The Wisdom of Hugh W. Nibley

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_moksha
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The Wisdom of Hugh W. Nibley

Post by _moksha »

Leaders to Managers: The Fatal Shift

http://maxwellinstitute.BYU.edu/publications/transcripts/?id=125

Leaders are movers and shakers, original, inventive, unpredictable, imaginative, full of surprises that discomfit the enemy in war and the main office in peace. For the managers are safe, conservative, predictable, conforming organization men and team players, dedicated to the establishment.

The leader, for example, has a passion for equality. We think of great generals from David and Alexander on down, sharing their beans or maza with their men, calling them by their first names, marching along with them in the heat, sleeping on the ground, and being first over the wall. A famous ode by a long-suffering Greek soldier, Archilochus, reminds us that the men in the ranks are not fooled for an instant by the executive type who thinks he is a leader.7

For the manager, on the other hand, the idea of equality is repugnant and even counterproductive. Where promotion, perks, privilege, and power are the name of the game, awe and reverence for rank is everything, the inspiration and motivation of all good men. Where would management be without the inflexible paper processing, dress standards, attention to proper social, political, and religious affiliation, vigilant watch over habits and attitudes, that gratify the stockholders and satisfy security?


I think we can all see this applying in real life situations (perhaps Bc and Droopy might argue with this). It seems to me that Nibley had this pegged. Good for him. It saddens me however, when we find that some leaders both in politics and religion are actually managers.

.
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_bcspace
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Re: The Wisdom of Hugh W. Nibley

Post by _bcspace »

I think we can all see this applying in real life situations (perhaps Bc and Droopy might argue with this). It seems to me that Nibley had this pegged. Good for him. It saddens me however, when we find that some leaders both in politics and religion are actually managers.


It's all good. Animal Farm and the benefits of being a party man or political officer in the Soviet Union (or North Korea) fully illustrate the manager. You can see the same in today's American Democratic Party; the racket of public sector unionism (which even FDR opposed) for example......
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_mercyngrace
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Re: The Wisdom of Hugh W. Nibley

Post by _mercyngrace »

I've always thought this particular article was a painfully astute critique of the the way some view callings in the institutional church - as evidence of worthiness or proof of spirituality, as rites of passage for the truly elect.

We construct an ecclesiastical tower of Babel. Jump through the right hoops, hold the right positions, wear the right color shirt and tie, and give utterance to the acceptable ethos and you ascend. Zone leader, assistant to the Mission President, elder's quorum president, counselor in the bishopric, stake young men's president, high councilor... and on it goes.

The foolish man races to the top and finds his language of faith confounded and his expectations dashed for God is not perched high atop the structure waiting to be discovered. He then sees what all wise men already know. God is in the masses at the bottom of the tower, waiting to be served.

We have a very young bishop at the moment and he's running full speed up the tower. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt but when his young daughter prefaces all her statements in primary with "My dad is the bishop and he says...", I wonder where she got the idea that those 8 words meant anything other than "How can I be of service?"
"In my more rebellious days I tried to doubt the existence of the sacred, but the universe kept dancing and life kept writing poetry across my life." ~ David N. Elkins, 1998, Beyond Religion, p. 81
_Tchild
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Re: The Wisdom of Hugh W. Nibley

Post by _Tchild »

mercyngrace wrote:I've always thought this particular article was a painfully astute critique of the the way some view callings in the institutional church - as evidence of worthiness or proof of spirituality, as rites of passage for the truly elect.

We construct an ecclesiastical tower of Babel. Jump through the right hoops, hold the right positions, wear the right color shirt and tie, and give utterance to the acceptable ethos and you ascend. Zone leader, assistant to the Mission President, elder's quorum president, counselor in the bishopric, stake young men's president, high councilor... and on it goes.

The foolish man races to the top and finds his language of faith confounded and his expectations dashed for God is not perched high atop the structure waiting to be discovered. He then sees what all wise men already know. God is in the masses at the bottom of the tower, waiting to be served.

We have a very young bishop at the moment and he's running full speed up the tower. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt but when his young daughter prefaces all her statements in primary with "My dad is the bishop and he says...", I wonder where she got the idea that those 8 words meant anything other than "How can I be of service?"

There is more wisdom in your few paragraphs than some people are able to find in a lifetime of religious services.

This is the "truth" that religions hide. If known, religious "authority" would be seen to be empty and useless in performing what is truly worthwhile and important.

Great post.
_harmony
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Re: The Wisdom of Hugh W. Nibley

Post by _harmony »

Tchild wrote: If known, religious "authority" would be seen to be empty and useless in performing what is truly worthwhile and important.

Great post.


Not just empty and useless, but unnecessary. The only people who care about what they term "proper authority" are those who care about power over people.
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_moksha
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Re: The Wisdom of Hugh W. Nibley

Post by _moksha »

How do you think the various leaders of the LDS Church stand in Nibley's analysis of leaders versus managers?
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_harmony
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Re: The Wisdom of Hugh W. Nibley

Post by _harmony »

moksha wrote:How do you think the various leaders of the LDS Church stand in Nibley's analysis of leaders versus managers?


The heavens are closed for a reason, Moksha. No one's listening anymore.
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Re: The Wisdom of Hugh W. Nibley

Post by _Eric »

bcspace wrote:
Quack quack Animal Farm and the benefits of being a party man or political officer in the Soviet Union Quack quack quack Democrats are bad quack quack quack quack...


lol
_Kishkumen
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Re: The Wisdom of Hugh W. Nibley

Post by _Kishkumen »

Tchild wrote:There is more wisdom in your few paragraphs than some people are able to find in a lifetime of religious services.


So true.
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_quaker
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Re: The Wisdom of Hugh W. Nibley

Post by _quaker »

This is one of my all time favourite LDS related speeches.

Looking at the church, political structures and almost every institution that pervades most of my life I noticed the split between leaders and managers (though not in the same terms, but close enough). Then I read this speech and so much clarified.

Some people in their desire to do good and help others seek to manage rather than lead. Obviously it will always be a balancing act to manage an appropriate amount. Ultimately church leaders, for the most part, want to help the people they lead grow. Somehow, though, we get sucked into a management mentality. Is it because it is easier, more predictable? Perhaps in the past decades the church has shifted a little too much weight to the management side. I don't think this was the intention, but it is what happened.

Fortunately I've noticed a greater emphasis by leaders and teachers to strengthen the members at the base so they can guide themselves rather than be managed. I like this shift. The educators in the leadership seem to help this movement away from the management extreme where we currently sit.
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