couples keepers'! Some couples
did not come for the last meeting and didn't also tell us why either..

Today is Day 37. be blessed...


Day 37: Love agrees in prayer

If two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it
shall be done for them by My Father.
—Matthew 18:19

TODAY'S DARE
Ask your spouse if you can begin praying together. Talk about the best
time to do this, whether it's in the morning, your lunch hour, or
before bedtime. Use this time to commit your concerns, disagreements,
and needs before the Lord. Don't forget to thank Him for His provision
and blessing. Even if your spouse refuses to do this, resolve to spend
this daily time in prayer yourself.