Leading Pastors: Mary Kay DuChene Women Bishop Leadership in the ELCA

Transcription

1 Leading Pastors: Mary Kay DuChene Women Bishop Leadership in the ELCA Rachelle Blaschko, Anthony Boyce, Julia Dysthe, Britta Rinke, Brittany Rogness, and Sadam Yusuf

2 Page 2 Executive Summary This paper was written to share our missions as a consulting group. This mission was to provide analysis and recommendations for the women in America who currently hold the status of bishop in the ELCA,. In the paper, we will discuss the various methods used to help us accomplish our mission, the literature and interview data analyzed, the results of the analysis, recommendations, and the overall conclusions. There were many methods used in this process that helped us accomplish our goal. One of the most effective was the implementation of a short survey. This survey allowed us to gather feedback from a mixture of five current and two retired women bishops and greatly influenced our recommendation. We also conducted five more in- depth interviews and analyzed these responses to find various themes and commonalities. In order to fully understand the way in which women become and thrive as bishops in the ELCA, we needed to fully understand the requirements of becoming a bishop. To gain this knowledge, we read and cited several publications relating to becoming ordained and the demands that it places on women as well as current trends in bishop leadership styles. We also found background information on the ELCA and women as leaders in general. This information gave us a solid background of women bishop leadership, which enabled us to analyze transcripts of interviews and survey responses ideas for the interpretation of their leadership styles. After discovering several issues and potential problems, we have found many recurring themes that resonate with the ELCA women bishops. This analysis will allow Mary Kay Duchene to better understand the leadership styles of women bishops in the ELCA. This paper will further explain the common themes and qualities found among women bishops and will help future aid women considering the position of bishop in the ELCA.

3 Page 3 Table of Contents Executive Summary...2 Table Of Contents...3 Background...4 Introduction...4 Project Purpose...4 Mission And Our Project...5 Review Of Literature...5 ELCA...5 Women In The Workforce...7 Women Bishops...9 Methodology Research Design Research Methods Research Participants Results And Findings The Journey Supporting Cast Mentors Myers- Briggs Test Results Analysis Challenges They Faced Additional Leadership and Personality Traits Recommendation For Practice For Future Research Limitations Conclusion References Appendix A. Everything Sent to Current Bishops B. Everything Sent to Retired Bishops C. IRB Approval D. Billable Hours... 29

4 Page 4 Background Introduction Leading Pastors is a nonprofit church leadership development program based around Minneapolis, Minnesota. Leading Pastors is dedicated to training pastors and other leaders to be able to skillfully and assertively implement change in the name of God within the world. The organization provides quality leadership programs, coaching, and consultations, to help pastors understand their unique leadership style so they can lead with confidence and excellence in the church in the 21 st century. Leading Pastors works to particularly empower female pastors to become better leaders in the congregation. The goal for all clients is to help them uncover their leadership style, live into it deeply, and learn new leadership strategies in order to create superior church leaders. Mary Kay DuChene and Louise Johnson created Leading Pastors in Leading Pastors recruited and worked with 23 female pastors in 2011, and many positive results have been seen. Project Purpose Mary Kay DuChene, Co- Founder of Leading Pastors, asked us to gather data about the presiding women bishops of the ELCA. She recognized the need for analysis of their personalities and leadership styles, as well as their stories about how they became bishops. She envisioned us compiling and evaluating all of this data and putting together a comprehensive report of our findings. Our team was asked to interview the six presiding women bishops of the ELCA, and additional retired bishops if time permitted, analyze the data we collected, and answer the following questions: 1. Are there commonalities between these women s stories that shed some light on how and why they have achieved the status of bishop? 2. What is the leadership style of these women? Are there similarities?

5 Page 5 3. What rockets (things that have propelled their successes) and roadblocks have they encountered along their way? Upon obtaining this information, we aimed to find the best way to consolidate and dissect this information. We hope this report will enhance the opportunity to get more women to reach the level of bishop in the ELCA while enabling the current bishops to learn and grow and further their level of excellence in the church. Leading Pastors Mission and Our Project The mission of Leading Pastors is to develop the qualities of an effective leader among pastors and other rostered church leaders to better prepare them for their work in ministry. Our project is focused on studying women bishops in the ELCA and their leadership styles, which directly relates to the mission of Leading Pastors and their want to improve the quality of leaders in the church. The aim of our project is to not only provide an analysis of leadership styles, but to also find commonalities between these women s stories of becoming a bishop and provide data for possible future women bishops. This aligns with Leading Pastors mission and values of better preparing and developing effective pastors in the ELCA. Review of Literature Evangelical Lutheran Church in America It was August 3-4, 1987 when the newly elected bishops from the combined churches held their first meeting of the ELCA (Maahs, 2008, p. 380). ELCA stands for Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and was formed over 20 years ago from the merging of three separate church bodies: The American Lutheran Church, The Association

6 Page 6 of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, and The Lutheran Church of America. It is essentially a melting pot of all the ethnic groups that came from Europe: Norwegians, Swedes, Danes, Germans, Finns, and Slovaks (Braaten, 2008, p. 375). It is a national church with ministries including advocacy, education grant- making, and social service (Roy, 1996). The founding documents and structural organization for the ELCA were formed and drafted by the Commission for the New Lutheran Church (CNLC), a group of seventy Lutheran leaders with proportional representation from the three merging churches, (Chavez, 2010, p. 106). The ELCA is the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States, with over 5 million members ( Gay clergy option, 2005, p. 13). Local assemblies of believers take place every Sunday, gathering about Word and Sacrament to worship one God: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Braaten, 2008, p. 376). The ELCA is comprised of three levels of structure: the national church, regional synods, and local congregations. The Presiding Bishop is the leader of this organization, and is elected for a 6- year term. Currently it is the Reverend Mark Hanson, and he is the third one since the initiation of the ELCA (Meet Bishop Hanson, n.d.). Mark Hanson has visions of being a more public church, and wants to emphasize inclusiveness and acceptance within the ELCA (Cooper- White, 2008, p. 372). There are fewer congregations as a whole, and currently there is difficulty finding resources to start new congregations. The ELCA confession of faith states that it accepts the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the inspired Word of God and the authoritative source and norm of its proclamation, faith, and life (Chavez, 2010, p. 105). Traditionally, confessional Lutherans distinguish three uses of the law. The first is the political use, the second is the evangelical use, and the third is the dispute use. In order for the ELCA to properly incorporate the use of laws into their church s mission, objectives, and goals, they work to understand God s two ways of working in the world: one through creation and law; and the other through the church and the gospel. The relationship between creation and law, and church and gospel help give the church direction in which to base ethical decisions (Braaten, 2008, p. 377).

7 Page 7 Women in the Workforce The dynamics of the work force are constantly changing to keep up with modern values and ideas of society. For the first time, four distinct generations of people interact in the workforce, making it a more diverse workforce than ever before (Favero, 2012, p. 333). The four generations in order of oldest to youngest include: traditionalists, baby boomers, generation X, and generation Y or millennials. Due to generational changes over the years, one of the most pressing topics amongst today s companies around the world is the presence of women in the workforce. As the women s movement gained momentum, and the two- income family became an economic necessity for the attainment of middle- class status, approval of married women working outside the home steadily increased from 1972 to 1984, (Simon, 1989, p. 265). Now, with years of great efforts, the issue no longer consists of whether women should be in the workforce or not, but rather whether they are qualified to hold top executive positions. The number of women who hold leadership positions in the workplace is slowly starting to increase. Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook, is one of the biggest advocators of eliminating the gap between the amount of men and women in the workplace. She reveals that women currently make up 50% of the workforce, however they only hold 14% of Fortune 500 executive- officer positions (Sandberg, 2013, p. 44). Although 14% may seem to be a small number, it shows great improvement from 7.2% in 1985 (Kuiper, 1998, p. 249). Sandberg (2013) claims that one of the best ways for women to minimize the leadership gap in the workplace is to balance out responsibilities in the home (p. 44 ). Many others agree with Sandberg s assertion. According to Levitt (2010), A woman who is married, employed, and the parent of young children tends to have the greatest amount of stress in achieving balance among these three roles. Socially constructed and gender- stereotyped expectations about motherhood do not typically include the additional responsibility of professional leadership or career attention, (p. 68). One of the reasons women tend to struggle to become leaders is simply because there are fewer role models that demonstrate how to lead in a style to which they can relate (Women in Leadership Roles, n.d.). This fact supports the idea that women are

8 Page 8 capable leaders but just do not have enough positive influences from others. Comparing typical leadership styles of men and women can also give insight as to why women have struggled competing with men for top positions. Social psychology research shows women tend to have lower expectations than men. Where a man might say: I deserve that leadership position' a woman is more likely to think: Am I good enough?' (Women in Leadership Roles, n.d.). Simply put, men are looked upon to take charge, while women are looked upon to take care (Prime, 2009, p. 25). The way in which boys and girls are typically taught to think and act, and the characteristics they are taught to possess, carry over into the way they work at their jobs. Those who are comfortable speaking up in groups, who need little or no silence before raising their hands, or who speak out easily without waiting to be recognized are far more likely to get heard at a meeting. Those who refrain from talking until it s clear that the previous speaker is finished, who wait to be recognized, and who are inclined to link their comments to those of others will do fine at a meeting where everyone else is following the same rules but will have a hard time getting heard in a meeting with people whose styles are more like the first pattern. Given the socialization typical of boys and girls, men are more likely to have learned the first style and women the second, making meetings more congenial for men than for women, (Kreitner, 2008, p.453). In an article published by the Department of Professional Employees, they state that, The annual growth rate for women in the labor force is expected to be 0.7 percent between 2010 and Even though this is slower than previous projections, it is still faster than the projected annual growth rate of 0.6 percent for men (2013). Another point that the Department of Professional Employees makes about women in the workforce is that The largest concentration of female professionals is among registered nurses and non- college teachers, while the largest concentration of male professionals is in engineering and computer- related occupations (2013).

9 Page 9 Women Bishops Just as women have become successful leaders in the workplace, women have also made efforts to bridge the gender gap of leadership in the church. Since the formation of the ELCA there has been an increase in participation of women in both scholarship and leadership in the church (LaHurd, 2008, p. 385). However, this process has been a long one. In 1919, the Congregational Church in America recognized it s first female minister, yet it wasn t until 1988 at the Lambeth Conference that the decision was made to allow the ordination of women as priests and bishops (Hoehner, 2007, p. 762). Still, in the years leading up to this milestone decision, women s roles and abilities as leaders in the church were often questioned. This exclusion was originally based on the practice of Jesus and the church s long tradition of ordaining only men (Wcela, 2012, p. 17). In 2009, women only made up 13.9% of clergy members in the United States (Middleton, 2009, p. 594). One female pastor had to go through additional education to convince her school s board for her ordination (Bammert, 2010, p. 161). Geralyn Wolf recalls her experiences in the 1970s as being one of the few women willing to commit to a vocation as difficult and completely unequal to the experience of men (Wolf, 1999, p. 271). Since these times, women s roles have continued to grow in importance within the church. At the thirteenth Lambeth Conference in 1998, eleven women were in attendance, marking the first time women were allowed to do so (Wolf, 1999, p. 271). On April 4, 1992 Maria Jepsen of Hamburg, Germany was elected as the first Lutheran bishop worldwide. In that same year, April Ulring Larson of La Crosse, Wisconsin was elected as the first Lutheran bishop in the United States ( ELCA Woman Bishop, 1992, p. 643). As some of the first women to hold this leadership position in the church, Jepsen and Larson paved the way for other women to do the same. After her election, Larson stated that she hoped her election would open the door for other women bishops ( ELCA Woman Bishop, 1992, p. 643). Since then, more women have joined these leaders as bishops, and doors are continuing to open for women bishops around the world. As religious leader Roy Bourgeois states, The demand for gender equality is rooted in justice and dignity and will not go away, (Grundy 2012, p. 14).

10 Page 10 Methodology Research Design The main objective of our research was to interview the six presiding women bishops of the ELCA as well as four retired bishops and analyze the data we collected. In the past, there have not been many women with high leadership roles in the ELCA, and we aimed to discover why this is and how these women became successful as leaders. Our goal was to highlight trends and leadership similarities shared between them. Research Methods Secondary research on the ELCA, women leadership, and women bishops was used in order to acquire a better understanding of the background and history of women leaders in the ELCA. Informational interviews were conducted for background information and logistical material. Pre- interview surveys utilizing qualitative and quantitative questions were sent to the bishops who agreed to participate in our research. 30- minute verbal interviews with the presiding bishops were conducted to understand their past, present, and future experiences and to understand their leadership styles. These surveys and interviews were conducted under the supervision and instruction of Professor Kathi Tunheim and the Director of On Purpose Ministries, May Kay Duchene. Our project was approved by the Gustavus Adolphus College Institutional Review Board - the approval number is # Research Participants The participants of our research included five of the presiding women bishops of the ELCA, as well as two retired women bishops. We ed six of the presiding bishops and four retired bishops asking for their participation, but only five of the presiding bishops and two of the retired bishops agreed to participate in our research. All participants were Caucasian females, ranging in ages 51 to 63. They are located across the United States in

11 Page 11 Alaska, Montana, Minnesota, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The two retired bishops were located in the New England and South Dakota synods. For confidential purposes the names of the bishops will be omitted in our project. Results and Findings Becoming a female bishop in the ELCA is something that very few have ever accomplished. Because women were not ordained in the Lutheran Church until 1970, the number of current and retired female bishops is very limited. Currently, there are seven female bishops throughout the United States. These women have had many successes and failures on their paths to becoming who they are today. Throughout our research we interviewed five current female bishops about their journeys. Each story was unique, yet shared some common themes. The Journey When comparing the stories of these women, we found many similarities. These similarities included the women being told they could not be bishops, feeling specific calls to ministry, and having strong supporting casts. Many of these female bishops grew up with different ideas of their future endeavors. Specifically becoming a bishop was not something they had planned, but several stated that they wanted to be in ministry. However, these women faced many limitations because the Lutheran Church did not ordain women. When one of the female bishops went to ask for advice from a male bishop, she was told that further pursuit of the job was not a good idea. It was clear to her that the he did not like the idea of females holding this position. She proceeded to ask for a second opinion, which was beneficial because of the willingness of that second individual supporter to help her get to where she wanted to go. Another bishop stated that as a child in church, her pastor became uncomfortable when she informed him of her desire to get into ministry. Being told they could not be in ministry because the Lutheran Church did not ordain women was one of the major similarities between these women.

12 Page 12 The bishops all stated that they felt a call from God when they started in ministry. All of these women started with different interest levels of service, and, for many of them, the call to ministry did not come until their college years. One bishop wanted to become a ballerina or a history professor, but when her father had his third heart attack, many questions were raised. She wondered, Why do bad things happen to good people? and this inquiry became something she struggled with. It was not until later when she sat down with the Assistant Campus Chaplain at her college that she began to seek answers to some of these big questions that had developed following her father s heart attack. After meeting with the Chaplain, she formed the Heretics Group, which was a group of friends who would convene and discuss some of life s tougher issues. This group is where she began to feel her call into ministry. Another bishop, who did not grow up in an especially religious family, said she woke up one day with a desire to attend seminary school. Clearly, the call to ministry took these women in many different directions. In addition to the call into ministry, the women emphasized the importance of the call to becoming bishops. The bishops made it clear that there are not specific prerequisites to achieving the rank of bishop. A common remark made by these women was, You cannot want to be a bishop, you have to be called. Becoming a bishop was not something that these women actively pursued. Instead, it was something that they took advantage of when the opportunity presented itself. Some went to divinity schools, and some went to seminary schools. Many of these women held positions in parish ministry, as pastors, as secretaries of synods, and even as volunteers and assistants to other bishops before becoming bishops themselves. Through their stories, it became apparent that there is no clear-cut path to becoming a bishop. Instead, the call to bishop holds the most importance. For example, in a 2000 election, one bishop removed her name from the ballot because she did not feel that she was being called to become bishop at that time. She knew that the only way for her to be successful as a bishop was to be elected when she felt called. One bishop spoke about her leadership gifts and how she believed in finding a position that required her to use her God-given gifts. Because of this, she determined that the call to become a bishop opened a path that allowed her to use her gifts. While all felt the call to ministry at different times in their journeys, the specific feeling of being called into ministry and to becoming a bishop relates their stories.

13 Page 13 Supporting Cast Another common theme shared by these women was the great deal of support given to them, especially from their husbands. In fact, one bishop stated that the only support she received was from her husband. Another spoke of how she was extremely hesitant about going through with the election process because of all the indecisiveness and anxiety that she felt in the first month. Her husband was the one who continued to encourage her call. Support was critical to these women s elections as bishops because some others in the church were having a hard time picturing women in that role. This could be due to the fact that it had never been done before. A lot of people today strive for things they know are unlikely to happen, but through support, anything is possible. In this case, the support from these bishops husbands gave them the courage and motivation to achieve their rank. Mentors Another area discussed by the current female Bishops was the topic of mentors. All mentioned that they had mentors and individuals who they looked up to along their journey. However, at times it was difficult to find a female mentor due to a lack of women in higherranking positions, particularly in ministry. Therefore, they started to look for mentors elsewhere. One bishop decided to look for any woman who could find success in any hostile environment. Another bishop explained it was hard to find the right kind of mentor because she was trying to get into a field in which females were not yet a part. All of these women struggled trying to find the right mentor and had an even harder time finding the right female mentor. Once they were elected as bishop, however, they were exposed to other bishops who had already been in office. For some, these became available mentors. One bishop talked about the relief of having someone available for advice and guidance, especially in the early years. With situations and issues that she did not always know how to handle, having someone to call who had been through similar circumstances was a comforting feeling. Although these women may have been deprived of female mentors while on their journey, it is clear that they are actively pursuing others to mentor.

14 Page 14 These women stressed that they truly want to serve and help provide more people with the tools they need in order to be successful. Myers-Briggs Test Results Analysis When comparing the personality and leadership styles of these women, there were many similar traits that we found. This was made evident through the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality test that all the women bishops have taken. The purpose of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality assessment is to make the theory of psychological types described by C. G. Jung understandable and useful in people s lives. The four-letter MBTI type formula is a shorthand way of telling you about the interaction of your four mental functions and which ones you prefer to use. The results for the seven women Bishops that we interviewed were: ENTJ, ENTJ, ENTJ, ENFP, ENTP, INFJ, and INTJ. The first letter indicates whether you are a preferred extravert or introvert, which explains the attitude people use to direct their energy. Extroverts typically get their energy from the outer world of people and things, while introverts are motivated by the inner world of ideas and images. Five out of the seven women bishops outcomes were extraverts, and the two remaining were introverts. The second pair of psychological preferences indicates which type of information you prefer to focus on, senses or intuition. The letter S indicates that one pays more attention to information that comes in through the fives senses, whereas the letter N concludes that one pays more attention to the patterns and possibilities that you see in information. In this second pair of psychological preference all seven female bishops received intuition as their uniform outcome. This shows that when it comes to analyzing information, they all pay the most attention to impressions, meaning, and patterns. They would rather learn by thinking than by a hands-on experience. They are highly interested in new things and what might be possible, so they tend think more about the future than the past. They also like to work with symbols and abstract theories to have a better understanding and add their own meaning. The third pair of psychological preferences describes how you like to make decisions. People that receive the letter T for thinking like to put more weight on objective principles and impersonal facts, and people that receive the letter F for feeling tend to put more weight on

15 Page 15 personal concerns and the people involved. Five out of the seven women bishops results revealed that they prefer to use thinking, while the remaining two are more likely to use feeling. In the end, the women bishops make their decision using their primary preference, whether that is thinking of feeling, then they test the decision by using the other preference to see what might not have been taken into account. The last letter in a persons MBTI results refers to the fourth kind of psychological preference, which describes how one likes to live his or her outer life and what behaviors others tend to see. Those who receive the letter J for judging prefer a more structured and predetermined lifestyle, while those who receive P for perceiving like a more flexible and adaptable lifestyle. In this pairing, five out of the seven female bishops fell into the judging lifestyle, and the two remaining preferred perceiving. Overall, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator provides individuals with a distinctive personality type that results from one of sixteen different combinations among the possible preferences. Out of the sixteen personality types three women bishops had identical personality results. Also, all of them had N (intuition) as one their preferences. Five out of the seven women Bishops had E (extraversion), T (thinking), and J (judging) as their common preference choice. Challenges They Faced It was essential that these women were aware of their leadership styles in order help them understand how they individually dealt with the various roadblocks that they encountered while trying to become bishop. Their unique MBTI results shed light on how they coped with the hardships of being women in ministry during such a difficult time. In the ELCA women make up only 10% of the elected bishops. One of the women bishops defined it as, We have a stained glass ceiling in the church that is as real as the regular glass ceiling in corporate life. When discussing the small population of women bishops in the ELCA, many of these women believe that the cultural norm of seeing a man in front of a congregation has stunted the growth of potential female bishops. Another bishop said, As a church, we are still not accustomed to picturing women in the role of bishop. Gender still has a powerful influence when it comes to

16 Page 16 electing women bishops within the church. Sexism is something that these women feel is holding them back, and it is something that they face often in religious settings. In our interviews, we also discussed the challenges that each woman faces as bishop. This was the topic in which the bishops shared the most commonalities. One major challenge was that they had too much to do and too little time. Being a bishop requires a lot of responsibility and being able to prioritize tasks is of high importance. However, this is not an easy job. Since there is only so much time in the day, not everything gets done. One bishop talked specifically about when she realized that she alone couldn t get everything done, she had to make the decision to delegate responsibilities to members of the congregation. She explained that this decision really strengthened relationships in the church. Now, many more people have a role in making the church function and flow smoothly. A second challenge that the bishops face is the struggle to be taken seriously and with respect. One explained that when a male bishop walks into a congregation, he is given respect. With a female bishop, she must earn that respect. The women spoke about how they were eventually given the respect they deserved and earned, but they still felt the need to be twice as competent as any male in order to be seen as equal. One bishop referenced a time when a woman in her congregation told her that she should wear her collar more often to better blend in with the male bishops. She, in turn, began wearing her collar in order to gain that respect and to be taken seriously. Many of the bishops, in their first few years in office, confessed they felt unconfident handling issues within the church. These women had to work hard with the responsibility of constantly managing unexpected and difficult situations in order to earn respect. Personality tests are also important to the success and future of these bishops because it allows them to further understand their strengths and weaknesses. It allows them to comprehend who they are, what they do well, and what areas they need to improve. Having this understanding is extremely important when trying to put together a successful team within an organization. As one of the bishops said, I was so overwhelmed with everything that some things went out of my control. So I set up teams because I couldn t possibly handle all of the responsibilities on my own, and concentrate on other things. To tell you the truth, as I look back on the teams that I set up, because I couldn t handle everything myself, it turned out to be the best blessing for the

17 Page 17 whole synod because it strengthened the whole network. It wasn t dependent on me alone. This quote shows how important teamwork is within a congregation. A single bishop may not always be able to complete all the necessary tasks, so putting together a strong, complementary, and cohesive team is extremely important. We found the church s policy of electing synodical bishops to be another limiting factor of women bishops. This leads back to male authoritarian institutions that are not as proactive in the uplifting service for opportunities, and for nominating women who feel that they are being called to be a bishop. Concealing the male perception and community of the church suggests that women are not qualified enough to be bishops. Even though some women have gained seniority and expertise in the same areas as their male counterpart, they are still less likely to be elected bishop. In order to be nominated for bishop, one has to show that he or she has managed a large staff, a large budget, conflict resolution, strategic planning and public engagement necessary for the position. Some bishops stated that at times, women have to work twice as hard in order to be perceived as equal to their male peers. Additional Leadership and Personality Traits Other qualities that many bishops think are vital include: honesty, ambitiousness, patience, compassion, support, and authenticity. Being a bishop is not an easy task, and one of the toughest challenges these women faced was the extensive amount of responsibility that came along with the title. No one can truly be prepared or be experienced enough for the amount of work and the responsibility that is required in order to hold the position of bishop. Each that is elected must have a great deal of knowledge about how specific things work inside and outside the church. These bishops must be extremely adamant about going around to all the different congregations and meeting people so they can get a feeling for where that church is, where they are going in the future, and what kind of support they need. By knowing that they are influential in their synod, that their voices are heard, and that they have a major impact on people s lives, these bishops need to always be ready to handle anything that comes their way.

18 Page 18 In addition to the insight we received about the bishops leadership styles and qualities, we found that becoming a bishop is not something one strives for as a long-term goal. To become a bishop, one must be called by the people or by God. One of the women said, Some of the women I have known who were striving to be bishops would not have made very good ones. Despite sexism and patriarchal systems, I believe that the Holy Spirit still calls us, through the church, into this office. Another critical point made was that a woman bishop has to be a great public speaker. An important aspect of a candidate s success in the ecclesiastical ballot is his or her ability to speak publically. As a woman bishop, one must be able to speak extemporaneously and make decisions quickly and think on their feet. In summary, interviewing these current and retired bishops offered some insight into their success. These women come from different backgrounds and have different stories. One major thing that these women share is a belief that this is what they were called to do, and it is what God has put them on earth to do. All these bishops shared a significant struggle with finding female mentors to look up to while they were growing up because finding a female with a position of authority inside a church was extremely rare and almost non-existent. These women all shared the challenge of not being taken seriously and having to work extremely diligently in order to earn the respect of others within congregations. The Sunday morning services and guidance that these female bishops offer are both things that bring the utmost joy into their lives. Becoming a female bishop is something that is both extremely challenging but also very rewarding. There are no two bishops that are exactly alike, but one thing they share is their love for God. Recommendations For Practice In order to continue growing the amount of women elected bishops, a few recommendations can be made. Any woman who feels becoming bishop is her calling should get involved in more visible positions within the church. If a future bishop is

19 Page 19 unnoticeable, she may be passed up for new projects or promotions, creating an obstacle that may hinder any advancement. In order to increase visibility, increased involvement in committees and networking is recommended. By involvement in committees, a potential bishop will gain a better understanding of how things work within the higher levels of the ELCA. In addition to the increased visibility, she could gain further insight on whether or not it is her calling to become a bishop. Through networking, the bishop may also increase her chances of meeting those who can help make her calling a reality. While it is important to increase the percentage of women bishops, it is also important to ensure the success of an already elected bishop. Therefore, recommendations for a successful bishop can also be made. Bishops need to be prepared for the amount of work expected in the job. Many bishops commented on the difficulty in keeping up with the workload, and an unprepared and unsuspecting bishop may fail if they have not been informed. Therefore, background information along with statistics about the job may prove to be beneficial to help make future bishops successful. However, information about the difficulty of the job may not be sufficient. Therefore, many bishops recommended forming teams to help delegate the tasks. Through teams, bishops are able to redirect some responsibility to focus their full attention on the major issues and accomplish more throughout the day. For Future Research Through the course of the research, points of additional future research were identified that could further augment the study. Recommendation #1: Increase the Sample Size The results found in this project came from seven surveys and five verbal interviews. While similarities were found between these women, the small sample size made it impossible to generalize the findings to a larger population. In order to increase the sample size, it may be beneficial to interview other women who hold high positions in the

20 Page 20 church. Through reaching out to other women, we could increase the amount of data collected and provide more comprehensive results. Recommendation #2: Diversify the Population Due to the specificity of the research project, only women bishops within the ELCA were interviewed. These women ranged in age from 51 to 63. For future research, it may be advantageous to interview successful women from other denominations as well. With cross- denominational research, different perspectives could be analyzed to develop more in- depth and accurate conclusions. Recommendation #3: Interdisciplinary Research It would be interesting to conduct further research comparing women bishops and successful women in other fields. For example, the research could focus on similarities or differences of the women s ascent to their positions, perceived valuable leadership characteristics, and challenges faced throughout their careers. By analyzing the results, the research could provide a better understanding of successful women in general. Recommendation #4: Include Male Bishops A major focus of the study was to determine the role gender played in the women bishop s careers. In order to better understand this function, it would be valuable to also analyze the male bishops experiences within the ELCA. By comparing the different genders rockets and roadblocks, trends could be analyzed to better understand the different career paths taken by men and women within the church. Limitations Although the research was carefully prepared, there were some inevitable limitations. First, due to the specificity of the subject, data was collected from a very small

21 Page 21 population. As there were only five current women bishops interviewed and two retired women bishops surveyed, data collection was minimal. With a much larger population, more accurate generalizations could be made. Second, the population consisted only of women aged 51 to 63 within the ELCA, which may have biased some findings. With a more diverse population, different perspectives could be analyzed to more effectively draw conclusions. Finally, interviews were kept as close to 30 minutes as possible. This time constraint may have limited our research as more information could have been acquired within a longer time period. For future research, more substantial and in- depth interviews could be conducted to develop more comprehensive results. Conclusion Our team s purpose was to gather qualitative data and information on the leadership styles of the presiding women bishops of the ELCA. We first compiled a literature review in order to better understand the workings of the ELCA, women in leadership, and women bishops. After conducting interviews with five current and two retired bishops, we looked for commonalities among their responses. We analyzed their leadership styles and shed some light on how they achieved their status of bishop. All of these women agreed that strong faith, intuition, adaptability, and public speaking skills were essential to being successful in their positions. One major challenge addressed by the bishops was the lack of given respect; unlike men, they felt that - as women - they needed to earn respect. The women agreed, however, that they found great joy in leading, making connections, and communicating with others on a day- to- day basis. It was unanimous that there was no specific path to becoming a bishop; these women paved their own way and leaned on mentors in their lives for support. After finishing an analysis of our findings, we addressed several limitations and offered recommendations for future practice as well as future research.

22 Page 22 References Bammert, G. M. (2010). NARRATING THE CHURCH. Journal Of Feminist Studies In Religion (Indiana University Press), 26(2), Braaten, C. E. (2008). The ELCA at 20 Years: Flunking the Theological Test. Dialog: A Journal Of Theology, 47(4), doi: /j x Chavez, M. C. (2010). God, Christ, and Biblical Authority in the ELCA Today. Concordia Theological Quarterly, 74(1), Cooper- White, M. L. (2008). The ELCA at Twenty: A Young Church that Works. Dialog: A Journal Of Theology, 47(4), doi: /j x ELCA woman bishop. (1992). Christian Century, 109(21), 643. Favero, L., & Heath, R. (2012). Generational Perspectives in the Workplace: Interpreting the Discourses That Constitute Women s Struggle to Balance Workand Life. Journal Of Business Communication, 49(4), doi: / Gay clergy option barked by ELCA council, professors. (2005). Christian Century, 122(9), 13. Grundy, T. (2012). Church faces backlash by rejecting women bishops. Christian Century, 129(26), 14. Hoehner, H. W. (2007). Can a woman be a pastor- teacher?. Journal Of The Evangelical Theological Society, 50(4),

23 Page 23 Kreitner, R. Kinicki, A. (2008). Improving Communication Between the Sexes. Organizational Behavior (4 th Edition). McGraw- Hill/Irwin Kuiper, S., Booth, R., & Bodkin, C. D. (1998). The Visual Portrayal of Women in IBM's Think: A Longitudinal Analysis. Journal Of Business Communication, 35(2), LaHurd, C. (2008). Bowling Alone but Working and Worshiping Together. Dialog: A Journal Of Theology, 47(4), doi: /j x Levitt, D. (2010). Women and Leadership: A Developmental Paradox? Adultspan Journal, 9(2), Maahs, C. H. (2008). The First Twenty Years of the ELCA: Remembrances of a Retired Bishop. Dialog: A Journal Of Theology, 47(4), doi: /j x Middleton, R., & Hinton, V. (2009). A preliminary investigation of the vocal behaviors and characteristics of female pastors. Journal Of Voice, 23(5), doi: /j.jvoice (n.d.) Meet Bishop Hanson. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Retrieved April 17, From We- Are/Our- Three Expressions/ Churchwide- Organization/Office- of- the- Presiding- Bishop/MeetBishop- Hanson.aspx. (n.d.) Women in Leadership Roles. Shirlaws Love Business. Retrieved April 17, From women- in- leadership- roles.

24 Page 24 Prime, J. L., Carter, N. M., & Welbourne, T. M. (2009). Women 'take care,' men 'take charge': Managers' stereotypic perceptions of women and men leaders. The Psychologist-Manager Journal, 12(1), doi: / ROY, R., CHAIR, & EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH OF, A. (n.d) WELFARE OVERHAUL. FDCH Congressional Testimony. Sandberg, S. (2013). Why I Want Women to Lean In. Time, 181(10), 44. Simon, R. J., & Landis, J. M. (1989). WOMEN'S AND MEN'S ATTITUDES ABOUT A WOMAN'S PLACE AND ROLE. Public Opinion Quarterly, 53(2), WCELA, E. A. (2012). Why Not Women?: A bishop makes a case for expanding the diaconate. America, 207(8), Wolf, G. (1999). Across the threshold. Anglican Theological Review, 81(2), 271. Appendix Appendix A. Current Bishops Introductory Hello, We are a group of six students from Gustavus Adolphus College taking a class called Organizational Behavior. We are currently working on a group project, in which we are

25 Page 25 working under the supervision of our professor, Kathi Tunheim, and our supervisor, Mary Kay DuChene, who is the director of On Purpose Ministries. Because little research has been done on the topic, our project is to research on the leadership journeys of women bishops. Our hope is to interview women who have achieved the rank of bishop in the ELCA, understand your stories, and analyze each of your leadership styles. One of our goals is to try to determine why there are so few women bishops and how the women who are bishops got there. We want to see if there are certain personality traits or common trends of leadership styles between the women bishops. If you would be willing to participate in our project, please let us know at your earliest convenience. All we are asking of you is that you answer a few questions of ours via as well as participate in a 30- minute interview with us (this can be done through Skype, phone, or in person- whichever is easiest for you.) We would send you the interview questions ahead of time so you can prepare. All of the information you share with us will be used anonymously. Also, we will send you a copy of our final project once finished. Please us at obgroup2013@gac.edu by Friday, April 26 to let us know if you are, or are not, willing to participate in our project. We would like to conduct the interviews the following week, because our final project is due on May 17. Thank you in advance for your help! Sincerely, Anthony Boyce Britta Rinke Brittany Rogness Julia Dysthe Sadam Yusuf Rachelle Blaschko

26 Page 26 Pre-Interview Questions: 1. What year were you born? 2. What age were you when you became a bishop? 3. We want to know about your personality and leadership style. Have you taken any of these (or other) personality tests? If so, please indicate which one(s) and the results. Myers- Briggs Type Indicator, Thomas- Killmann Conflict Resolution Model, Strengths Finder, DiSC Behavioral Profile, Life Gifts Inventory, Multiple Intelligences Inventory 4. How would you characterize your personality and leadership style? 5. What qualities do you think are necessary to becoming a bishop? 6. Why do you think there are so few women bishops in the ELCA? 7. Anything else you d like to share? Interview Questions: 1. Tell us your story. How did you come into ministry and then become a bishop? What was this process like? Did you feel that it was your calling? 2. Did you have any mentors? What were those experiences like? Do you mentor others? Tell us about those relationships. 3. What are some of the biggest challenges you face as a bishop and how do you overcome them? Can you tell us about a time you failed and what you learned from it? 4. What do you like most about being a bishop? 5. What do you think are the most important leadership characteristics as a woman bishop and why? 6. What advice would you give to other women striving to be bishops? 7. Anything else you d like to share?

27 Page 27 Appendix B. Retired Bishops Introductory Hello, We are a group of six students from Gustavus Adolphus College taking a class called Organizational Behavior. We are currently working on a group project, in which we are working under the supervision of our professor, Kathi Tunheim, and our supervisor, Mary Kay DuChene, who is the director of On Purpose Ministries. Because little research has been done on the topic, our project is to do research on leading women bishops. Our hope is to interview women who have achieved the rank of bishop in the ELCA, understand your stories, and analyze each of your leadership styles. One of our goals is to try to determine why there are so few women bishops and how the women who are bishops got there. We want to see if there are certain personality traits or common trends of leadership styles between the women bishops. If you would be willing to participate in our project, please let us know at your earliest convenience. All we are asking of you is that you answer a few questions interview questions that we would send you via . You could either respond through an or a handwritten letter- whichever you prefer! All of the information you share with us would be used anonymously. Also, we will send you a copy of our final project once finished. Please us at obgroup2013@gac.edu by Friday, April 26 to let us know if you are, or are not, willing to participate in our project. We would like to conduct the interviews the following week, because our final project is due on May 17. Thank you in advance for your help! Sincerely, Anthony Boyce

28 Page 28 Britta Rinke Brittany Rogness Julia Dysthe Sadam Yusuf Rachelle Blaschko Pre-Interview Questions: 1. What year were you born? 2. What age were you when you became a bishop? 3. We want to know about your personality and leadership style. Have you taken any of these (or other) personality tests? If so, please indicate which one(s) and the results. Myers- Briggs Type Indicator, Thomas- Killmann Conflict Resolution Model, Strengths Finder, DiSC Behavioral Profile, Life Gifts Inventory, Multiple Intelligences Inventory 4. How would you characterize your personality and leadership style? 5. What qualities do you think are necessary to becoming a bishop? 6. Why do you think there are so few women bishops in the ELCA? 7. What advice would you give to other women striving to be bishops? 8. Anything else you d like to share?