“It sounds as if you’re more like the Queen of England.”

A coach for pastors told me about this phrase and phenomenon. With all due respect to the departed Queen, God rest her soul, the “Queen of England” moniker is when leaders are asked to play performative roles, but not expected or wanted to lead the institution or organization. We have others terms for this—“figurehead,” “mouthpiece,” and “leader in name only.”

I chose the picture above because it shows the singular swan, swimming amongst others…Canada geese. As I watched these birds that day, I remember watching how no one was paying particular attention to the swan. The geese swam around in their group, and kept to themselves. Over time, the geese swam off into an entirely different body of water, and the swan was left alone.

I found it interesting to later learn that mute swans were brought over from other parts of the world to decorate estates, ponds and lakes. Consider these words:

All of the Mute Swans in North America descended from swans imported from Europe from the mid 1800s through early 1900s to adorn large estates, city parks, and zoos. Escapees established breeding populations and are now established in the Northeast, Midatlantic, Great Lakes, and Pacific Northwest of the U.S. (https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mute_Swan/overview#)

Swans in North America were decoration. Much like some leaders may be decoration for an organization or institution, mute swans find themselves now in natural settings, but are not native to that land. You have to wonder if some of the native birds in our rivers and lakes keep their distance from these “decorative” neighbors, instinctively knowing, “You’re not from around here, are you?”

I found it interesting that the AllAboutBirds website referred to these mute swans as “escapees.” When the mute swans “escaped” from their estates, parks, and zoos, they established themselves in other environments. I wonder how many leaders wish to escape their present environments, tired of “adorning” their organization?

I recently watched a “State of Pastors Summit” put on by Barna Research. As of September 2023, 33% of pastors surveyed were considering quitting ministry, and 60% were doubting their sense of calling. 75% of C-Suite Executives, managers, and employees in July 2023 were considering quitting their current role for a role that focused more on their well-being, according to a survey of 3,150 people by Deloitte. Admittedly, these statistics may not be solely tied to leaders feeling like “decoration,” but we are seeing a great time of reflection and reassessment among leaders in the faith-based space and corporate world. Underneath these statistics may be a prevailing sense of wanting to be cared for and valued.

In my last post, I spoke of Jesus teaching us to “consider the birds of the air.” This is what I’m learning by watching the swan. Jesus would go on to say that we are to see how God provides for the birds, so we can rest in the knowledge that we will be cared for as well—for we are of much more value in God’s sight.