Humility 71
the rest of us’’ or are they ‘‘better’’ or more valuable in some indefinable
way?
Management consultant Patrick Lencioni addresses this seeming par-
adox: ‘‘I have defined humility as the realization that a leader is inher-
ently no better than the people he or she leads, and charisma as the
realization that the leader’sactionsare more important than those of the
people he or she leads. As leaders, we must strive to embrace humility
and charisma.’’^1
For examples of leaders who combined the power of humility and
charisma, we need look no further than the Bible. Moses was one of
the most influential and powerful leaders who ever lived. He overcame
the resistance of the most powerful ruler of his era, Pharaoh, to secure
the freedom of his people. He led them through the Red Sea and the
desert, and smashed the tablets bearing the Ten Commandments when
he found the people worshiping a golden calf.
These are the kinds of actions that could ‘‘go to one’s head.’’ After
all his accomplishments, it would have been very easy for Moses to say,
‘‘We’ll do it because I’m the CEO, and I said so! Without me, none of
this could ever have happened. If you want to talk to me, make an
appointment through my assistant, Aaron. And if you’re one of those
who opposed me at any point, forget the appointment!’’
Amazingly, the Bible tells us just the opposite: ‘‘Now Moses was a
very humble man, more humble than anyone.’’ (Num. 12:3) At various
times in the Old Testament, Moses falls face down and protests that he
is ‘‘not worthy to lead.’’ But each time, he receives a call to action.
Moses is not the only reluctant leader in the Bible. It takes a great
leader to put his own stature and the size of the task in proper relation-
ship, and these ‘‘humble leaders’’ abound. You could even say that just
when a great leader was needed, a person of great humility appeared:
‘‘Who am I... and what is my family, that I should become the
king’s son-in-law?... I’m only a poor man and little known.’’ (David,
soon to become one of Israel’s greatest kings, upon marrying the daughter
of Saul, 1 Sam. 18)
‘‘But I am only a little child... For who is able to govern this great