I HAD HONED MY SKILLS as a leader in the backfield, first in the black power struggle and later as executive director of the influential body of African American congressional leaders that made up the Congressional Black Caucus. I also worked quietly as a bridge builder between leaders of diverse backgrounds.
But after my husband Tom Skinner’s passing, I was voted by the board of directors to become president of the Skinner Leadership Institute. As the number two person in the organization, I had relied more on external skills of leadership like executing the vision, establishing goals, strategic planning, and creating, as well as managing the budget.
Thrust into the uncomfortable role of out-front leader, I needed to rely more on internal qualities. To move people from “one point to the other and get them to like it,” as Tom often defined leadership, required strength of character, spiritual and moral excellence, integrity, team building, sustaining win-win relationships, emotional intelligence, and resilience. Inner qualities built not in meeting rooms, but through the spiritual discipline of prayer.
As a very private person pushed into the position of highly public leadership, I needed prayer to build relationships with people whose values were very different from mine. I needed an accelerated prayer life to make wise decisions that impacted the organization and the lives of others who depended on me. But most of all, I needed not just prayer, but periods of solitude, renewal, and spiritual reflection to handle the rigor, the setbacks, the disappointments, and indeed the loneliness of leadership.
Adapted with permission from I Prayed, Now What? My Journey from No Faith to Deep Faith, by Barbara Williams-Skinner. www.skinnerleaders.org
Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner is co-convener of the National African American Clergy Network and president of the Skinner Leadership Institute.
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