Joyful Leadership: Becoming the Light of Christ to the People You Lead with Love

By Carol Gabriella Norbeck

Why would anyone follow you? Joyful Leadership explores this provocative question and uncovers what author Carol Gabriella Norbeck discovered from more than thirty years of research and practice. The answer goes to the heart of leadership—the relationship between leader and follower—and has two parts. First, people want leaders of great character. Second, they want to follow someone who believes leadership is about service.

Norbeck gathered the best leadership ideas from her research and created the know-how and the practical steps that form the leader’s character. Through facilitating hundreds of leadership workshops, she’s helped leaders develop the character traits others want to follow and learn how to lead people with a servant’s heart.

Divided into two parts, part one focuses on loving God wholly by developing Christ-centered character traits. Part two centers on loving your neighbor through servanthood. Both parts contain core leadership practices and reflections on the Christian theology that supports them.

Joyful Leadership shares practical steps that show you how to become the leader others want to follow.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jan 22, 2024
• ISBN: 9798385014255

Carol Gabriella Norbeck

Carol Gabriella Norbeck has researched and trained others in the best-of-the-best leadership practices for more than thirty years. She is passionate about helping leaders become their best selves and learn how to serve others. Norbeck has been a Christian since childhood and a member of the Orthodox Church since 2016. Her professional expertise and her Christian commitment give her a unique and valuable perspective on how to lead others effectively with love and joy.

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Copyright © 2024 Carol Gabriella Norbeck.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

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Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

ISBN: 979-8-3850-1427-9 (sc)

ISBN: 979-8-3850-1426-2 (hc)

ISBN: 979-8-3850-1425-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023923488

WestBow Press rev. date: 01/22/2024

To all the joyful leaders I have met over the last thirty years. It has been my joy to be your facilitator, your coach, your friend.

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Icon of Archangel Gabriel

Written by Marlan Allen

In honor of the Archangel Gabriel, who brought two types of Tidings of Great Joy to Mary: joy through sacrifice and servanthood (the Annunciation) and joy amid great sorrow (announcing Christ’s Resurrection to the myrrh-bearing women).

The name Gabriel comes from the Hebrew meaning Man of God. The Holy Father’s, in speaking about the Annunciation, interpret that an archangel with such a name was sent to signify who and what He would be like, who must be born of the All-Pure One. Therefore, He will be Man-God, mighty and powerful God (reference: orthodoxwikki.org).

The icon of Archangel Gabriel was written for Carol Gabriella in thanksgiving of her Chrismation by Kathy and Marlan Allen.

CONTENTS

Preface

PART 1: LEADING SELF

(LOVE GOD)

Chapter 1:   Excellence in All You Do

Chapter 2:   Being Trustworthy

Chapter 3:   Acting with Integrity

Chapter 4:   Living a Lifestyle of Stewardship

PART 2: LEADING OTHERS

(LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR)

Chapter 5:   Servant Leadership and Coaching Excellence

Chapter 6:   Forgiveness and Feedback

Chapter 7:   Prayer and Conflict

Chapter 8:   And the Greatest of These … Love and Encounter Listening

PREFACE

Why would anyone want to follow you? I love this provocative question for its focus on the relationship between leader and follower, where the heart of leadership lies.

For over thirty years, I’ve been helping leaders answer this question. Together we have discovered that the answer has two parts. First, people want leaders of great character. Second, they want to follow someone who believes leadership is about service.

I have researched, experimented with, and taught many different tools and practices in pursuit of this goal: to help leaders develop the character traits others want to follow and learn how to lead people with a servant’s heart. In putting this book together, I started with the best leadership ideas from my research. I call them Leader Know-How: the practical steps that form the core of leadership. Through the thousands of people with whom it has been my joy to work, I have witnessed the impact of these tools that make leaders not just good but great.

Here’s what Joyful Leadership: Becoming the Light of Christ to the People You Lead with Love is about.

The book is divided into two parts. Part 1 focuses on loving God wholly by developing Christ-centered character traits. I call this part of the book Leading Self. Part 2 focuses on loving your neighbor through servanthood. I call this part of the book Leading Others.

Both parts contain core leadership practices and reflections on the Christian theology that supports them.

Part 1: Leading Self (Love God)

• Excellence in all you do

• Being trustworthy

• Acting with integrity

• Living a lifestyle of stewardship

Part 2: Leading Others (Love Your Neighbor)

• Servant leadership and coaching excellence

• Forgiveness and feedback

• Prayer and conflict

• The greatest of these … love and encounter listening

It is my joy to share these lessons of leadership with you!

JOYFUL LEADERSHIP REFLECTION

BECOMING THE LIGHT OF CHRIST TO THE PEOPLE YOU LEAD WITH LOVE

I am truly blessed! I have been blessed with a career that has granted me the daily opportunity to share the love of God with others.

You are truly blessed, too! No matter what work your hands and mind have been given to do, you too have the daily opportunity to share the love of God with others.

Our lives in faith are a constant growth toward Christlike character, such that we become truly human, as God created us to be. When we are filled with Christ’s presence, we are filled with His light. In relationships, we share this light of Christ with others as we serve them with love.

As a Christ-centered leader, I embrace the challenge of working in a way that demonstrates the greatest commandment:

Jesus replied, Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. (Matthew 22:37–40, NIV)

In each workshop, in each interaction, this commandment guides me in how I do my work, a constant internal dialogue between what God—the boss of my life—asks me to do and what my earthly boss asks me to do.

The Joyful Leadership Reflection sections examine how a Christ-centered life shows up at work. In these sections, I reflect on this greatest commandment and what it means to become truly human. I refer to saints who reflect Christlike character. Together we will reflect on parables Christ shared with us to help us understand what it means to love our neighbor.

It is truly my joy to share these thoughts with you, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

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PART 1

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LEADING SELF

(LOVE GOD)

Becoming a great leader is no easy task; it is a development journey that spans an entire career and lifetime.

The first part of this book focuses on self-leadership; that is, becoming a leader of great character. What character traits inspire you to follow? Do you follow people of integrity? Do you admire leaders who are always striving to be the best they can be? Are you thankful for the leader who has your back, encouraging you when things get tough?

Self-leadership is about leading yourself toward your best self. It’s asking the tough questions about who you want to become and what you can do every day to grow into a leader of great character. Self-leadership is about creating a vision of the leader you want to be and then choosing daily practices and actions to help you become that leader.

To quote Joel A. Barker: Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision, just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.

So, let’s begin with the know-how you need to change your leadership world.

JOYFUL LEADERSHIP REFLECTION

THE FIRST AND GREATEST COMMANDMENT

Jesus replied, Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. (Matthew 22:37–38, NIV)

The challenge of this scripture verse is the word all. How do we love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind? And how do we do this in all aspects of our lives, including work?

Love is a relationship term; it is a term of encounter with another. For me, St. Zacchaeus is an icon of encountering Christ. His life reminds me that Christianity is not just a belief system or a code of conduct; Christianity is an encounter with God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

In Zacchaeus’s story, we see a man who puts himself in a place where he can see Christ. But climbing a tree became more than seeing; it became an encounter with Christ that changed not only his life but also that of his whole household. Zacchaeus promised to make restitution by giving half of his wealth to the poor and by repaying those he had cheated four times over. Zacchaeus later accompanied St. Peter on his travels and was appointed the bishop of Caesarea in Palestine. From that encounter onward, Zacchaeus lived a life that served God and loved his neighbor.

Loving God with our whole heart, soul, and mind is the way Christ abides within us, transforming our daily lives. In baptism the grace of God enters our being; God’s love at our core transforms our character and our lifestyle. As we abide in that love, Christ comes to dwell in us and imparts transformation to our lives. Our daily goal is to be filled more completely with the life and presence of Christ. Salvation is a process designed to make saints of each of us, that we may truly become all God created us to be. And just as Christ is the light of the world, so should our transformed lives become light to others.

As Christ-centered leaders, we define great character as Christlike character. Four Christlike character traits are essential for great leadership: excellence, trustworthiness, integrity, and stewardship. Together, they create a way of life that is worthy of others to follow.

I have chosen several saints throughout the Joyful Leadership Reflection sections to remind us of the great cloud of witnesses whose transformed lives transform others’, like that of Zacchaeus. As the Holy Spirit dwells in us, we become living icons of Christ. As the light of Christ shines through us, we share with others a redeemed, transformed image of humanity. Every day, you are the light of the world. That’s how God intends to get His work done on earth today—through you! He uses our transformed personhood to transform the world. The real mark of a saint is that his or her life, transformed by grace, overflows to bring others to encounter the risen Lord.

You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:13–16, NIV)

Chapter 1

EXCELLENCE IN ALL YOU DO

Learning is not attained by chance. It must be sought

for with ardor and attended to with diligence.

—Abigail Adams

D EBBIE, THE VICE PRESIDENT OF Xerox, first introduced me to the idea of excellence. I was working on a new program that would challenge people’s preconceived notions of diversity. Debbie issued an even bigger challenge: Carol, I want you to look at this project not just as a way to make Xerox a better place to work. I also want you to look at how this program might make people better parents, spouses, and friends. Having heard this advice, I never looked at my work the same way. Each subsequent project became an opportunity to make a difference in peoples’ l ives.

So how do we become excellent?

It begins with understanding your signature strengths.

SIGNATURE STRENGTHS

One of my favorite leadership development tools is the University of Michigan’s Reflected Best Self. In this exercise, leaders ask their family, friends, and colleagues to share examples of times when they added value to a situation. They ask their respondents for specific examples of what they did to make a meaningful difference. It goes something like this:

Thank you for agreeing to help me understand myself. I’d like you to tell me about a time when you observed me at my best, when the best version of myself showed up in your presence. What did I do? What did I say that had a positive impact on you, and what was that impact?

The leaders read through these narratives, looking for themes, and then synthesize those themes into descriptions of their best selves. In class, as people share their best selves, it can be a very emotional experience to reflect on how much other people truly value them and to see the impact they’ve had on others’ lives.

Those elements that make up your best self are your strengths. A strength is a transferable skill that comes naturally to you. It’s transferable because you can use it in many different situations. It’s natural to you because you probably don’t remember learning