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Are You Using Your ‘Calling’ to Hide Narcissism?

The Antidote to Narcissism

So what is the antidote to narcissistic tendencies? Saxton says Jesus told us what to do when he instructed us to “take up your cross and follow me”.

How do we take up our cross as leaders? Saxton suggests three practices.

  1. In our soul care – How’s your soul doing? Specifically, Saxton urges leaders to ask how the wounds and the broken pieces of their lives are doing. How about their emotional, mental, physical health? “I wonder if there are areas of your life where people won’t question you on now because you look so wonderful,” Saxton says.
  2. Community – Do you have people who know you and can ask you embarrassing questions about yourself? Do you have true friends?
  3. Putting someone else at the center – Do we know how to put someone else at the center? Our challenge is to leverage our power, privilege, and opportunities to sacrifice for the sake of another. If we are always using our resources to make sure we end up “on top”, we aren’t really leading people.

While these may be uncomfortable questions to ask ourselves, they are vital if we want to avoid the traps that so many leaders have fallen into. If we allow narcissism to subtly take over our motivations, we won’t be able to accomplish the Kingdom purpose we’ve been sent to do.

Watch Jo’s full message here: