Why do we crave a humble leader?
More than any other quality, people crave humility in their leaders. But why? Here’s a solid answer from a very unlikely source.
While writing Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World, Tom Holland shocked himself with this discovery:
“Christianity is the principal reason why, by and large, most of us who live in post-Christian societies still take for granted that it is nobler to suffer than to inflict suffering. It is why we generally assume that every human life is of equal value.”
Holland, himself an atheist, was surprised to see this well-researched conclusion emerge. Jesus Christ has become the de facto leadership model for us in the “western world”, even if we don’t believe that Jesus ever existed. We want our leaders to act like Jesus. Not because all of us are card-carrying believers in Jesus, but because we’ve been steeped in Christian virtue for so long, the humility of Jesus is what we’ve come to expect from our leaders.
If you take on Holland’s 624 page “Dominion” for yourself, I think you’ll discover (or rediscover) a powerful truth: Jesus is the source of our craving for humility in leadership. Whether from a heart of belief, or a mind of honest scholarship, let us agree that Jesus created the demand for humble leadership. The example of Jesus presses upon all leaders to realize, as Holland wrote, that “[In Jesus], true strength manifested itself not in the exercise of power, but in the willingness to give it up.”
This blog is not a Christian Apologetic, but I do want to offer some context for why Jesus is a model of humility. The Bible says:
“Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, and became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.” - Philippians 2: 6-11
There you have it: Jesus, as God, left his heavenly home to come live in humble service to humanity. It is his act of purest humility that made today’s market for humble leadership.
January ‘24 will mark five years for Rootstock. We founded the company on the idea that organizational leaders can (and should) leave a legacy. Therefore, we tailored our services around multi-generational leadership development and values-driven strategic planning. Why this focus? Well, building up future generations and staying true to values demands - wait for it - HUMILITY. We’ve had a solid run, and we can't wait to see what’s ahead. We owe all glory to Jesus, the original Servant-Leader, and the reason we do what we do at Rootstock.
Wishing you humility-driven success in the coming year,
Tony Woodall and the Rootstock Team