The Downfall of Leaders

Unraveling the Causes Behind Their Demise

That title got your attention, didn’t it?

It happens so often that we are almost numb to it. The headline breaks, we’re blown away for about 2 minutes, then we move on with our lives. Just this week I got a call from a friend who works at a church that just announced to the congregation that their longtime Senior Pastor was an adulterer. From Wall Street to the White House, Politicians to Pastors, and the Pulpit to the Pew, none of us are immune. It’s been happening for decades: Watergate, Worldcom, Hillsong, Willow Creek, Enron, Carl Lentz, Jimmy Swaggert, Jim Bakker, Ted Haggard, and countless others. Let’s not kid ourselves; this has been happening since the beginning of time. We didn’t invent this reoccurring theme in the fabric of society. King David had Bathsheba, Judas had his silver, Noah had his bottle, and Samson had his women. Perhaps it all started with satan when he showed mankind the way to downfall when he was thrown out of heaven.

There are many publications, documentaries, and conversations to be had about the men and women who fall from grace. However, my mind is focused on those caught in the destructive wake. What about the people who had to walk into the office the next day and keep the day-to-day of the organization moving forward? What about their ability to pick up the broken pieces that were left and try to find some motivation or hope for the future?

I was one of those people.

There I was, holding the pieces of what was left. If you’ve ever been one of those left in the aftermath, these are the thoughts and conversations coming from you and everyone else:
“How did this happen?”
”How could he/she do this?”
“We use to be so healthy.”
”We never saw this coming.”
”It wasn’t always like this.”

Why am I so interested in this? Because I’ve lived through it and I dread the next headline or phone call announcing the next fall from grace. I’ve thought long and hard about this topic, maybe a little too much at times. Partially because I am well aware that as the ReLeader, I am now driving the very vehicle that at some point along the way, caused my predecessor to drift off course and drive into a ditch.

I am just as susceptible as him and anyone else who has experienced a fall from grace. And guess what…so are you.

So, What Causes Leaders To Fall?
After all, history exists so we can learn from it and not repeat its mistakes. I have my opinions on the subject, lots of them. Some I will share, some I will not. And let me be clear, these are just opinions, and I welcome you to share yours in the comments below.

First off, let’s try to list a fraction of all the possible reasons a once-healthy leader, would waver over time and ultimately fall. Ready, go…

Unhealthy Ambition
Narcissism
Greed
Empathy deficiency
Entitlement
No accountability
Ego-driven
Surrounded by “yes men”
Internal or External Pressure
Fear of failure
Compromise
Overconfidence
Temptations
Self-Preservation
Complacency
Self-image
Desperation
Politics
Personal Vices
Past Trauma/Abuse
Pressure

That’s just scratching the surface, isn’t it? I think all of those (and any others you will add in the comments), are very solid and possible causes. I’m sure we can add 1,000 more if we thought and wrote long enough. Here’s a question for you: are all of those just symptoms of a bigger issue? Is there a common thread in there somewhere?

Is there one thing I can watch out for as a ReLeader to lower the risk of me going off the rails in my leadership journey? Maybe…maybe not. But let’s chat about it anyway.

There’s this old Greek Mythology story about Icarus. Icarus was given wings by his father and told not to fly too close to the sun and guess what he did? He flew too close to the sun and his wings melted, and he fell to earth. In Greek tragedy, excessive pride toward or defiance of the gods led to their nemesis (the inescapable agent of someone's or something's downfall).

No, I’m not a believer in Greek Mythology, I am however a believer in the Bible. If there’s one Bible verse that gets to the core issue pretty quickly, it’s Proverbs 16:18. “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (NKJV). Let’s nerd out on this for a second. In Hebrew, destruction is the word, šeḇar, which is translated as, “breaking, fracture, crushing, breach, crash, ruin, shattering.” I would say that’s a fairly good definition of what happens when a leader falls. And the Bible lists one thing that precedes it…PRIDE.

Gā'ôn is the Hebrew word used in this verse for pride. It means, “exaltation or majesty.” The Hebrew definition of “haughty spirit” is very similar. It uses “height” as the description and presents the idea of someone placing themselves “above” something else.

There’s a fun little English word I found in my word study, Hubris. The word hubris as used in the New Testament parallels the Hebrew word pasha, meaning "transgression." It represents a pride that "makes a man defy God", sometimes to the degree that he considers himself an equal.¹ Someone else took this approach, got kicked out of heaven, and now roams the earth like a lion seeking whom he can devour.

In his book, Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis wrote that pride is the "anti-God" state, the position in which the ego and the self are directly opposed to God. "Unchastity, anger, greed, and drunkenness are mere fleabites in comparison; it was through Pride that the devil became the devil; Pride leads to every other vice; it is the complete anti-God state of mind.”²

Is it possible that at the core of every leader’s fall from grace, you would find a prideful, hubris mindset? Not one leader would ever set out with a goal to become prideful. If the devil was kicked out of heaven for hubris, wouldn’t he be a master at planting those seeds in us? One of the devil’s greatest weapons is deceit. The tricky thing about being deceived is that you don’t know you’re being deceived.

Consider this a conversation starter. Either in the comment thread below or among your own friends or staff.

How do we keep all of this from happening? Oh man, I’m not sure at this point. Perhaps it’s an article for another day. But for now…what do you think?

1. Stanley J. Grenz, Theology for the Community of God, Pub: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2000

2. Lewis, C.S. (2001). Mere Christianity : a revised and amplified edition, with a new introduction, of the three books, Broadcast talks, Christian behaviour, and Beyond personality. San Francisco: Harper. ISBN 978-0060652920.