BALANCE is
the great challenge of life. Always has been, always will be.
This is a factual
generalisation that is compelling. There is nowhere near fifty percent of
politicians, executives, and church leaders who are women. It is usually a
figure closer to five percent. Men are apparently better leaders. But is that
true? Of course it isn’t.
This
cultural catastrophe causes two problems: 1) it prolongs the bias against women
(and it’s a bias held not just by men) as key leaders and it makes it harder
for good women leaders to assimilate, feel included and of value, and be
effective; and 2) it tempts women leaders to overcompensate in the power
struggle that should never be a power struggle (but then we will never live in
a utopian world!). Part of the bias in the first point is men and women against
women in key leadership may, themselves, unjustly goad a woman leader, where,
if she were male, there would be no such impediment to her work. So, women
leaders may need abundantly more humility and resilience than most men do, just
to survive.
Both
of these problems, it’s incredibly sad to say, work against the lobby for women
in ministry.
I say
upfront; women have a great deal to give in key leadership roles in every
organisation. I worked as a public servant for an Authority for several years
where the CEO was a woman. She led that organisation through much industrial
reform in a tough, male dominated environment, for over fifteen years. The
harshest thing she ever said about anyone was that they were “charmless.” She
encountered the worst behaved trade union organisation and met their aggressive
crudeness, scare tactics, and dirty strategies with an aplomb her male general
managers were no less than inspired by. How do I know? I knew each one of these
general managers personally and each one had communicated this to me without any
compunction. I had also had the privilege seeing her in my direct observation,
walking the talk in the field. Ms.
Kerry Sanderson[1] had virtue every Christian would envy. She had a royal
presence about her. It was no surprise to anyone at Fremantle Port Authority in
Perth, Western Australia, when she was sworn in as Governor of Western
Australia. She is a woman who commanded respect because of her undying respect
of all persons regardless of who they were or weren’t. There was no spot nor
wrinkle in her that could be observed. She was the best leader I’ve seen to
date. And she is a woman!
This
doesn’t mean that her strategy for governance were beyond improvement.
Complexity was something she thrived on, but complexity can be the undoing of
great organisations. Yet, even in driving too much too quickly, she was a model
of diligence and vision!
My
point is this: the best leaders have elevated scruples. Gender has nothing to
offer the debate. But integrity is everything. And both of the problems I cite
with women in ministry highlight a lack of scruples and integrity in both the
men and women that proffer too much their overvalued opinions.
Men
(and women) who decry women in leadership lack integrity. They refuse to see
what God would have them possibly to see. They may, at times, frustrate or
block the will of God. Conversely, the women who rule by fear by insisting
control be seized, and that coercive and position power be used, rather than
personal, service, and information power, also lack integrity.
Leadership
is a matter of integrity — humility, courage, transparency, honesty,
impartiality.
Leadership
is a servant-hearted act of integrity.
***
Now that the two problems have been
considered, what is required? Simply this: to stop even seeing gender as an
issue, for we vacillate to and fro between the great poles of indifference
otherwise.
The more people are selected for roles
based on gifting, integrity, and merit — with commensurately no thought for
gender — the better every organisation is.
© 2015 S. J. Wickham.
[1]
In October 1991, Sanderson was named acting general
manager of Fremantle Ports,[5] a
publicly owned state government
trading enterprise (GTE)
responsible for Fremantle Harbour and attached facilities in Cockburn Sound.[6] She
was appointed chief executive
officer (CEO)
later that year, and was re-appointed for another five years in November 1997,[7] going
on to continue in the position until October 2008.[8] As
CEO, Sanderson was credited with "turning Australia's most inefficient
port into its fastest", despite "prejudice against her gender, and
the reputation of Australia's waterfront for being notoriously slack". She
re-organised the company along total quality
management principles
and began charging fees based on cargo volume instead of time in port,[9] with
the company subsequently going from a A$37-million loss in 1990–91 to a profit three years later. She
also re-negotiated with maritime unions, decreasing the number of industrial awards from 29 to six.[10] Overall,
Fremantle Ports more than tripled the value of its container throughput during
Sanderson's time as CEO, with total movements (in tonnage) growing by 56
percent.[11] Her
replacement as CEO was Chris Leatt-Hayter, who was previously general manager
strategic and commercial development.[12]
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