Overseeing the Organization
Donald Seibert
The feeling that you can do the job better yourself makes delegation difficult. But I've been a more effective leader when others have actually done the work.
Donald Seibert Donald Seibert has seen the inside workings of not only churches but high-pressure corporations. As chairman and chief executive officer at J. C. Penney, he gained a reputation as an effective organizer and peacemaker. And in peace, the company prospered. In 1981, a year when most retailers were taking their lumps, Penney's earnings rose 44 percent on a mere 4.5 percent increase in sales. What was the secret? Business Week pointed to a new management style "keyed to group decision making … consensus management." Seibert, architect of that new atmosphere, is now retired, but his philosophy remains unchanged: develop a team that can continue without a hitch when key individuals leave. Seibert was vice-president for the White House Council on Families during the Carter years and has served on the Advisory Council for Productivity Improvement. He's also an active member of Long Hill Chapel in Chatham, New Jersey, where he leads Sunday night congregational singing, teaches Sunday school, lends his voice to various music ministries, and has been an elder and a trustee. For several years, he has also helped lead a small Bible study group of top corporate executives. Here are his reflections from a lifetime of service within the complex organizations of church and business. What leadership tensions are common to both business and the local church? In business, tensions arise when the chief executive's objectives somehow differ from those of long-standing workers in the business. In the church, the same tensions arise when the pastor wants to do one thing, and some of ...
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