How Pride & Fear Affect Organizational Leaders

Pride and Fear prevent us from becoming godly organizational leaders. When our pride and ego get in the way we begin to seek credit for our accomplishments to promote our way to the top of the organization. Our pride makes us defensive rather than admitting mistakes. We become “controllers” of others rather than supporting them in accomplishing the mission. Fear causes us to avoid conflict rather than seeking the truth and standing on it. We become consumed with our own shortcomings and are hard on ourselves. We end up spending a great deal of time protecting ourselves and our reputations.

Fear-driven leaders are often referred to as “do-nothing bosses.” They are described as “never around, always avoiding conflict, reactive, and not very helpful.” They don’t embrace diversity of people or opinions but rather seek to maintain the status quo. The solution is HUMILITY as seen in the following verses:

Matthew 23:12 teaches us that humbling ourselves leads to exaltation.

Romans 12:3 tells us that we must think of ourselves with sober judgment according to the measure of faith God gave us.

2 Timothy 1:7 reminds us that God’s Spirit does not make us fearful or timid, but rather gives us power, love, and self-discipline.

[Next week we will discuss emotional intelligence and the vital role it plays in organizational leadership.]