John Stanko

"It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel" - Deuteronomy 17:19-20.

These words of Moses were directed to the future kings of Israel, who were admonished to follow the words and laws of the Lord just like all the other people. They were not to consider themselves superior to their followers, and thus exempt from morality and integrity just because they were leaders. A philosopher once said, "There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it," which means that somehow the leadership title makes the person with the title special or above others. Leaders must not see themselves in a class all by themselves because then they may act like it, and the results are always negative and harmful.

LEADERSHIP STEP: Do you have this attitude that as the leader you have special rights? The only special rights are those that help you do your job. So if a corner office helps you do your job, then it is warranted. Otherwise it is a leadership perk. The same applies to a reserved parking space, special food, or a private bathroom, just to name a few. Your Step today is to do a 'perk' review and eliminate those that came from or lead to an elite leadership mentality.