When criticism is a threat, a leader becomes defensive, but
when it is viewed as a natural occurrence and a challenge, it can
become a source of constructive energy.
Be Realistic about Our Dual Natures
Billy understood human nature. He was well grounded in the
Christian theology that teaches even the best people are still
inhabited by an “old self,” as the Bible describes it, which often
expresses itself in contentious ways. To survive in leadership, we
need a healthy understanding of the dual nature of human
beings.
Criticism is stirred up because leadership initiatives cost
money, cause inconvenience, require effort, or produce a shift in
power or recognition. We should never be caught by surprise at
people’s negative behavior but accept it as a reminder that our
work as leaders is not done.
A wise older pastor once observed, “The qualifications of a
pastor are to have the mind of a scholar, the heart of a child, and
the hide of a rhinoceros.” That’s true of any leader as well. Espe-
cially the part about the hide.
Embrace Three Essentials
If anyone had severe critics, it was Abraham Lincoln. He was
inaugurated as the most deeply hated American president in his-
tory. Harper’s Weeklycalled him a “filthy storyteller, despot, liar,
thief, braggart, buffoon, usurper, monster, ignoramus Abe, old
scoundrel, perjurer, swindler, tyrant, field-butcher, land-pirate.”
Even his hometown newspaper castigated the new president. The
Illinois State Registerin Springfield called Lincoln “the craftiest and
most dishonest politician that ever disgraced an office in Amer-
ica.” The intense opposition created what must have seemed to
be an impossible leadership conundrum: How do you save a
Union that apparently doesn’t want to be saved? How do you
withstand a continuous flow of criticism?
Consider these three strategies from the lives of Lincoln and
other leaders:
The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham