Leadership Pitfalls

Pride

Pride is the most dangerous pitfall to leadership. It causes a person think more highly of themselves than they should. It manifests itself by presuming success without the help of others. A prideful leader believes the success of the organization is because of who they are and their qualities. We see this in the Book of Daniel with king Nebuchadnezzar.

29 Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”

31 Even as the words were on his lips, a voice came from heaven, “This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. 32 You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes.” Dan. 4:29-32

The success of King Nebuchadnezzar kingdom was something that God brought about. The king took credit for the success. God took away his royal authority and caused him to be a madman.

Pride also manifests itself with an unteachable spirit. A prideful leader is a “know it all” and does not consider wise counsel. King Ahab is the perfect example of this. Because he was a strong military leader, he believed he could conquer the Arameans by his brilliant military strategy. When cautioned by the prophet Micaiah not to engage in battle, he proceeded. He perished in the battle.

30 Now the king of Aram had ordered his chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.” 31 When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought, “This is the king of Israel.” So they turned to attack him, but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him. God drew them away from him, 32 for when the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, they stopped pursuing him.

33 But someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the breastplate and the scale armor. The king told the chariot driver, “Wheel around and get me out of the fighting. I’ve been wounded.” 34 All day long the battle raged, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Arameans until evening. Then at sunset he died. 2 Chron. 18:30-34

This was a case where being a “know it all “ cost hum his life.

Pride manifests itself in lack of compassion. When a leader stops caring for the people he leads it demonstrates a prideful heart.

The apostle Paul, on the other hand, demonstrated the compassion leaders must have for their people. In writing to the troubled church at Corinth, he stated: “There is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern?” (2 Cor. 11:28–29). True leaders never lose sight of their responsibility to care for their followers.

Henry Blackaby and Richard Blackaby, Spiritual Leadership: Moving People on to God’s Agenda (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2001), 237.

Sexual Sin

Sexual sin is the downfall of many leaders. You see this in both spiritual and secular leadership positions. Pornography, adultery, and homosexuality are downfalls for many leaders. Leaders must put safeguards in place to protect them from this pitfall. 5 safeguards all leaders should have.

Make themselves accountable to someone else.

Take their own advice.

Consider the consequences

Develop healthy habits. (Billy Graham)

Pray and ask others to pray for them

Cynicism

Always focusing on the negative rather than shedding light on the good things the organization is doing leads to Cynicism. It cultivates a negative environment. A negative environment leads to people questioning the success of the organization.

Spiritual Leadership: Moving People on to God’s Agenda Cynicism

A cynical spirit reflects a lack of belief in God and his ability to do what he says he will do. It is crucial that leaders guard their attitudes. Christian leaders have every reason in the world to be positive and optimistic for the future. They serve the King of kings.

Greed

When a leader becomes more concerned on how they can benefit rather than how can they benefit others they exhibit greed. A good leader should always find ways to put people in positions to succeed and reward them for their success.

GREED FOR MONEY CAN MAKE A LEADER BEHAVE UNETHICALLY.

Mental Laziness

A good leader must always be learning. They must not become complacent in their acquisition of knowledge.

Spiritual Leadership: Moving People on to God’s Agenda Mental Laziness

Moody’s biographer, John Pollock, notes, “At the moment of reaching a height of influence in the United States he stood in danger of spiritual insolvency.” Moody realized he had told people everything he knew and that he had nothing new to say. Moody confessed: “My lack of education has always been a great disadvantage to me. I shall suffer from it as long as I live.”12 Moody moved to Northfield and refused to accept major speaking engagements until he felt he had studied enough to have fresh, new insights from God’s Word to share with people. He set a rigid schedule that included six hours of study every morning. Even after he began traveling once again, Moody carried a small library with him. He was determined that despite the press of people and responsibilities upon his time, he could not afford to stop learning and still be effective as a spiritual leader.

Over sensitivity

Criticism is a part of leadership. You cannot wear your feelings on your sleeve and be a good leader. You must receive good criticism and make adjustments and disregard negative criticism.

Spiritual Lethargy

Business tends to make leaders spiritually lethargic. This is because the demands on them forces them to place time with the Lord on a lower plane than getting things done. Daily discipline of time with the Lord is a must in order to maintain spiritual fervor.

Domestic Neglect

When a leader achieves success at the expense of his leadership in the family, it is a downfall. They may have been a success in the organization but a failure in what matters most.

Administrative Carelessness

This is a case where they take on too much and fail to delegate. If a leader has to stay on the phone while on vacation, they have not delegated well. A good leader focuses on what is important and does those things well.

Prolonged Position Holding

This is a case of staying too long for selfish reasons rather than stepping away and allowing someone else to assume your position to better advance the organization.