The following points or character traits can help to discern when we are Herodic in our leadership style:
- Do you use to abandon and get new people to continue with?
- Abuses power instead of delegating it.
- Uses anger to get things done as he or she wants.
- Not truthful. Can say something and do the opposite. For instance, he or she can tell someone to resign from another company to come work with him or her, then, advertises the post and employs another. Largely lacking in integrity.
- Superiority complex.
- Doing right things for wrong motives. Doing his or her own agenda and not the peoples interests, but says he or she has their interests at heart.
- Gives to humiliate the receiver later. Gives you a gift to have you at his or her mercy.
- Caring more about image, preferring to be a celebrity at all costs. Forcing followers to worship or celebrate you. When you need to tell your followers to appreciate you for the world to see, then you harass the ones that fail to do so, that is Herodic.
- Ego driven with false humility. Projecting false humility before the people that matter to him or her.
- Builds empire on fear driven excellence. There is an excellence driven by fear and there is an excellence driven by truth, efficiency and love.
- Destroys the future of innocent people. Can do anything to retain power or remain relevant. Herod executed innocent children in order to prevent another king from coming in.
- Toys with peoples emotional and physical well being. Gyrating about at the expense of follower’s welfare. Skinning your followers alive to remain relevant.
- Pretends to involve you in decision making but at the end of the day, only his or her decision will stand. Grand waste of time!
- Attacks those that are bold enough to correct wrong doings.
Now, who is the Herod in your life? Or are you a Herod in someone’s life?
You can discern this and work towards correction. It is difficult but possible.
Also the followers can help such leaders by avoiding flattering them unnecessarily and come to a point where the help you expect is not from that leader.
A leader can improve when followers can point out wrong doings politely or constructively. This takes a lot of courage but it is possible.
Kemi Olorunfemi Leadership Fort 