Q&A with Simon Barrington

The book that started me on my quest to understand character-based leadership was “The Ascent of a Leader” by two Harvard professors – Bill Thrall and Bruce McNicol in which they posit a “capacity ladder”

What are you reading now? and “character ladder” for leadership development. More latterly the research and works of Brene Brown have been foundational in my thinking around identity, shame and vulnerability and how they impact the life of a leader.

Currently I have a number of books on the go, including Humble Leadership by Edgar H Schein and The Sacred Enneagrams by Christopher L Huertz. I’m also reading Sapiens and Homo Deus: a brief history of tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari.

Who do you hope reads Leading - The Millennial Way?

Our primary audience is the millennial generation of leaders – those currently aged 20 to 34, as we think it will give them a deeper understanding of themselves and some great tools to enhance and grow their influence as leaders.

Leaders of millennials though will also really benefit from reading the book as it will give them an insight into some of the challenges they face and observe in their organisations when managing across generational boundaries.

Overall, I hope that all generations will read the book together and find it a useful tool in tackling conflict across the generations.

What were the key challenges you faced when writing this book?

The biggest challenge was completing the research in a timely way and letting it inform the book. We interviewed 50 millennials and surveyed nearly 500, so there was a lot of data to work through. I think this is a unique part of the book in that it is based on real and new research to inform opinion.

What was the highlight of writing this book?

Definitely writing the book with my co-author, Rachel, who is a millennial leader herself. She brought such fresh insight and focus to the book and really challenged me in my thinking and helped me interpret the results we were seeing from the research. She wasn’t afraid to tell me when I was interpreting something inappropriately and I loved the dialogue we had together – and the fun and the laughter as well.

You mention in your book that leading the millennial way can clash with leaders who grew up as Baby Boomers etc. Where does this conflict arise and what can people do to navigate this?

There is definitely a significant clash of cultures and worldviews and a lack of understanding of one another. Conflict can arise over the smallest of things, usually down to different expectations on issues such as commitment, ethos, work approach, use of technology and willingness to be open and transparent. Millennials reported experiencing significant conflict with those older than themselves and yet less than 35% had any training in how to deal with conflict.

We need to see an increase in training on conflict transformation skills – the ability to have challenging conversations and come out the other side healthy and supported rather than battered and bruised.

What is the biggest impact you feel that millennials are having on leadership in the church today? How can their involvement bring more young people into church?

One of the key distinctives we identified was the desire of millennials to raise up the next generation of leaders. Even in their late 20’s / early 30’s these leaders are looking to the future. I didn’t have that mentality at their age. They are a discipling and a missional generation - a generation committed to investing in those coming after them and a generation committed to mission. That’s exciting!

They understand that it’s not new programmes and new initiatives that will bring more people into Church but authentic real relationships that will be built outside the Church that will introduce people to Jesus.

What advice would you give to older leaders feeling worried or threatened by this new way of doing things?

Chill. Learn to be yourself – your true, authentic self. Stop trying to be someone you are not and you will see doors open, relationships enriched and the transformation you are so longing to see.