In preparation for our CPI Leaders’ Summit last month on Gospel-centered Leadership I was reading and reviewing books on leadership especially the heart idols that leaders are most susceptible. (Elaine and I developed a list of heart idols that leaders often encounter). Good books have been Spiritual Leadership by Henry and Richard Blackaby (Experiencing God fame). Other good books have been Dangers, Toils, Snares, The Heart of a Servant Leader on Jack Miller and Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership McIntosh and Rima.
I feel the real danger of the heart is when we are in a leadership position but we have allowed our spiritual and relational authority to erode. Without much heart left and diminishing trust (people notice) we then can only rely on defending our position which develops pride in its many forms and then we become uncaring and callous toward other people. That is when leadership is ugly, even ineffective as all trust has been undermined. Jesus was the best example of leadership and never lost compassion for others in the midst of leadership. He knew how to tell the truth with grace. May we always struggle as leaders and depend on him to keep and deliver us from the “dark side of leadership.”