For me, part of the burden, the excitement and the challenge of trying to exercise leadership in the Church, is trying to feel the rhythm or the heartbeat of the body of Christ, so that leadership that matters or is effective in the Church, has to be listening (italics mine) … Listening is actually inevitable and built into the structure of Christian leadership… You must listen to what is actually going on so that when things change or things move, it is the Body, not a group that is coerced or manipulated into following an agenda. So, if it is about following the direction of the Son of God, exercised in listening for what I’ve called the heartbeat of the body of Christ, it is fairly risky because it’s bound to have a rather long vision.
Rowan Williams 2005 Foundation for Church Leadership Conference: