Growing up I had several aspirations of greatness. At one time I thought I might play professional basketball...until I got cut from my high school team. I had plans to become a Beatle...until they broke up. I considered following Paul McCartney as a popular song writer..... until I realized that my songs were just ok. I was going to be the next Kenny G.... until I realized that in the music business it is almost as hard to reach stardom as professional athletics. There was a time when I was disappointed that fame was not going to be part of my earthly experience; Dave Rough was not going to be a name talked about at the dinner table across our nation; I was not going to appear on TV or in the movies. Then one day I was reading a copy of a celebrity magazine and realized how blessed I was not to have reached celebrity status. Drug addiction, divorce, affairs, alcoholism, abuse, DUI, and on the list could go. The pitfalls of success and fame are deep and varied.
Just recently, I turned around and looked back over the past 40 years of adult living. Fame and stardom have not come my way, but fullness and richness have. A wonderful and faithful wife that fills my life with happiness and joy; four incredible children that have grown up to such good friends; four (soon to be five) super grandchildren that are so talented and special; a ministry with a positive organization filled with great people dedicated to transforming lives; a personal walk with the God of the universe....in the words of some TV commercial, “It does get much better than this.”
Whether it is the fame of a high profile lifestyle or the demands of a local pastor to keep up his image in the pulpit, the road to success can be dangerous. In order to meet expectations or to master the deadline, leaders often sacrifice the balance of integrity to the demands of the day. Sixty, seventy, eighty hour work weeks can yield success at work, but flush relationships down the drain. Workaholism can be as debilitating as the alcoholism. Climbing the steps of success can lead to titles of prestige, offices of authority, parking spots of importance, and keys that open exclusive doors. But those same steps can lead to a lonely life, a swelled head, and a throne of mediocrity.
Max Depree (1992) is one of my favorite leadership authors. He shares this insight into the dangers of success,
“Success tends to breed arrogance, complacency, and isolation. Success can close a mind faster than prejudice. Success is fragile, like a butterfly. We usually crush the life out of it in our efforts to possess it” (p.47).
No one like to fail; no one plans be be second-rate. The consequences of being rejected because of one's lack of talent, poor performance, or unsatisfactory skills can be devastating. But the results of success can be just dangerous. The deceptive nature of success can blind a leader to the changes happening within. Pride, conceit, and close-mindedness can deflate a leader's effectiveness and tarnish his/her trophies of success. Beware the hidden dangers of success.
DePree, M. 1992. Leadership jazz. New York: Doubleday.
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