Back to Politics

Back to a topic from a while back... politics in business and ministry leadership arenas. I have known for several years that politics are a reality in leadership. I also knew that not all politics are bad and that we all have our own natural bend toward utilizing politics to advance our ideas or agenda.

I did not realize, however, the reality that we all find ourselves on a political spectrum. I have spent some time studying politics and business and was recommended a must read called "The Survival of the Savvy". Great book by the way.

I started to recognize that there are two spectrums we live in with our natural political style. Either we are performance driven, meaning we advance our agenda and careers through performance focused politics; or we are relationship driven, meaning we focus on building strong relationships to push our concepts. Neither is necessarily bad, but there are varying levels within each camp.

Too far on one side, and you become totally naive to the reality and importance of relationships. Too far on the other, and you never get anything done, tend to come off as deceiptful, and rely only on your powerful relationships. Both extremes are horrible leadership misteps.

In ministry, most cultures fall closer to the Relationship side of the spectrum. And, if people are not careful, they may find themselves never actually making anything happen in ministry because they spend all their time trying to drum up new relationships or build bigger networks. And sometimes, if relationships take over their mindset, they may never actually carry out any specific vision or strategy. They will be too worried about their precious relationships.