Unlocking the Essence of Leadership: Exploring the Heart of Leadership
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A leader's heart deeply matters in the day to day expression of leadership. But what do we mean by "heart?" That is a somewhat ethereal term, especially related to leadership. Sometimes you see this metaphor related to empathy and kindness. Sometimes we are charged by others to show regular and sincere appreciation for those we lead as an expression of heart. The "heart" of a leader can also be described as a sense of fortitude that a leader must possess to push agendas through to completion. In popular culture, the notion of "heart' is usually relegated to the realm of emotions. Are leaders supposed to show emotion? Or not? Is that type of "heart' a weakness or a strength when it comes to leadership? Our language around the idea of "leadership heart" is vague.
To provide relevance and meaning to the "heart" of leadership we must center on a definition. For me, the most precise and meaningful definition of "heart" is found in the Jewish context taken from the Bible. The Bible portrays a much more holistic understanding of the "heart." The primary word for "heart" in the Old Testament Hebrew is "leb." It carries the idea of one's intellect, will, and emotions. It is the governing center of every person. It is that part of us that "chooses"--every day and every waking hour of the day. The Bible goes on to say that our hearts can take on three different negative postures. They are described as a hardened heart, a deceitful heart, and a proud heart. The hard heart is one that does not submit. The deceitful heart is the one that is easily bent or swayed. And the proud heart is the one that does not respond. Tied to leadership, the hard heart sees itself as superior and all should bend the knee. Leaders with a deceitful heart sees themselves as shrewd and opportunistic and love to tout their success through unscrupulous ways. Leaders with a proud heart sees themselves as the center and desires to be known and feared.
The Bible also provides us with a clear focus on the main disease that results in these different heart postures--idolatry! An idol is anything you give allegiance to over and above God himself. There are many things that can serve as small or big idols in our leadership lives. We must be keenly aware of false allegiances if we want to lead well to the great benefit of others. Dr. Tim Keller popularized a very helpful framework to capture the main categories for leadership idolatry: Power, Approval, Comfort, and Control. Almost anything that you can conceive of that tempts us as an idol will likely fall into one of these four categories--and begin to afflict us with one of the three heart diseases (hard, deceitful or proud). The descriptions that provide us with a positive orientation for a leader's heart in the Bible refer to a pure heart, a righteous heart, and a straight heart. The pure heart speaks to our ethics and morality. The righteous heart speaks to our relationships--especially our relationship with God. A straight heart speaks to the overall orientation and direction of our heart. None of these three descriptions are meant to describe some form of leadership perfection. Rather, it is the ongoing orientation of our heart that matters most. This requires greater communion with God, a greater sense of peer community, and growing self-awareness.
We learn timeless leadership lessons from the Bible in three primary ways--through stated leadership principles, by way of metaphors, and through many and various narratives that tell the stories of good and bad leaders. I am proposing four leadership questions that can act as a heart check for you as a leader. I take these four questions from the lives of four different biblical characters. Some of these leaders started out well. All of them finished poorly in their leadership. I will also provide you with the Bible references so that you can read the stories for yourself--and glean more.
Four Diagnostic Questions
What do you fear more than God? (King Saul-1 Samuel 10-15)
What excuses do you tend to make? (Solomon-1 Kings 9-11)
With whom do you take counsel? (Rehoboam-2 Chronicles 9:31-12:16)
What and how do you worship? (Jeroboam, son of Nabat-1 Kings 12:25-13:34)
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