How leadership wisdom and humility weave together
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In today's marketplace, humble leadership is clichéd and overdone. At first it was a novel concept, then as it became secularized and its biblical origins ignored, many leaders simply started acting humble because it got results.
False humility is a pet peeve of mine. But I'm not so innocent myself. I've pretended to be humble while on the inside secretly enjoyed the attention. I'm sure you've done this at least once.
True humility is not easy to understand or practice. The humbling blocks are many. But there's a very convincing point that motivates me to try:
Humbling yourself is easier to take than someone else doing it for you.
Boy, I've learned this one the hard way! When I've passed up an opportunity to keep my ego in check, the Lord has brought someone else along to save me from myself. Other times I'll make a mistake, misspeak, or in some way misstep so that I'm exposed and embarrassed.
The shame comes because I hope people view me as humble, and when they find out otherwise, I feel like a hypocrite and that I've brought disgrace to the faith and the Lord himself.
My best leadership development happens when God allows me to be humbled.
So the antidote becomes making sure I stay in my place:
Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought.
—Rom 12:3There is no one righteous, not even one.
—Rom. 9:10Whoever humbles himself like this child is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
—Mt 18:4
Once we accept and process humility in our lives and in our leadership, I believe we're ready for the next step in our journey.
Walking through humility to wisdom
Humility and wisdom are two complementary forces that shape us and qualify us to lead. The Bible teaches that humility is wise, and the wise are humble.
If your position requires you to lead in a visible way, you can't help but be in front of people. How is this humble, you might ask? One answer is to emulate how Jesus entered the limelight but wisely kept walking through it toward a greater vision.
In our daily leadership, wisdom walks the fine line between pride and humility, dampening the former and strengthening the latter. The true servant leader employs wisdom to great effect, while keeping God's vision for his or her life in full view.
Excerpted from Servant Leader Strong: Uniting Biblical Wisdom and High-Performance Leadership, by Tom Harper (DeepWater Books, 2019).
 | Tom Harper is publisher of BiblicalLeadership.com and executive chairman of Networld Media Group, a business-to-business publisher and event producer. He has written five books, including Servant Leader Strong: Uniting Biblical Wisdom and High-Performance Leadership (DeepWater Books, 2019) as well as the Christian business fable Through Colored Glasses and its sequel Inner Threat (DeepWater, 2022). Learn More » |
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