Two Sides of the Same Coin

It's been said that every weakness is the shadow of a strength. Take leaders, for example.

Here are five toxic leadership traits we hate most:

Utopian Critics, critiquing others for not living up to their impossibly high standards
Domineering Intimidators, using their influence to strong-arm others to do things
Bossy Pragmatists, where the end justifies means
Impulsive Daredevils, impulsively pulling the trigger on change
Egotistical Braggarts, constantly promoting themselves and what they’re doing

Compare that to five of our favorite leadership qualities:

Visionary dreamers, waking us up from our complacency
Inspiring Communicators, causing us to dream of a brighter day
Empowering Strategists, showing us how to practically play our part
Risk-taking Initiators, leading the charge by modeling that the risk is worth it
Charismatic Promoters, inviting us to actually join in and be a part of something bigger than ourselves.

Now line them up, what do you see?

Huh, two sides of the same coin.

More can be said, but here's my point for now:

What trait in someone else just gets under your skin? Doesn’t have to be a leader; it could be a family member or coworker... even yourself.
What if we learned to help that person leverage that irksome trait in service of others?
What if we took the time necessary to coach them rather than gossip about them?
What if we chose mentoring and spiritual formation over chastising and scapegoating?

I’m thankful for the people in my life who chose to help me learn how to use my gifts, rather than be mastered by them.

I’ll tell you, that’s the kind of world I want to live in.

Recent Posts