Leadership Confessions

What M&M Meetings Can Teach Us About Leadership

Most people know Dr. Sanjay Gupta from his media work as the chief medical correspondent for CNN and a special correspondent for CBS.  He is often called upon to make complex things simple and simple things complex for a global TV audience.  He is also a practicing neurosurgeon, on the faculty of the Emory University School of Medicine (operating Mondays and every other Friday) and in addition to his two best-selling books of health advice, he can add one more thing to his CV: successful novelist.  

Dr. Gupta has just penned his first novel, set at  fictional Chelsea General, where doctors meet for a weekly morbidity and mortality (M&M) meetings.  Drawn from his own notes over 20 years of attending these sessions, he wanted people to realize that doctors need to step back and analyze their own mistakes in order to not make them again.  In a recent interview about the book in Macleans, Dr. Gupta notes the following:

"Medicine moves forward because people learn form their mistakes, that that means that mistakes happen.  But the worst crime of all would be that it continues to happen because no one learned from it.  What I am always struck by is when something has gone wrong and when everyone sort of knows that a mistake has happened but hardly ever does anyone really have a completely candid meeting, not to be punitive, but to hold each other accountable and to say `Look, can we all agree that this was a mistake?  And can we all figure out a way not to let that happen again?'  I think that if we did that, if we applied what we know as surgeons and from M&M's to all sorts of different facets of our society, I just think things would run so much better, and there wouldn't be so much dabbling around the edges with regard to these issues" (Interview, Macleans, Apr 23, 2012, p. 16).

Oftentimes organizations and leaders move with such speed and such a focus on the future, they don't have time for assessment (more on that in another post and forthcoming article).  But the real tragedy occurs when, for fear of looking weak or admitting to doing something foolish or letting others know that they made the wrong call, a leader avoids accountability altogether.  

Avoiding medical malpractice lawsuits is understandable and I am certainly not advocating making the contents of your M&M meetings public knowledge or hanging someone out to dry for an innocent mistake.  What I am advocating, however, is that I believe it is one of the primary jobs of a leader to ensure that they take responsibility for their own actions and the actions of those whom they lead.  If they never present at or worse, never call an M&M meeting, they will miss the learning that can only come with you dissect the cadaver - both metaphorically and sometimes, even physically. 

The Subversive Message of the Prince of Peace: Why Mary's Magnificat was Banned in Guatemala

A few years ago, I was in Guatemala observing a country still reeling from civil conflict, political corruption and abject poverty.  I wondered again this morning how the beautiful people I met there will celebrate Christmas a few days from now.  How will they will read the story of Messiah, God's deliverer sent to bring hope and freedom to the nations?  

I was reminded in my Advent reading this morning that some of the Christmas story is so subversive, so pointed in its critique of power, pride and wealth that Luke 1-2 would read quite differently to my Guatemalan friends.  Listen to Katleen Norris' observations in a reading for the 4th Thursday of Advent: 

Mary utters a song so powerful that its meaning still resonates in profound and disturbing ways.  In the twentieth century Mary's "Magnificat" became a cornerstone of liberation theology, so much so that during the 1980's the government of Guatemala found its message so subversive that it banned its recitation in public worship. 

The Magnificat reminds us that what we most value, all that gives us status - power, pride, strength and wealth - can be a barrier to receiving what God has in store for us.  If we have it all, or think we can buy it all, there will be no Christmas for us.  If we are full of ourselves, there will be no room for God to enter our hearts at Christmas.  Mary's prayer of praise, like many of the psalms, calls us to consider our true condition: God is God, and we are the creatures God formed out of earth.  The nations are but nations, and even the power of a mighty army cannot save us.  We all return to dust. And if we hope to rise in God's new creation, where love and justice will reign triumphant, our responsibility, here and now, is to reject the temptation to employ power and force and oppression against those weaker than ourselves.  We honour the Incarnation best by honouring God's image in all people, and seeking to make this world into a place of welcome for the Prince of Peace." (p. 113-114 in "God With Us").

What kinds of wonderfully subversive actions will you undertake to celebrate Christmas this year? 

What To Do with Santa Claus?

It was my 6 year old daughter who first piped up...  She had come across a little porcelain figurine of Santa kneeling at the Nativity which caused her to remark very mater-of-factly: "I didn't know that Santa and Jesus were alive at the same time, dad."  

It's been over 100 years since journalist Francis Church wrote a much-reprinted editorial: "Yes, Virgina, There is a Santa Claus" and people of faith and good conscience still wonder what to do with the jolly old fat man in the red suit.  Some shun him completely, feeling that by doing so, they are appropriately rejecting the consumerism that has come to mar the season in the Western world.  Others embrace him whole heartedly, as evidenced by churches hosting Santa Breakfasts and the like.  But like so many other facets of our faith, I am convinced that either end of that spectrum is perhaps less that healthy and I'd like to propose a third way.  This year, why not redeem St. Nick from the myths and caricatures that have come to dominate and return him to his rightful place in history.  

On December 6, the church has historically celebrated the Feast of Saint Nicolas.  He's come a long way "from being a fourth-century Bishop in the distant Roman province of Lycia, through innumerable pious legends, until he became "Sinter Klaas", which is older Dutch for Saint Nicolas; in our day, Americans have turned him into Santa Claus, patron saint of the season commandment to shop until you drop." (from Richard John Neuhaus' The Feast of Saint Nicolas, p. 41, God with Us).  Listen to some of his story to discern what aspects of his life and character can be redeemed:

Very little is known about his life, but he is remembered as a man of great faith and compassion.  He was also a fierce advocate for those who had been unjustly condemned.  But he left behind no writings: the legends surrounding his life are all we have.  Nicolas is most well know is the West as the patron saint of children and gift-giving.  His connection to the American character of Santa Claus is faint, but it can be traced.  According to tradition, Nicholas' parents died when he was young, leaving him a large sum of money.  With his inheritance, Nicolas practiced charity, helping those in need.

One legend in particular illustrates his generosity: a family in his community was desperate; the father had lost all of his money and had been unable to find husbands for his three daughters.  The daughters were in danger of being given over to prostitution or another form of degradation when, one night, Nicholas appeared at their home.  He tossed three bags of gold into the open window (or down the chimney, in some versions) - thereby saving them from a terrible fate.  This tale is probably the source of his eventual connection to the tradition of gift giving at Christmas....

Aside from the obvious disparities between Saint Nicolas and the secular Santa Claus, perhaps the most poignant difference between them can be seen in the nature of the gifts they give.  While Santa has his bundle of toys, the gift that Saint Nicholas gives is nothing short of freedom from poverty and desperation.  The life of Saint Nicholas is an example of faith made flesh in actions of true charity." (ibid, pages 39-40)

So instead of rejecting Saint Nick, I humbly suggest that we re-tell his true story and reclaim the deeper principles and more compelling practice of true Christian charity this Christmas.       

Fat Wallets, No Friends

Christmas is a women's holiday.  There, I said it.  I came to this perhaps illogical conclusion in a strangely back-handed way...  It has nothing to do with whose job it is or isn't to prep for the 25th but rather everything to do with the inordinately high presence of women's Christmas events.  Couple this with the conspicuous absence of anything for us guys and my logic is unassailable (well, OK, almost).  

I'm certainly not complaining or asking for some kind of a craft or caroling night for us guys, I'm simply wondering what it is about the social and communal nature of women's Christmas events that simply doesn't translate well for dudes.  I mean, when was the last time you saw a Christmas event that was specificlaly organzied with men in mind?  

Thomas Joiner, in his book "Lonely at the Top: The High Cost of Men's Success" tells the story of his own father "a successful businessman and family man who committed suicide at age 56.  'My dad had close friendships in early childhood but they faded or failed for whatever reasons...  The problem is not precisely that he lost them, the precise problem is that he did no replenish them - and I believe it killed him, or more accurately led him to kill himself.  His autopsy report should read: male, age 56, cause of suicide: friendlessness.'" (qtd in Macleans, Nov 14, 2011, page 95).

Why this lack of friendship?  Joiner postulates that "men, more than women, focus on attaining wealth and status, neglecting relationships.  'A lucky few can get by on the friendships they made back in the day.  But many can't, and over time, men drift away from friendship and simultaneously earn money and status.  This leaves them puzzled indeed - they spent years achieving money and status, finally got it, and yet they feel lonely and empty.'" (ibid).

The solution?  Get a gang.  "Gangship is essential to men's well being...  Lonely men at home crave a reconstituted gang.  Hence NASCAR and golf, the attraction to and fascination with, for men, represents an attempt to vicariously experience gangship" (ibid).  Another solution Joiner proposes?  An old-fashioned reunion - "it can be as juvenile a time as the guys can muster, and ideally it needs to occur regularly.  The goal of the reunion is to reconnect the man's social connections where they were at their peak" (95).  

So this Christmas, guys, while you spouse is at the ladies Christmas tea, why not pick up the phone and call an old buddy.  Or reach out on Facebook and put a hunting trip together.  Who knows, it just might wave your life. 

The Gift of Receptivity

I love Advent.  The sense of wonder that only grows when you learn to wait.  The excitement of knowing that all around the world, people from multiple streams of Christian tradition are setting their hearts and their hopes on the same thing at the same time.  

So last week I went down to our basement bookshelf where we keep all of our seasonal books (and a few well-loved but long since outgrown kid's books) to select my Advent reader for this year.  Being a person who does not love repetition, I have a few to choose from so that I don't fall into ruts too easily ("Oh, I remember this story from last year!" is not good for me).  I also like to stretch myself outside of my usual reading routines at Advent and so most of my readers are more high church or more global in focus.  I decided that after a few years off from it, I am heading back to one of my favorite Advent readers: "God With Us: Rediscovering the Meaning of Christmas".  I love the poetic passion of Luci Shaw or the deep theological ruminations of Richard John Neuhaus.  It's good food for the soul to get me started on winter mornings.

This morning was a great example.  The First Monday and Advent and already a gem!  Listen to Neuhaus as he describes what it means to have faith:

Faith does not assert claims; faith recieves the gift that is undeserved.  Faith is itself a gift, the gift of receptivity.  Mary received the gifts in saying 'Let it be to me according to your word."  To her, and through her to us, was given the gift of the Child who is nothing less, no one less, than the Saviour of the world.  For us he lived and suffered and died; for us he was raised triumphant that we might, even though we suffer and die,  forever live in his glory.  The gift is already given and forever is now for those who give him permission to let life be a gift in response to a gift.  It really is a matter of giving God permission, as Mary gave God permission.  He will not be the Lord of our life without our permission.  Faith is giving permission." (21)

The greatest gift you or I might recieve this season is the gift that has already been given and simply needs to be embraced: the gift of receptivity.  

The Semmelweis Imperative

Have you ever had a great idea, I mean a real game-changer, but not been able to implement it? 

One question to ask yourself (or better yet, others around you) is if you lack the ability to gain traction because of you lack of tact or persistence in presenting your idea.  For example, a few years ago my wife and I were in setting with a group of hopeful church planters.  Each was sharing their ideas for how the churches they were hoping to plant might be different and would reach out to their respective communities.  One man spoke up and said "well, everybody else out there doing church is doing it wrong and I am going to do it right!"  The room got VERY quiet very quickly in an awkward way and, needless to say, he and his spouse did not pass the assessment. 

Call it the Semmelweis Imperative.  Never heard of it?  Maybe not, but I if you've been in the hospital, a man by the name of Dr. Semmelweis may have come up with an idea that saved your life.  Listen to his story, as related in Seth Goodin's latest book "Poke the Box" 

Ignaz Semmelweis was a physician practicing in Hungary during the 1800's.  His insight was that poor hygiene by doctors, particualrly a lack of hand washing, was the cause of significant disease and death.  Despite devoting his life to spreading this news, he dies a failure, unpopular and ineffective.

In a book publishes in 1861, Semmelweis recapped, 'Most medical lecture halls continue to resound with lectures of epidemic childbed fever and with discourses against my theories... in 1854 in Vienna, the birthplace of my theory, 400 maternity patients died from childbed fever.'

Why?  if the results of his simple intervention were so profound, why did doctors and the medical establishment so completely reject it?

Two reasons. First, he never worked hard to explain the science.  Without a why, without an explanation, it was hard to give his ideas the momentum needed to get them to spread.

Second, as reported by Atul Gawanda in Better, Semmelweis was jerk.  Impressed by his insight, he never bothered to persuade or even to be patient.  To one doctor, he wrote, 'You, Herr, Professor, have been a partner in this massacre.'  To another, 'I declare before God and the world that you are a murderer.'"

The moral of this story?  You might have the best insights or ideas, but great ideas in and of themselves do not win the day.  You have to work with others to convince them that your ideas may indeed have merit.  You have to be willing to dialogue and not dictate.  You have to be willing to do the hard work of demonstrating that your ideas are not merely intuition but that they have merit in the real world.  Semmelweis never did this.  And though his ideas eventually caught on like wildfire (think of how many sanitation stations you see in your local health care centre now!), imaging how many more lives he could have saved if was was willing to dig a litter deeper and be a littler nicer.

The Hand of God in EVERY happening?

I've often heard the abbreviated quote from  Mother Teresa about seeing God's face in the distressing disguise of the poor.  But this morning I re-read the quote in context and it shed some new and interesting light on it for me.  Here is the broader context:

We are called to be contemplatives in the heart of the world - by seeking the face of God in everything, everyone, everywhere, all the time, and his hand in every happening;  seeing and adoring the presence of Jesus, especially in the lowly appearance of bread, and in the distressing disguise of the poor" (qtd in Common Prayer, p. 411)

This context helps me put some perspective around my weekend experience of what the airlines euphemistically call "weather delays" which usually means at least 24 extra hours in airports with kids (not the most fun experience).  But instead of simply asking "can I see God in the faces of the under-resourced people I meet?", the broader context of the quote pushes me to ask "where do I see God in things like airline delays, broken luggage, an 7 hours in the Milwaukee airport?"  (truth?  I'm still working on it...)

How about you... Where do you see God at work today?  Can you see him working in delays and difficulties?  Can you see him working in difficult family relationships?  Can you see him working in tight financial spaces?  Can you see him working at your dinner table this evening?  

Where do you see God at work today?

Stott's Final Book Imparts Wisdom

John Stott, noted Christian theologian, writer and clergyman, passed away yesterday.  Many fine things by have been written by highly distinguished people in the past 24 hours about his life and legacy and so I will only add to this in very humble measure by re-posting the wisdom I personally gleaned from his final book, which I reviewed for the MB Herald in May of 2010. 

The Radical Disciple: Some Neglected Aspects of our Calling
John Stott
"Final words almost always have a sense of gravitas to them. So when a pastoral theologian, author, and evangelical heavyweight like John Stott says, “I am laying my pen down for the last time,” one pays close attention to the contents, context, and hard-fought wisdom that will most certainly flow from such a fount.

In his final book, The Radical Disciple: Some Neglected Aspects of our Calling, Stott compiles a list of eight characteristics that ought to mark those who follow Jesus. These include some familiar themes from Christ’s life and ministry, such as nonconformity. Stott urges the church that “over against the challenge of pluralism, we are to be a community of truth, standing up for the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. Over against the challenge of materialism, we are to be a community of simplicity and pilgrimage. Over against the challenge of relativism, we are to be a community of obedience. Over against the challenge of narcissism, we are to be a community of love.”

Stott is always pastoral and his gathered insights read like a seasoned mentor passing along salient pieces of time-honoured truth to an eager apprentice. As such, this book will find good traction in a broadly-based catechetical kind of audience – post-Alpha is one example of a group with whom its deep simplicity could be wisely appropriated. 

Part of this is driven by Stott’s chief concern for evangelicals and Anabaptists alike: that 21st-century Christians have, on the whole, experienced “growth without depth.” This leads him to list Christlikeness, maturity, simplicity, and dependence among his eight core characteristics.

In some sections, such as the chapter on creation care, he quotes extensively from extant source materials, such that long-time Stott readers will find nothing new here. In other sections, such as the chapter on balance, he does such excellent work at beginning to plumb the depths of how “we are called to both individual discipleship and corporate fellowship” that I would have loved to hear more on the profoundly simple tensions that form Stott’s portrait of normative Christian living. 

Of particular interest and quality, however, is Stott’s final chapter on how Christians are continually called to discover life through death. Only a senior saint with the weight of glory drawing ever close could offer such insight and hope, and support it with such a significant legacy.

As parting thoughts go, this book will be a rich inheritance for the evangelical community for decades to come."

-Brad Sumner

Healing the Heart of Democracy

It's official... After 5 weeks of being in the US, I can no longer watch US news.  The political posturing and the wrangling over the debt ceiling and pretty much everything else grates on my cultural sensibilities and my spiritual nerves.  And the sad thing is that anyone who appeals to sensibility is told to get back in line by those in party leadership! 

So today, when I checked my Facebook feed, there was a wonderfully refreshing quote posted by Diana Butler Bass from a forthcoming book by Quaker educator and spiritual director Parker Palmer (one of my favorite authors).  It is from his forthcoming book "Healing the Heart of Democracy" (Sept 2011) and it reads as an almost prophetic call to sensibility and conversation:

"If we want to reclaim our democracy, we need to do the challenging heart-work of examining our myths, seeing how far they are from the reality of our national life, and then reclaiming the visions embedded in them and doing the hard work necessary to bring reality closer to them."

A powerful call and action for both Americans and Canadians that rings with a different sort of tenor than we usually hear.  But a tone that, if courageously pursued, just might rise with healing in it's wings for a nation and a world mired in partisan politicking and rhetoric.

Spontaneous or Written Prayers: Which is Better?

I grew up in a distinctly non-litergical environment.  We believed that wrote prayers were the fastest way to vain and empty repetition.  The only exception seemed to be the Lord's Prayer, which was OK so long as you didn't repeat it too often!  Reading prayers was viewed with suspicion and spontaneous, 'heart-felt' prayers were the highest form of authenticity.   

But this week I'm reaidng a great book by Scot McKnight called "Praying with the Church : Following Jesus, Daily, Hourly, Today" which is challenging my growing up experiences.  In it, this renowned New Testament scholar makes the point very clearly that Jesus himself followed the Jewish practice of prayer three times a day - morning, mid-day and evening.  And further to this, when we choose to join in this rhythm, that we are joining the global Christian church in approaching the throne of Grace with a sense of unity and perspicacity that doesn't come when we simply pray spontaneously (which usually means whenever we feel like it or remember to do it). 

McKnight contends that "the secret to soul formation created by sacred rhythms emerges from focusing on what is most central to the faith and letting it seep into the inner workings of our hearts by reciting it often enough to keep it in front of us" (49).  Personally, I've begun to experiment with this using a book called "Common Prayer".  It's a great resource because it slows me down, it lifts me above how I am feeling that day and it gives new depth and resonance to my prayers.  I think I'm gradually un-learning to pray only spontaneously and learning that "time spent with the prayers of others can teach us to pray both alone in the church and together with the Church" (7).