Authority, Leadership and Vision

Dr. Michel E. Abs

Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches

Authority is the guarantee of social order, when a society - or a group - enters into a state of chaos, there is no way to establish order except through authority.

This is in absolute terms, but in practical life, power is embodied in a specific person, who is required to exercise authority in order to protect the stability of a given society or group, either through instructions, directives, or orders, or through leadership practices that ensure the restoration of a situation to a former state. Whatever the case is, the person detaining authority enjoys the spiritual power of coercion or compulsion, and this religious or moral ground for power draws the lines of regulations necessary to safeguard stability in a society or in a group.

Chaos is a hidden force in our daily lives. It had been so in the past and is still so in modern society, although in different forms. In a complex society, in which crises abound, chaos may turn the social establishment upside down overnight, as is best exemplified in our day and age.

Human society is built on the fundamental principle of power, to which a person is subject ever since birth and all through the stages of life. It comes in the form of instructions, directives, orders, incentives, encouragements and intimidations, to such an extent that a person finds it embedded in the depths of one`s soul as a mediator to  the environment that person lives in, and this as exemplified in all its dimensions, social, cultural and material, creed as well in any other dimensions of human existence. It becomes so deeply rooted in the soul of a person that it justifies everything one does. It  becomes inherent in one`s cognitive method and is thus accepted because it protects a person against losing stability and security and is a support for growth as well.

However, there have been cases throughout history where the human person  has rebelled against authority, has rejected it and reconsidered it. Such instances have put a particular  society or group in a state of chaos from which only the existing source of authority itself or a  new authority established by an uprising movement interferes in such a situation

In both cases, society does not regain its stability unless the successfully established forces of power  in it succeed in overcoming  chaos.

However, we cannot mention power without stopping in order to consider the concept of leadership and its vital role in the survival, development and prosperity of society and institutions.

Leadership is the process of encouraging and motivating others to work enthusiastically in order to achieve specific goals, and it is thus the human factor that helps the group to crystallize its goals and move towards them. It is the force that drives the decisions and actions of the human group. Without leadership, an established institution will find itself in a state of organizational and operational confusion, and its progress will falter.

Thanks to leadership, the group develops its capabilities to the fullest extent, as leadership ensures synergy, transforming it from a mere potential to reality, whatever the size or nature of the community is. It is the action that identifies, develops and uses existing potentials and resources in society.

As for the vision, which is linked to the intellectual and conceptual competencies of the leader, it is essential for the success of leadership. It is a long-term view of what can or should be achieved in an organization, and it is a motivating element for a leader and those who work under him. It includes the shared beliefs and values ​​of the organization and is the basis of the culture of the group or organization.

On the other hand, vision is an essential element in leadership, because the leaders of institutions, in order to carry out their leadership role in the right way, need to evaluate the components and risks of the environment in which they work, and they also have to anticipate the future conditions of this environment and then, draw strategies to properly deal with these future conditions.

In this respect, the values which are established in order to support the work of the institution that manages the affairs of society, play a key role in defining the boundaries of the leader's political maneuvering margin, thus preventing the interests of a given society or institution from being reduced to the personal interests of the leader.

When the leadership is authoritarian or totalitarian, it heavily affects the group's capabilities, freedom of movement, creativity, and, consequently, its achievements.

In a totalitarian leadership, public participation becomes limited, and the group submits to the dictates of the leader, through whom all relations pass and in whom all decisions are centralized. It thus sows or strengthens tension, suspicion, fear, frustration, and other negative feelings, and reaps power and control by turning them into the sanctuary and protector of the group, and therefore of society of course. The strength of the leader’s power becomes thus associated with the feelings of fear and suspicion that he spreads within the group, and all means are available for that.

A situation of this kind would, in addition to killing innovation and creativity in society or the group, puts them in a position of social retreat or defeat, and consequently limits them by a very minimal margin of action, within the scope of the leader`s interests. All of this would lead to the isolation of the specific group or society.

Moreover, in a totalitarian leadership situation, the logic of participation diminishes, and the culture of accountability disappears, so the “inspirational” leader acts without accountability or oversight, no matter how negative the consequences of his actions are on society.

This is a quick and brief presentation of the basic concepts on which modern society operates, and we will mention in subsequent articles other concepts that are necessary for the benefit of those in charge of institutions, be they ecclesiastical or secular.