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Leader, Make a Right Estimate of Yourself
Brian Kreeger • Feb 17, 2022
You are on top of the world. As the founder or executive of your nonprofit organization, you are well known in the community. Everywhere you go, you run into someone you know. You are well respected among your peers and your word carries influence. When politicians and community leaders want to start a new initiative, they call to get your opinion.
You are on numerous boards and are invited to be on every committee imaginable. You are a solid Christian who speaks boldly as God is clearly working through you. The money keeps rolling in as people see the need to support the efforts of the organization, many of which you spearheaded. Your family is so proud of you.
You are quick to always give the glory to God and others as you recognize that your part in all of this is minimal.
Or is it? Sure, you give God and those around you credit for all of it, but there is this little part inside you that says you did answer the call of God. You are the vehicle He chose. It is your signature on all the documents. It is your name on the awards. You did have a part.
(This blog focuses on starting a conversation centered on preventing the fall of nonprofit leaders. I write it from a Christian perspective, but all leaders will benefit. Be sure to sign up to receive these articles via email every Tuesday at briankreeger.com as well as taking a look at previous blog articles. In addition to receiving these articles two days before they hit social media, you will receive the article "5 Early Indicators of a Christian Nonprofit Leadership Fall" along with the Contents, Introduction and the Appendix (My story) of my book, The Courageous Ask: A Proactive Approach to Prevent the Fall of Christian Nonprofit Leaders.)
Pride. What a destroyer pride can be. While I don’t think the previous paragraphs completely describe me at the peak of success, I can definitely identify. I have seen all of this and I have experienced some of it. Without question though, some of this led to my fall.
Without the preservation of humility in the leadership of a successful nonprofit organization, especially one that is Christian in nature, that leadership will find it difficult to inspire a culture of unity, openness, creativity, loyalty, and ultimately, well rounded-success.
There are so many directions I could go when it comes to pride and humility in the life of a nonprofit executive. I would bet there is no one reading this article who needs convinced that humility is essential in the leadership of a Christian nonprofit. It’s simply common sense and, frankly, scriptural.
In fact, this goes way beyond Christian nonprofits. Jim Collins, in his book Good to Great, found two common traits of CEOs in companies that transitioned from average to superior market performance: humility and an indomitable will to advance the cause of the organization.
Sometimes there is friction between these two qualities, but their balance is essential in preventing the fall of an individual leader and the organization. It is definitely possible for the traits of humility and aggressive advancement of the organization to co-exist. But pride, as part of human nature, makes it difficult.
As I worked hard to establish a successful free clinic in our city, I was humble in my approach as I worked through the efforts of tons of people. As the organization got past the first few years, the scale tipped towards advancement, toward bigger and better things, and I did not listen as much. I pushed to drive forward and when people couldn’t -or wisely wouldn’t- keep up, I stopped listening.
Humility hung in the balance, many times being placed on the sideline. My aggressive push forward sometimes left humility in the dust.
And there is the rub. Sound familiar?
All of those advisors who were so faithful- whom I allowed in my life, whom I trusted- became people holding me back, bringing me down.
Some people end up gathering “yes men and women” around them so they can push their agenda forward. I know people who do this with their entire lives.
Not only did I start to be skeptical of close advisors, but I started to not listen to myself and the spirit inside me. Self-examination found new standards to measure my life and character against.
Unfortunately, the people around me became weary and gave up, figuring I could handle it all since I kept a smile on everything.
Yes, I was individually accountable for what was happening, but I was falling.
Be humble, listen to wise counsel, slow down, and remain teachable. Be careful to not only use your own standard that can easily be shifted, but ask those around you. And always, pray and keep your nose in scripture.
I have become a believer that, as a Christian, I cannot fully understand humility unless I fully understand the Gospel. I know, I know….many of you are saying that you understand it. I will tell you I thought I did as well, until I realized I didn’t. Do you fully and deeply understand the Gospel? While I thought I did when I founded our free Christian clinic, I now question whether or not I did. Getting a little preachy, so moving on….
One aspect of humility that needs to be mentioned is the ability to reach out when struggling. Sometimes we see ourselves falling, but many times our pride doesn’t allow us to reach out. The fear of looking bad that is part of our human nature takes over, and its power is strong.
Sometimes you reach out, and people don’t react. I reached out, but my words fell on deaf ears because people thought I could handle it. It is your responsibility to shout from the mountain top if need be.
English Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon once said, “Humility is to make a right estimate of oneself.”
The nonprofit Christian executives that are proactive in their accurate estimations of themselves will go a long way in preventing a fall.
I would also like to add that listening to those closest to you is vital. Treating them like a speed bump in your life is almost certainly a strong indicator of an impending fall. I’ll write about speed bumps next week.
Be Courageous!
Be Proactive!
Be sure to sign up to receive these articles via email every Tuesday at
briankreeger.com. In addition to receiving these articles two days before they hit social media, you will receive the article "5 Early Indicators of a Christian Nonprofit Leadership Fall" along with the Contents, Introduction and the Appendix (My Story) of my book,
The Courageous Ask: A Proactive Approach to Prevent the Fall of Christian Nonprofit Leaders.
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Executives -pastors or nonprofit executives in our context- are put on a pedestal. It’s not that the typical person necessarily believes they belong there or desires to put them there. But it is human nature that this happens. The general public often places much higher expectations on leaders than they do on themselves. Sometimes it is appropriate, and the leader has put themselves in that position. In some cases, it is simply scriptural. For instance, James 3 points out that those who teach will be judged more strictly, thereby heightening the expectations of those who lead and teach. But what about when we accept, and enact, those elevated expectations and forget the humanity of our leaders? Often a community heaps on a leader the expectation that they are to perform with the perfection of Jesus and not simply be a Jesus follower and disciple just like them, but with a unique calling and heightened responsibility. Too many times when a leader shows human imperfection, the respect we have for them is damaged. Leaders fall under strict judgment, and we forget they are no less fallible than us. The imperfection they have colors any positive experience we would have had with them otherwise. While most of us acknowledge this strict, hypocritical judgment and recognize it as not being how we want to treat our leaders, it is a difficult battle to fight in our own attitudes and minds. No matter who the leader is, they are not Jesus. But please allow me to reverently make some comparisons. (This blog focuses on starting a conversation centered on preventing the fall of nonprofit leaders. I write it from a Christian perspective, but all leaders will benefit. Be sure to sign up to receive these articles via email every Tuesday at briankreeger.com as well as taking a look at previous blog articles. In addition to receiving these articles two days before they hit social media, you will receive the article "5 Early Indicators of a Christian Nonprofit Leadership Fall" along with the Contents, Introduction and the Appendix (My story) of my book, The Courageous Ask: A Proactive Approach to Prevent the Fall of Christian Nonprofit Leaders. )
You are the community, no matter what formal role you play in a particular organization, or if you play any role at all. My blog articles typically focus on the roles the leader and the board have in preventing the fall of Christian nonprofit leaders. But I contend that the community that exists around organizational leaders and boards has a role as well. In fact, a community’s role can many times be much bigger. My next few blog articles will focus on the role of the community in preventing the fall of Christian nonprofit leaders. (This blog focuses on starting a conversation centered on preventing the fall of nonprofit leaders. I write it from a Christian perspective, but all leaders will benefit. Be sure to sign up to receive these articles via email every Tuesday at briankreeger.com as well as taking a look at previous blog articles. In addition to receiving these articles two days before they hit social media, you will receive the article "5 Early Indicators of a Christian Nonprofit Leadership Fall" along with the Contents, Introduction and the Appendix (My story) of my book, The Courageous Ask: A Proactive Approach to Prevent the Fall of Christian Nonprofit Leaders. )
