{"id":13010,"date":"2020-09-03T06:00:25","date_gmt":"2020-09-03T10:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=13010"},"modified":"2020-08-31T06:33:01","modified_gmt":"2020-08-31T10:33:01","slug":"guest-blog-how-leaders-self-destruct","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2020\/09\/guest-blog-how-leaders-self-destruct.html","title":{"rendered":"Guest Blog: How Leaders Self-Destruct"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Guest blogger, Norm Mintle, Ph.D. gave permission to repost part of his recent blog on leadership. This is a timely read.\u00a0Dr. Mintle holds an earned Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership. He has served in executive positions across a broad range of media organizations and as a dean at two universities. For more on Dr. Mintle’s leadership, go to his\u00a0Twitter account @MintleNorm (He’s new to Twitter).<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cPride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

An ancient Proverb that may be one of the most mis-quoted of them all. The wisdom here predicts not just a \u2018fall\u2019 for the proud, but a full-blown collapse that leads to destruction.<\/p>\n

How is it that the wisest king, Solomon who penned these words nearly 3,000 years ago, seems damned to be eternally ignored by leader after leader? Should we attempt a weak effort at a list?<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Attila the Hun \u201c\u2026where I have passed, the grass will never grow again\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Queen \u201cBloody\u201d Mary \u2014 slaughtered hundreds of Protestants in 1553 England<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Vladimir Lenin & Joseph Stalin \u2014 imprisoned and killed millions of fellow Russians<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Adolf Hitler \u2014 \u2018nuff said<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Mao Zedong \u2014 40 million fellow Chinese dead<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Bill Clinton \u2014 cigars and a blue dress<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Donald J. Trump \u2014 \u2018nuff said<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Jim Bakker \u2014 secretaries, pretty boys and fraud<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Jimmy Swaggart \u2014 rock \u2018n roll music and hookers<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Jerry Falwell, Jr. \u2014 \u201cI quit.\u201d \u201cNo I don\u2019t.\u201d \u201cOk, yes I do, but those \u2018self-righteous\u2019 people forced me out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Are there common denominators to be found in prideful leaders?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s begin with an easy and reduced definition. Prideful leaders believe they are better than anyone else. Isn\u2019t that simple? Here\u2019s a list of synonyms that expand on that just in case you need more:<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Arrogance<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Hubris<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Bluster and braggadocio<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Egotism<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Pomposity<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Self-sufficiency, self-admiration, self-glorification<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Smugness<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Vanity<\/p>\n

What are the common traits of prideful leaders?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00b7 First, <\/em>they are the last <\/em>person to think they are prideful<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Entitled<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Always take the best: titles, offices. Never or rarely, serving others<\/p>\n

\u00b7 They overestimate their contributions. \u201cI\u2019ve done so much for this organization\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Undervalue their subordinates and their contributions; and rarely give credit where credit is due \u2014 most especially to someone else. Blame? Oh certainly, pass it around liberally!<\/p>\n

\u00b7 See no need for a successor; or at least, they must be personally hand-picked (usually a family member) Why? Because they don\u2019t trust anyone else<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Always the \u2018smartest guy\u2019 in the room<\/p>\n

\u00b7 They\u2019ve stopped learning because they do not allow dissent, questioning, or critique<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Confusion and chaos reign in their domain(s)<\/p>\n

What are the results of pride-filled leaders?<\/strong> (excerpted and embellished; thanks, @JohnCMaxwell John Maxwell, 2007, Leadership Wired<\/em>)<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Pride distorts reality<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Pride destroys relationships<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Pride closes the mind to feedback<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Pride keeps us from honestly admitting mistakes; blaming is more the M.O.<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Pride leads to hiring the wrong people, firing the wrong people, and doing both at the wrong time<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Pride keeps leaders from depending on others and building strong teams<\/p>\n

Can a leader replace Pride with Humility?<\/strong><\/p>\n

As C.S. Lewis observed, \u201cPride is spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense.\u201d And its polar opposite, humility is, as John Chrysostom a 5th century Archbishop of Constantinople wisely noted, \u201c\u2026the root, mother, nurse, foundation, and bond of all virtue.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a prideful leader to develop a new identity, attitude, and conduct of humility isn\u2019t easy. It won\u2019t happen overnight. In fact, in the kitchen of life, this metamorphosis is akin to peeling away layer upon layer from an onion. (Sometimes, it makes you cry!) But it can happen.<\/p>\n

But this must be an intentional process. Meaning, the leader must want to change. Throwing off a lifetime of prideful behavior to assume an entirely new way of thinking and behaving must begin with baby steps and become a daily habit. Fran\u00e7ois F\u00e9nelon an 18th century French Archbishop and theologian said it well, \u201cHumility is not a grace that can be acquired in a few months: it is the work of a lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Guest blogger, Norm Mintle, Ph.D. gave permission to repost part of his recent blog on leadership. This is a timely read.\u00a0Dr. Mintle holds an earned Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership. He has served in executive positions across a broad range of media organizations and as a dean at two universities. For more on Dr. Mintle’s leadership,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[925],"tags":[3707,5021,5012,979,3331,3360,5009],"class_list":["post-13010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mintle-mentions","tag-arrogance","tag-destructive-leaders","tag-dysfunctional-leaders","tag-leaders","tag-leadership","tag-pride","tag-self-destruct"],"yoast_head":"\nGuest Blog: How Leaders Self-Destruct<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Guest Blog: How Leaders Self-Destruct\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Guest blogger, Norm Mintle, Ph.D. gave permission to repost part of his recent blog on leadership. 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