By Matt Proctor
Why do some leaders fail? The answers often lie below the “waterline.”
The Brooklyn Bridge is a New York City icon, but during its construction, controversy arose. It seemed to the watching public that no progress had been made for months on the New York tower””the Manhattan side of the river. While the Brooklyn tower rose 100 feet above the water, the New York tower was still 78 feet below the surface, unseen.
Building Below the Waterline
So in June 1872, the chief engineer of the project wrote: “To such of the general public as might imagine that no work had been done on the New York tower, because they see no evidence of it above the water, I should simply remark that the amount of the masonry and concrete laid on that foundation during the past winter, under water, is equal in quantity to the entire masonry of the Brooklyn tower visible today above the waterline.”1
The Brooklyn Bridge still stands today, serving the people of New York City. Why? Because, as Gordon MacDonald wrote in the Introduction for his book Building Below the Waterline,
The chief engineer and his construction team did their most patient and daring work where no one could see it: on the foundations of the towers below the waterline.
It is one more illustration of an ageless principle in leadership: the work done below the waterline (in a leader”s soul) . . . determines whether he or she will stand the test of time and challenge. This work . . . is done in quiet, where no one but God sees.
Wise leaders examine their soul”s foundations, shoring up areas of weakness so their ministry will stand firm.
Inspecting a Leader”s Foundations
This “below-the-waterline” work is the focus of Gary McIntosh and Sam Rima”s book Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership. The book tackles an important question: what causes leadership failure? What forces underneath the surface of a leader”s life lead to the outward failure of integrity?
From a study of biblical, historical, and contemporary leaders, McIntosh and Rima suggest an answer: “Every leader suffers from some degree of personal dysfunction (which) often serves as the driving force behind an individual”s desire to achieve success” (p. 14). These unhealthy qualities are often undiagnosed and, left unchecked, can become destructive””our own personal “dark side.”
The authors argue that these dysfunctions develop at the intersection of personality type and past experiences. Unmet childhood needs, traumatic experiences, emotional debts felt because of past failures””all these shape within us certain subconscious motivations, which are then colored by our particular personality.
When Sigmund Freud wet his pants at age 7, his father”s reprimand included a comment to his wife, “The boy will come to nothing!” Later Freud said his life”s achievements were, in many ways, saying to his father, “You see, I have come to something.”2
McIntosh and Rima contend that such early experiences form a leader in deep and unhealthy ways. Whether an alcoholic father, perfectionistic mother, childhood school struggles, physical deficit, or teenage peer rejection, these early influences create dysfunctional behavioral patterns. Presidential historian David Abshire observed, “How many of our presidents in recent times have had personal crises because they never put away childish things, never grew out of their hang-ups, never learned from mistakes!”3
Great danger threatens if we refuse to dive beneath the surface of our lives, to take the inward journey to inspect our foundations. But if we are willing to “ride the monster all the way down,” as Annie Dillard puts it, then we can allow God to do his “healing, restorative work in long-buried areas of personal pain and shame.”4
It took a while, but after his sin with Bathsheba, King David eventually “rode the monster all the way down.” He faced his own dark side, and the message of Overcoming Your Dark Side is that every wise leader should echo David”s prayer in Psalm 139:23, 24: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
A Brief Pause for Theological Context
A critique of McIntosh and Rima: at times, they draw more heavily on psychology than theology, and their language is more psychoanalytical than biblical. Theologically speaking, what they are really talking about is our sinful nature (Ephesians 2:1-3). We are not simply “dysfunctional.” We are sinful.
Certainly our life”s experiences, intertwined with our environment and personality, affect how we specifically express that sinful nature. But when we fall short of God”s glory, we cannot blame it on unmet childhood needs. We cannot say, as the delinquent youths in West Side Story, “I”m depraved on account I”m deprived!” The problem is not our less-than-perfect upbringing; it”s our less-than-perfect heart (Jeremiah 17:9).
To fill in McIntosh and Rima”s missing biblical language, then, they are talking about various “besetting sins” that can develop in our leadership style (Hebrews 12:1). The most helpful part of their book diagnoses five such sinful leadership patterns””what Michael Mangis would call “signature sins.”5 All of us sin, but not all sin in the same ways. My sin follows certain patterns. “Even if we both struggle with the sin of lashing out in anger, I am likely to have it triggered and express it in different ways than you do. In other words, we don”t sin at random. Our sin takes a consistent and predictable course.”6
James 3:2 says, “We all stumble in many ways,” and we are wise to learn where we are particularly prone to stumble. Like a soul fingerprint, my “sin pattern is so characteristic that it can be used to identify me. . . . In fact, other people often know my sin profile better than I do myself.”7 In their book, MacIntosh and Rima help us as discern our besetting, or “signature” sins as leaders, providing practical diagnostic tools to go “below the waterline” and evaluate ourselves.
What Does Your Dark Side Look Like?
So what might your dark side look like? In Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership, McIntosh and Rima outline five types of dysfunctional leaders.
The Compulsive Leader feels the need to maintain absolute order, seeing “the organization”s performance as a direct reflection of his own person and performance” (p. 106). These leaders pursue perfection to an extreme and often “develop very rigid . . .
daily routines” whether exercise, devotions, schedule, or leadership activities (p. 106). They try to control their environment and lack trust in others. (Think of Jimmy Carter”s famous insistence on scheduling the use of the White House tennis courts himself.) The authors offer Moses as a biblical example of a compulsive leader.
The Narcissistic Leader is self-absorbed, with an overinflated sense of his own importance and a constant need for attention. Narcissistic leaders “present various combinations of intense ambitiousness, grandiose fantasies . . . and overdependence on external admiration” (p. 115), Ironically, this type of leader is often uncertain of himself and unable to enjoy his accomplishments because of a basic insecurity. The narcissist views coworkers as “things” that either support or disrupt his own sense of self-worth, rather than people he can build up. Author”s examples: John F. Kennedy and King Solomon.
The Paranoid Leader is “shackled by suspicion” (p. 120). They are constantly afraid others will undermine their leadership. Such leaders are hypersensitive to criticism and may blow up at the slightest embarrassment. They are jealous of other gifted people (i.e., the preacher who won”t share his pulpit for fear the congregation will like another”s sermon more). The paranoid leader engages in political scheming and spying to maintain a grip on his position. Examples: Richard Nixon and King Saul.
The Codependent Leader often grew up with a troubled family member””such as an alcoholic, oppressive, or simply socially embarrassing parent””for whom they needed to “cover.” They have learned to avoid open expression of feelings, as well as direct discussion of problems. The codependent leader desires approval, worrying obsessively about others” feelings, and works to keep peace at all cost (even at the expense of truth), often covering up problems rather than facing them. Author”s examples: Bill Clinton and Samson.
The Passive-Aggressive Leader is, at core, afraid. He”s afraid of failure, of success, and especially of revealing his true feelings. Rather than actively resisting what he disagrees with, he passively resists””through “procrastination, dawdling, stubbornness, forgetfulness, and intentional inefficiency” (p. 141). Instead of openly expressing his thoughts, he communicates phony goodwill. For years, Thomas Jefferson feigned friendship with his political rival John Adams while trashing him behind his back. Biblical example: Jonah.
The High Stakes of “Soul Keeping”
Why is it so important to confront our dark side? John Ortberg writes, “I am responsible to take care of my soul not just for my own sake. The condition of my soul will affect the people around me, just as when my body is sick it can infect others who get too close.”8 The stakes of soul keeping are especially high for leaders, and MacIntosh and Rima will be helpful guides in getting below the waterline of your life.
As you do, two pieces of good news. First, God can use imperfect people. (Those are the only kind of people he”s ever had to work with.) Second, regardless of your “signature sin” as a leader, the gospel holds the promise of true transformation in Jesus Christ.
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1 David McCullough, The Great Bridge (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1983), 269.
2 James MacGregor Burns, Leadership (New York City: Harper Perennial, 2010), 105.
3 As cited in Gordon MacDonald, The Resilient Life (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2006), 103.
4 Gary McIntosh and Samuel Rima, Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007), 23.
5 Michael Mangis, Signature Sins: Taming the Wayward Heart (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2008).
6 John Ortberg, The Me I Want to Be (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009), 147.
7 Ibid.
8 John Ortberg, Soul Keeping: Caring for the Most Important Part of You (Grand Rapids: Thomas Nelson, 2014), 96.
Matt Proctor serves as president of Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. He is one of CHRISTIAN STANDARD”s contributing editors.
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