Humility 77
the opportunities he has given me... We forget it’s the people that are
working with us that really make us what we are.’’^12
The Bible reminds us that all parts of the body, however exalted or
humble, are equally important to its functioning. ‘‘The eye cannot say
to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I
don’t need you!’ On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to
be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honor-
able we treat with special honor... there should be no division in the
body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.’’ (1
Cor. 12:21–26)
The message behind this analogy? All people have gifts, all people
can contribute to a mission, and it is part of the leader’s job to make
sure that each ‘‘body part’’ is valued and has input. The ‘‘head,’’ or the
executive suite, cannot exist without the ‘‘heart’’ (human resources or
customer service) or the ‘‘feet’’ (the messenger service, truck fleet, or
the mail room). And the humble leader realizes that no one part should
be exalted above the rest, since it cannot exist without the rest.
A team functions best when all the members (even the leaders) ex-
hibit appropriate humility toward one another. This is expressed beauti-
fully in 1 Peter 5:5: ‘‘All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward
one another, because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the
humble.’’
HUMILITY IN THEFACE OFMISTAKES
One thing that makes leadership so difficult is that as you go higher in
the organization, your mistakes become more visible and they impact
increasing numbers of people. That’s why those at the highest levels
often spend considerable time covering up, whitewashing, or justifying
their mistakes to the press and to those affected by the mistakes.
Great leaders have the ability to be humble in failure and error, if
not as a matter of habit, at least some of the time. Ironically, this
ability, rather than destroying their image, credibility, and power, often
strengthens them.