10 Ways to Avoid the Arrogance of Power

Something naturally happens to people who stay in power too long. Its called arrogance.

This happens most often in churches (for various reasons). Few positions in government or industry hold as much power at times as ministry. And if you are prone to be a take charge person, you can quickly find yourself taking a bit too much joy in your position of power ... joy that many times will evolve, over time, into arrogance. A godly leader will look for ways to avoid this.

The "Great Leadership" blog recently featured a list of ten ways that you can avoid the arrogance of power ... and I thought that they would be good as a reminder to those of us in ministry:

1. Encourage and reward dissent.
2. Spend time with the people you serve.
3. Read and answer your own email.
4. Be visible and accessible.
5. Have regular “fireside chats” with randomly selected, vertical slices of the people you serve.
6. Do regular “deep dives” with as many departments as possible.
7. Don't spend too much time in the office.
8. Conduct regular surveys in a way that tells you what people are really thinking.
9. Work with a coach or mentor who’s willing to get in your face and tell it like it is.
10. Leverage technology and social networking, allowing feedback.

[from MMI Weblog by Todd Rhoades]