The Leader-As-Steward

Stewardship and progress are not two different things. They are interconnected. Each needs the other. And stewardship is always the key to sustainable growth and progress.

The dictionary defines stewardship as "the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care.” Author Peter Block defines stewardship as “to hold in trust the well-being of some larger entity” and “to hold something of value in trust.”

Remembering Collins and Porras’s concept called “preserve the core/stimulate progress,” our goal as leaders is to build and maintain a preservable “core.” To do this, we have to understand stewardship better.

Stewardship takes place when we, as leaders, recognize that the power of stewardship is granted from the follower, not the leader. The work force defines whether or not someone is a leader. The “power” to make change work comes from those we “lead.” The “power” of stewardship, i.e. the ability to preserve the core, comes from those we “lead,” too. In short, how we lead influences how we make progress and how we preserve the core.

Furthermore, our ability to steward is based on the authenticity and integrity of our humanity. Leadership is about being a good person, not just a good leader. It is based on the recognition of our shared vulnerabilities, rather than just our strengths. As I have noted before, integrity based role modeling is the first conversation and speaking with integrity is the second conversation

Next, what is true about stewardship is known to each of us. We all have the ability to hold something of value in trust. We forget that others have the knowledge and the answers within themselves as much as we do. Our goal is to help them find the knowledge and the answers, not just be the source of all the knowledge and all the answers. As Max De Pree wrote many years ago in his book, Leadership is an Art (Dell Publishing, 1990), “the art of leadership requires us to think about the leader-as-steward in terms of relationships, of assets and legacy, of momentum and effectiveness, of civility and values.”

This week, be the steward your people and your organization needs you to be. Build the relationships that will yield a strong and viable core.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257