The Greatest Characteristic

The characteristics of leaders the topic of the day when answering one more question from the 20 questions for leaders that Michael Smith of ClearView Baptist Church in Franklin, Tennessee asked Mike Hyatt. What is one characteristic that you believe every leader should possess?

Humility. The leader who is too proud to bow his knees and cry out to God is not fit to lead. The leader who does not see those he leads as being more important than himself is not fit to lead. If anyone had reason to boast, Paul did. He had seen heaven, but the Lord gave him a thorn in the flesh. Without it, Paul wouldn't have been fit for much.

The thing that destroys most leaders is pride and it is one of the hardest things for a leader to fight. One can watch people take action at his command and it is easy to imagine that he is somehow more special than those he leads. Then the day comes when he leads them in a way he shouldn't lead. Maybe they follow. Maybe they don't, but his little empire comes crashing down and he realizes too late that his isn't anything special after all. But the humble leader doesn't have that problem. He realizes he is weak and surrounds himself with people who are better than he is, because the group is more important than the individual.

Comments

benning said…
All of which means we have nary a true Leader in Washington. Sad commentary on our political fortunes, today.
August 17, 2009 at 10:14 AM
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