Humility Meets Confidence

Leadership

Sergei Kirov was a charismatic and popular leader in his party. He was also a friend of Joseph Stalin, who back in the early 1930s, had consolidated his power over the Soviet Union and was determined to maintain it. Ever fearful of losing his grip, when his friend Kirov won an internal congressional election in 1934, he saw it as a huge threat to his own power. Shortly thereafter, Kirov would be dead... and so would everyone associated with the plot...

While the details of who was responsible remain murky, the assassination of Sergei Kirov began what is known as the Great Purge in the Soviet Union, where millions of people accused of being "enemies of the state" were taken out. Stalin was so insecure with his own leadership ability that he removed any opposition whatsoever. A few decades later, the Soviet Union would cease to exist.

"I wrote to the church about this, but Diotrephes, who loves to be the leader, refuses to have anything to do with us. When I come, I will report some of the things he is doing and the evil accusations he is making against us. Not only does he refuse to welcome the traveling teachers, he also tells others not to help them. And when they do help, he puts them out of the church." (3 John 1:9-10)

When people are so concerned with being right or being in control, it saps creativity, new ideas, loyalty, and team growth. This typically leads to doing things the way you have always done them until doing things that way no longer works at all. That's repressive, dictatorial leadership, and I believe is a recipe for exhaustion and extinction.

Stay in search of the best that can be done, not the best that you know how...especially if you are a leader.

Resist the temptation to have all the answers and instead embrace the process of discovering better answers.

That's servant leadership. Recognize that the people on your team and others around you may have ideas better than or complementary to your own. The encouragement or acceptance of those ideas may lead to far better outcomes. The servant leader exudes confidence, humility, and better team thinking, as well as loyalty.

A tree's roots are strengthened by the wind. It's in the opposing ideas that our own become better. Stay in search of the best that can be done, not the best that you know how to do. Humility and confidence strengthen each other when allowed to coexist.