Naughty boys make the best leaders. Apparently. I was confidently informed of this last week by an up-and-coming Christian leader of my acquaintance. His point was that people who naturally "kick against" ideas and people they disagree with are more likely to stand their ground under pressure, more likely to attract a following, and therefore make strong leadership figures. In secular terms, I can see the truth in this. Benito Mussolini would, for example, be a case in point. But is this true of Christian leaders? Can those who are exhorted to be humble and see themselves as the servant of those they lead hold to this philosophy of leadership in good conscience? Is this just an example of a high-profile Christian justifying his poor behaviour in earlier life?
Let's be honest. I've always been a bit of a goody-twoshoes. The most rebellious thing I ever did was flicking a chunk of my eraser at my german teacher when I was 13. (Yes, Mr. Harlow, if you're reading this, it was me. Sorry.) So is there any hope for an introvert intuitive leader? Can I still hope to command people's respect with a more cautious leadership style? Winston Churchill, I'm certainly not. But I really don't want to be Ian Duncan-Smith either.
2 comments:
Sorry about the deleted comment-- realised it wasn't very relevant.
In my opinion, Christians need to know when to call "bullshit"-- more often for the "good boys" and less for the "bad ones".
You should start with the case in point. I'd say what your acquaintance said is half true; naughty boys by definition have strong personalities in order to form their reputation, and this is something that helps them be strong leaders. However, just because someone chooses to fit in/behave doesn't mean they don't have a strong personality and can't be a strong leader.
If you're talking about Christian leadership, I'm not sure that the personality traits of the leader are important, so much as their desire to do the job, and a lot of this becomes academic- they're not following the leader; they're following the Leader.
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