Every leader, no matter if they’re leading one person or one thousand, wants to get better at what they do. Fortunately, the leadership industrial complex has produced a number of really great books offering really sound advice.
Unfortunately, there’s also a lot of dreck out there, the kind of stuff that makes me want to start reading Jesus’ seven woes out loud as emphatically as possible.
Here are a few pieces of worldly wisdom that Christian leaders should probably ignore:
1. Criticized? Take heart—it means you’re a great leader.
The other day, I saw the following quote by Edwin Friedman in my Twitter feed: “Criticism is, if anything, often a sign that the leader is functioning better.”
While certainly criticism can be a sign you’re doing well, it can also be a sign you’re failing miserably. The type of criticism you receive and how you respond to it are far better indicators. Proud “leaders” quickly write off criticism as being the divisive words of “haters” (and nitwits make videos about it).
While not every piece of criticism merits the same level of attention, humble leaders listen, process and respond to what they receive accordingly.
2. Throw your peers under the bus.
This nugget came from John Maxwell’s 360-Degree Leader, where he shares the story of “Fred,” a man with a moody boss. The moral of the story? If your boss is unstable, watch and see which way the wind is blowing as your peers bring up issues. If the boss is in a good mood, bring up your list. If not, slide it back into your pocket and let your coworkers get burned (see pages 76-77).
Never mind taking a risk and calmly saying, “I had some concerns I wanted to address, but I can see this probably isn’t the best time.”
It’s dangerous to do this, but it’s better than silently letting everyone else get blasted. And besides, it’s not like your volatile boss can fire you for it (unless he wanted to face a wrongful dismissal suit, of course).
3. People complaining? Be even harder on them!
This one’s a bit of a cheat, because it’s identified as being terrible advice. When Rehoboam was faced with rebellion and had to choose between easing the burdens of his people and increasing them, he ignored the counsel of the elders and went along with his stupid friends.
The result? The nation was torn in two.
4. “It is much safer to be feared than loved …”
This comes from Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince. Here it is with more context:
… it is much safer to be feared than loved because … love is preserved by the link of obligation which, owing to the baseness of men, is broken at every opportunity for their advantage; but fear preserves you by a dread of punishment which never fails.
Much of Machiavelli’s writing deals with self-preservation as the highest virtue. Love is risky; he’s right. But good leadership is all about risk. Compliance via fear is “safer” only because it’s easier to intimidate than to actually show those you lead that you care. Threats work in the short term, but don’t think you’ll have anyone sticking their necks out for you when you really need it.
Those are just a few of the gems out there that you should almost certainly ignore.
What are a few pieces of terrible leadership advice you’ve heard?
