Control Issues
One tool that a leader should never use is manipulation. I can’t say that as a leader the temptation of using your authority for personal advance isn’t there, but we need to fight it at all cost. Manipulation happens when we use our cunning skills or authority against another person to make the situation or circumstance learn towards our favor.
Manipulation can come in the form of:
-Adult temper tantrums: unnecessarily complaining to a manager of a store to get something free, using the “why don’t you love me” phrase when you don’t get your way with your spouse, making people feel sorry about you as you exaggerate your trials to them
-Lying or “fudging” with the truth: saying things in a certain way not to help someone in their thinking, but to change their thinking for personal gain, saying things so people can share in your bitterness (gossip), or saying the right thing with the wrong heart
-Rushing/delaying the process: making everything seem urgent, or taking short cuts so things come in your timing, skipping stages, procrastination, etc.
You feel you have to manipulate people when:
-You are hiding something: such as a weakness or a mistake(s)
-You are living more out of your selfishness and not your servant hood
-Your trust isn’t in God but yourself
I found that when manipulation is involved, it usually means God’s will isn’t…
John 15:5 “…for without Me you can do nothing.”