Re:Fatal Flaws of a Leader

Integrity: Fatal Flaws of a Leader

Dave Kraft Leadership Development Pastor at Mars Hill Church

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Flaws Can Be Fatal

Someone once said, “Success is never final and failure is never fatal. It’s courage that counts.” Actually, there are many examples of seemingly successful leaders failing because of serious flaws (or sins) in their lives. President Richard Nixon comes to mind. Perhaps President Clinton is another that may well be remembered for his flaws as well as his successes.

Are there certain kinds of flaws Christian leaders may develop that could spell the end of their leadership effectiveness, their leadership altogether, or worse yet, the downward spiral of their walk with Jesus? I believe there are.

Integrity Is Essential

Integrity has been at the top of my “Essential Leadership Qualities” list for a number of years. Integrity leads to credibility, which leads to trust, which leads to influence. If you have no influence, there is no leadership. People should be able to trust me without wondering if I will do what I promised and deliver it when I promised.

I can think of few things worse than having someone say, “I don’t trust you!” I am increasingly careful about what I say and how much I promise because I am committed to integrity in all I do. Recently I sat down with a pastor who had sent out an e-mail with information about me that was flattering, but not accurate. Because integrity is a high value, I set the record straight.

Charles Colson was once asked what he considered to be the top three qualities of a leader. He answered: “Well, the first one would be integrity—and the second would be integrity. And the third one would be (you guessed it) integrity.”