Do you think of yourself as a leader:

• Who includes?
• Who invites?
• Who shares leadership?

I was given a short sharp kick in the pants the other day when I read David Collinson’s post “Open Sourced Activists”.

He says

They are hungry for more. They want a voice. They want influence. They are a generation that isn’t content receiving a vision; they want to be part of shaping and creating the vision. My generation believes in open source influence.

and

We have ideas and dreams too. We have thoughts about how to carry the kingdom of God forward. When do our visions, dreams, and ambitions for ministry get heard?

I’ve always thought of myself as the kind of leader who does include people but when I look back over the very recent history I realise I’ve been spending more and more time casting vision during one on one discussions but less and less time listening.

A big reminder to myself that although I do need to ensure everyone knows the vision, I also need to incorporate their ideas and thought and dreams as well.  It’s interesting that this hits me like a brick straight after I post about being a post-modern leader.  You would have thought I would have seen it already!

I guess that’s why God gave us two ears and only one mouth…

Hat tip: Mark Bennett

Photo credit: walkadog

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