THE TORTOISE USUALLY WINS
Biblical Reflections on Quiet Leadership for
Reluctant Leaders
By Brian Harris
Paternoster. 190 pages. £9.99
ISBN 978 1 842 277 874
As the title suggests this is an unusual book. Its thesis, of course, is that unlikely entrants to a race can win simply by continuing to put one foot in front of the other.
Christian leaders of colleges, businesses, churches, trusts, charities can find themselves thrust into a position of responsibility. They are not all — or even often — charismatic personalities or natural born leaders. They lack the speed and flair of the hare. But they can be encouraged, like the tortoise, to plod on. In fact there are some strong advantages of quiet leadership. A reluctant leader can be more promising than you think. Leadership virtues and values can carry more weight than innate abilities.
Teaching applied
Having outlined the theory of quiet leadership the book develops a theology of it in terms of three biblical images — the servant, the shepherd, the steward — and of virtues such as modesty, restraint, tenacity, interdependence and other-centredness. These sections provide the meat of the book; but a real attempt is then made to apply the teaching. There are helpful insights on ‘discovering your voice’ as a reluctant leader, on character development and challenging excuses, on quiet leaders as agents of change and helping others shine. A feature of the book is a series of interviews with people who have been perceived to be quiet leaders.
The book has a wide brief. It applies as much to a principal of a Bible college or the chief executive of a Christian charity as to a church pastor or elder. Though interesting, this possibly limits the book’s usefulness to the latter. There is also a tendency to stray on the one hand into ethical theory and on the other into ‘management speak’ in a way that leaves this reviewer wondering whether the theory and the culture is sometimes allowed to trump biblical perspectives.
