Why Great Leaders Must Embrace the Chaos
For much of my life, I assumed that disorder was inherently negative and failed to embrace the chaos. I spent years both at home and at work trying to mitigate the unpredictable, eliminate instability, and avoid any hint of upheaval in an endless quest for control. Leadership, I believed, was solely about creating rigid systems and robust safeguards against the unexpected.
Recently, however, my perspective has shifted. Leadership is never effective while standing still; it thrives only when moving forward and navigating a purposeful course through the inevitable waves of uncertainty and turmoil.
Leadership that does not shy away from disruption, but actively embraces the chaos, may not always sail the calm waters that others desire. Yet, it is precisely this mindset that drives the change our organizations and communities truly need.
Into the Fray
One morning a couple of years ago, I received an urgent call from the Home Office, the U.K.’s equivalent of the Department for Homeland Security. This was by no means a regular occurrence. I have worked a lot with government departments both in my work advocating for children in foster care and in my work with refugees. Usually that work involved me calling them to ask for help. This time they had called me, and I quickly sensed the panic down the line.
Only a few weeks earlier in Kabul, thousands of Afghan citizens had fled to the airport hoping to escape the Taliban. International news channels broadcast images of desperate mothers throwing their babies to American soldiers, families huddling inside the holds of cargo planes and some even clinging to the outside. Tens of thousands had been evacuated to the U.K., but now these traumatized, Muslim, Dari- and Pashto-speaking families with an abundance of young dependents needed accommodating and supporting as they settled. The Home Office couldn’t find anyone with expertise who could help.
“I can ask the church to welcome the resettled Afghans and provide practical, emotional, logistical and spiritual support,” I said.
The Home Office representative thought for a moment. “Where is this church based?”
Then came the moment I may well have been waiting for my whole life.
“This church is everywhere,” I replied. “It is in every city, town and village across the country. Wherever you relocate Afghans, I can find people nearby whose two priorities in life are to love God and love their neighbor. Muslim refugees fleeing the Taliban are our neighbors, so I believe I can ensure they will receive a warm welcome from the church wherever they end up.”
My feet hardly touched the ground over the next few months as the evacuated Afghan families were found multiple different temporary housing solutions. Sure enough, we were able to identify churches willing to help in every single area.
