Exchange theory of leadership: gatekeeping

In the chronicles of Narnia, the great battle scene after Aslan’s death brings the good forces of Narnia up against the evil queen. Two styles of leadership emerge. King Peter leads from the front and his siblings support from the center. The witch queen on the other hand, leads from the back, sending her forces to face the wrath of battle first.

Alexander the Great, arguably the greatest soldier the world has known, also led from the front, so did Moshe Dayan, the great one-eyed Jewish leader who guided Israel through the wars of independence.

That poses a great question about the role of modern day leadership. Churchill wanted to join the D-Day armada, but George VI rightfully stuttered, “Me they can replace, not you”. So Churchill stayed where he belonged, where he was most needed – in the war rooms of Westminster. It was his military brain that they needed not his unwieldy frame. So it is not always prudent for a leader to put his life on the line.

That brings me to a potentially different kind of model altogether. The African Lion is what I would call a gatekeeper. He is a runaway haystack, hardly ideal for hunting, but a fearsome visage for opponents. He generally eats, sleeps and has sex throughout his adult life. The females are far superior at hunting, raising the next generation, social integration and a myriad other vital things that keep a happy pride, happy.

So is he just a passenger? No. He maintains the balance of power in the pride and preserves order. When not eating, sleeping or procreating, he patrols the pride-lands to mark territory and keep interlopers at bay. At times he has to even put his life on the line to protect the pride. The first thing a new male does, when he takes over a pride, is to kill the existing cubs and chase off all juveniles. That’s why he has to fight.

Too much is said about the active aspects of leadership. But the greatest role of leadership, and leadership is but a role amongst roles, is to act as a gatekeeper – a regressive role. Leaders are being drawn into the front line, where they are ungainly and less effective at implementing than the rest of the pride is. Leadership, not to be confused with management or doing, is about orchestrating, organizing, enabling and restraining. It’s about being armless and legless, whilst extending the leader’s limited reach and effectiveness through others - a fair exchange of complementary roles.

Jesus is also the head of the church, from which we are all fitly joined together. We are His hands and legs. Does that imply that vision comes from Him – well not entirely so. The edict of Christ actually came from the Father – He is merely executing that mandate. So what comes from Jesus is analogous to what passes between my brain and my limbs – it’s the impulse or enactment of the Father’s will, translated through you and me.

(c) Peter Eleazar @ www.4u2live.net