According to a concept called the “sleeper effect,” when someone allows their credibility to momentarily decline, they actually engender long-term trust.
That’s why leaders who sprinkle in self-effacing humor are often more trustworthy than charismatic ones. Moses, the leader God chose to deliver his people from the most powerful ruler in the known world, was described as “a very humble man, more so than any man on the face of the earth” (Numbers 12:3).
But humility isn’t the end-all of leadership. It must be tempered with impartiality and authority. God himself exemplifies this kind of impartial leadership in the book of Amos. God’s actions in this and other prophetic books confirm a philosophy that runs throughout the Bible: The highest form of leadership integrity is impartiality.
When you’re impartial, you’re fair, just, unprejudiced and unbiased. Impartiality produces honesty. It makes a leader predictable – people know how you’ll respond to issues. A judge’s wise ruling flows out of impartiality; a leader’s integrity flows from impartiality.
Amos illustrates this in a vision: “The Lord was standing there by a vertical wall with a plumb line in His hand…. Then the Lord said, ‘I am setting a plumb line among My people Israel; I will no longer spare them'” (Amos 7:7b, 8c).
The plumb line is a simple but accurate tool used for determining whether something is perfectly upright. The implication is that God will judge his crooked people with a perfect standard – his law. But they continue to bind themselves to the customs of neighboring nations, rather than to the divine standard.
Today, leaders often fall prey to bias and inconsistent judgment. The following practices are helpful in developing the art of impartial leadership:
1. Deal with absolute values. Ray Stedman comments, “When (God) begins to deal with a nation, he insists on absolute values. When he begins to deal with an individual, he deals with absolute values.” In other words, there is no room for subjectivity when it comes to determining whether someone has broken the law. God is merciful, patient, and loving, but he never calls someone upright who has disobeyed him, unless they have received their due punishment.
2. Take someone out if they get out of line (no matter who they are). In a meeting I ran several years ago, a teammate became extremely belligerent. He was a personal friend, so his words bit extra hard. He challenged my authority in front of the group. I asked him to follow me into the hallway where I calmly inquired what in the world was going on. As blood started returning to the rational part of his brain, I finally understood his frustrations – which had very little to do with me. Our friendship survived, but this was hard for me to forget.
3. Don’t overreact to positive cues. Can you spot a fake? A common psychological tactic is feigned sincerity – not exactly lying, but imaging positively in order to win favor. A Wired magazine article lists tongue-in-cheek tips on how to persuade someone to think you really care about him. The advice includes staring at the table in order to absorb the “astounding” information the other person is revealing. “Nodding ‘yes’ means ‘I get it, shut up,'” says the article. “But a slow ‘no’ means ‘I can’t believe the fascinating things you’re telling me!'” One of my favorites is leaning back in your chair: “This says you’re totally relaxed. You’re ready to hear some secrets.”
4. Don’t enter a debate too early. Nelson Mandela, the famed conqueror of South African apartheid, learned leadership as a young cattle herder. In a 2008 TIME article, the 90 year-old statesman offered several leadership lessons, including one derived from his herd-driving experience: “Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front.” During the height of his struggles against apartheid, Mandela called frequent powwows of his inner circle, but he only spoke after everyone else had revealed their own thoughts. He summarized their arguments, then weaved his own thinking into the conversation, guiding the decision with a gentle hand.
Mandela’s style annoyed some of his more action-oriented henchmen. But he wanted to hear their full, unfettered truths in order to come to an informed decision. His quiet voice at the conclusion of the debates commanded attention and delivered impartial finality.
Mandela was the ultimate impartial sleeper, risking short-term credibility to maintain his leadership integrity in the long run.
