Overcoming Pitfalls of Leadership

Written by Henry and Richard Blackaby

Developing a healthy awareness of the pitfalls that can bring failure and disgrace to leaders is the first step to avoiding them. The second is putting safeguards in place that will provide protection in times of temptation or indecision. Third, leaders should have before them the continual reminder that their organization is more about people than it is about productivity; that they are not indispensable; and that the most effective, efficient thing they can do for their organization is to maintain a close, vibrant relationship with God. Here are ten major pitfalls to avoid:

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   Pride
2. Sexual sin
3. Cynicism
4. Greed
5. Mental laziness
6. Oversensitivity
7. Spiritual lethargy
8. Domestic neglect
9. Administrative carelessness
10. Prolonged position holding

Combining business effectiveness and personal faith in Jesus Christ is not only possible, it’s essential. Successful Christian business leaders all over North America are meeting to encourage one another to do what is right in the business world. They pray for each other. They counsel one another about pivotal decisions.

There is a growing movement for leaders to form small groups for the purposes of mutual encouragement and accountability. Pastors are forming groups that meet regularly to challenge one another to continue growing in their relationship with God and with their families. Executives meet over breakfast or lunch in order to help one another follow God’s will. Through e-mail and various technologies, business leaders can stay in contact even when they are traveling around the world on assignments. 

More leaders are recognizing that, with deliberate effort, good planning, and much prayer, they need not succumb to the pitfalls that could impair their leadership and jeopardize their personal lives.

If you have not already become part of a small group, we encourage you to form one. This group should consist of three to five godly people whom you respect and with whom you will feel free to be completely honest. Group members should be of the same gender. For obvious reasons, this will exclude your spouse.

Questions to Consider

1. Do I pray regularly with at least one other leader?
2. Are there other leaders with whom I am free to be candid about my personal struggles?
3. Who holds me accountable to follow through on what I know to be God’s will?
4. What safeguards have I built around my relationship with my spouse? Are they adequate to protect me from temptation?
5. How am I presently studying and applying God’s Word to my life?
6. Have I built safeguards around my time with God?
7. When was the last time I clearly heard God speaking to me? How did I respond to what he said?
8. Do I have people who are willing to challenge my actions when they think they are harmful?
9. Are the fruits of the Spirit growing in me (Galatians 5:22-23)? Am I becoming more like Christ?

Concepts to Consider

• Pride is dangerous to unwary leaders because it can be subversive in the way it creeps into their lives.
• Whereas authentic leaders shoulder the responsibility for the poor performance of their organizations, wise leaders rightfully acknowledge the efforts of their followers as critical to their organization’s success.
• Pride drives leaders to seek the limelight.
• Spiritual leaders are God’s servants, but pride can cause them to act as if God were their servant, obligated to answer their selfish prayers and to bless their grandiose schemes.
• Pride is a sin that festers in people, making them unreceptive to God’s guidance and the wise counsel and support of other people.
• Leaders are most vulnerable in the area of their greatest strength.
• Sexual sin has the heinous power to destroy a career, a family, and a reputation, all in one blow.
• Leaders should listen to their own counsel.
• Leadership is a people business, and people invariably let you down.
• True leaders focus on that which is right and on what gives hope, not on what is wrong.
• Many Christian leaders are resisting the temptation to automatically seek or accept positions simply because they offer a bigger paycheck.
• Leaders don’t jump to conclusions. They process the facts and seek to determine the truth of their situation.
• Leaders, and those they love, are much safer being criticized for remaining in God’s will than whey they are being praised while living outside of it.
• Spiritual leaders are not haphazard people. They are intentional.
• Older leaders tend to have difficulty giving their blessing to the emerging generation of leaders.

This article is excerpted from Spiritual Leadership by Henry and Richard Blackaby (2001 Broadman & Holman). Used by permission.