Teach & Serve II, No. 34 – Leadering: Humbling Oneself
March 29, 2017
No one deserves leadership. It is not some God-given right. Leadership is a privilege. It is a responsibility. It is to be entered into humbly or not at all.
Over the course of the next few weeks, Teach & Serve will be discussing “leadering” activities. In essence, these are the critical steps, as I see them, that individuals take as they become leaders. These are the universal gates through which they pass. These are their shared signposts they come across.
These are the things leaders do as they go about “leadering?”
- Knowing Oneself
- Identifying Weaknesses before Celebrating Strengths
- Honing Communication Skills
- Exercising Authority Appropriately
- Achieving Balance and Blend
- Humbling Oneself
- Letting Go
The entire world argues against this one. The trappings. The offices. The desks. The stipends and releases from other responsibilities. The desire to be called “boss.” The feeling one gets when told: “Yes, it’s you. YOU are the woman. YOU are the man. YOU are the leader.”
YOU.
The perks of leadership are as enticing as they are numerous. Being in charge. Being in the know. Being top dog. When we are surrounded by these kinds of things, it can be very difficult to remain humble.
Look, society assumes (this has actually been proven in studies) that the quarterback of a football team is the most beautiful player on the team. The most handsome. Beyond everything else the leader of the football receives, he also is the best looking? Are you kidding me? But we believe this. On some level (at least the football level) we believe that are leaders are not only deserving of trappings, they are better looking than we are, too!
Therefore, in the leadering that leads up to actual leadership, potential leaders must engage in things at which they are not accomplished. They must try this at which they will fail. They must find those areas of their lives in which they are interested and need to grow. Leadering in this area means striving. It means reaching. It means missing the mark and refocusing. It means being told you are not good enough and you have to improve.
No one deserves leadership. It is not some God-given right. Leadership is a privilege. It is a responsibility. It is to be entered into humbly or not at all.
I learned this in many, many hard ways. I learned to grow into the role. I developed an awareness that humility was one of the key traits of effective leadership.
It took time.
One cannot fake humbleness. Those we lead see through false humility like looking through a window pane.
When leadering, those who wish to come into these sorts of roles should identify a mentor, someone who knows more, who has a deeper connection to humility and who can challenge. The best mentors show us who they are rather than tell us. They compel us to be better as we watch them and learn from their examples. When we apprentice at the feet of powerful mentors, we learn, very quickly, that the best mentors did not strive to become mentors at all.
They just tried to lead well.
Without exception, the best and most inspiring leaders find strength in their own humility. They humble themselves to the role.
Our leadering activities must teach us to do so as well.
The genuinely humble leader is a leader more readily followed.