Weekly Thought Archives > Grow Up

Grow Up

One of the most interesting studies on maturity in leaders was done by Harvard University in the 1960s. It reported four common denominators:

1. Mature leaders verbalize negative feelings objectively without taking destructive action. Immature often hide their feelings and then strike out or back.

2. Mature leaders anticipate, creating the ability to develop options, and not be surprised. Strong leaders dislike surprises which cause them to hurried action or disastrous delays.

3. Mature leaders are altruistic. I interpret this one as meaning good leaders don’t expect something for nothing. The Rotarians put it this way, “He profits most who serves best.” I like the word “mutuality,” for no relationships can be healthy that aren’t mutually beneficial.

4. Mature leaders have a sense of humor. To me, this means not taking myself too seriously. I have never known a humorless person who wasn’t arrogant. It really is about control. When you can’t laugh, it is usually because you can’t control the situation. The pompous fear humor --- it is a pin in a balloon factory. I have found you have a choice: laugh or have high blood pressure.

Maturity brings us to the juxtaposition of the here and the hereafter. If I see any one danger sign in our society, it is losing our consciousness of God and the hereafter. The Puritans were strongly motivated by their sense of God’s ultimate judgment. In my many years of living (note: Fred was 72 when he wrote this) I have never known a devout Christian come to the end of his life and wish he had lived unChristianly. On the other hand, I have known many non-believers who felt they missed the bar and wanted a do-over. A priest for street people told me, “I’ve never known a dying man to call for his therapist.”

The here is important, but the hereafter is more important. Maturity lets us bring a balance between the two.

Carefully consider this week: 1) How do I define maturity? 2) What has Fred taught me? 3) Who could benefit from Fred’s words?

Words of Wisdom: The here is important, but the hereafter is more important.

Wisdom from the Word: “so that you may live worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God.” (Colossians 1: 10 NET Bible)