Let’s stay on the leadership theme for another day here; it’s an area so relevant to us all, and there’s an additional insight I believe wise to discuss.
I keep toying with what makes a good leader… yes, from the presidency to the pulpit to our places of business… from our homes to our sports teams to all heads of state; this affects each of us.
And I keep coming back to one, profound line:
“So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them with his skillful hands.”
(Hence, fully in touch with my inner nerd — as I love word studies!) Allow me to first define a few key words…
shepherd (v.) – to feed a flock, to tend to
integrity (n.) – moral uprightness, wholeness, without any evil purpose
heart (n.) – the inner most part, mind, will, soul, understanding
guide (v.) – to lead forth, to show or indicate the way
skillful (adj.) – intelligent, understanding, insightful
When I read that brief but excellent description, I sense that’s what’s scarce in current culture. Instead of men and women focused on carving out the character it takes to emulate each of the above, we instead have persons in authority or seeking authority who value the cameras, microphones, and social media more; they seem so enamored with all sorts of selfies and hearing themselves speak. In other words, too many leaders are “me-oriented” — forgetting that it’s not about who is right, but what is right.
What strikes me, no less, about the above, bold description, is who the “he” is — who the comment was actually said about. It comes from the historical scriptures, in reference to David.
According to all accounts, David was a clear leader. When he led; people followed. When he spoke, people listened. He was powerful and effective.
But what strikes me as profound — and what’s relevant here regardless of being a regular reader of scripture — is that David was quite the flawed individual. He screwed up… he had an affair… he arranged a murder… he covered it up. He was a bit of a mess at times in my book.
Yet — and this is a big “yet” — his flaws did not disqualify him from leading. Let me say that again: his flaws did not disqualify him from leading. In fact, they may have actually made him more effective.
There is no perfect person; there is no person who has never screwed up.
And so all this image casting that we see on a daily basis — be it in press conferences, primaries, or any sort of Snapchat — reflecting an image of always, unprecedented wisdom and ability — is inauthentic. Why? Because it omits our flaws.
The difference with David is that his flaws were not omitted. And by admitting his own foolish mistakes — seeking then both the necessary forgiveness and repentance — David again led well… not attempting to be something he was not… not solely casting himself in the best light… but relating to others via his humility and weakness. That is a humble, effective leader. There was no trace of a boast.
The problem with so many seeking leadership today is that they fail to recognize that the admission of weakness and inability shows us that you actually are “one of us.” We don’t want our candidates/coaches/QB’s/etc. to be perfect; we want them to be real. I will follow the one that’s real.
I will follow the one who gently and insightfully tends to his or her people without any unethical purpose…
I will follow the one who leads according to the integrity of his heart.
Respectfully…
AR