Of course, one man's sin is another man's natural human inclination.

Look at those seven vices through the right lens and they might not seem so terrible after all. In fact, they could even be good for you...

Pride

According to Christian theology, pride is the worst of all the seven deadly sins.

It's wrapped up in arrogance and selfishness and acts as a gateway sin, leading you to lust, envy, and all the rest.

The idea was borne out by a recent literature review from the University of Missouri, which found that arrogance is on a spectrum.

It starts with individual arrogance, which is an inflated view of oneself, moves to comparative arrogance, where that inflated view fuels a feeling of superiority and ends at antagonistic arrogance when superiority leads people to treat others poorly.

However, a hint of pride could also be a good thing. After all, loving oneself is associated with feelings of confidence, self-worth, and assertiveness. Many people who lack those qualities would say it's better to have them than not.

Indeed, a recent study from Queen's University Belfast found that narcissism, or excessive pride in oneself, increased mental toughness, which helped to offset symptoms of depression. People who scored highly in tests for grandiose narcissism were also less stressed.

Dr Kostas Papageorgiou, from Queen's School of Psychology, said: "This research really helps to explain variation in symptoms of depression in society. If a person is more mentally tough they are likely to embrace challenges head-on, rather than viewing them as a hurdle.

"While of course not all dimensions of narcissism are good, certain aspects can lead to positive outcomes." Continue reading

He appeared to be doing a great job leading, but he wanted to do better.

I always admire someone who wants to improve.

His question went like this. Knowing what you know now about leadership, what would you say are the biggest traps to avoid?

What are the worst leadership traits that you've seen limit a leader's potential to lead well?

That's a hard question because depending on the circumstances, I think there could be many different answers.

You can have some bad traits and perhaps still see some success as a leader, but they are still bad leadership traits - the worst.

And they keep one from leading well.

Eventually, they may derail a leader if not addressed.

There are many I've observed. I've seen laziness, for example, cripple a leader. But, with the right team around him or her, even a lazy leader can experience success.

I thought of incompetence, but I have seen some dumb leaders (like me at times) smart enough to surround themselves with wise people. But what about the worst?

So, I've narrowed my list to the following 5 of the worst traits I've observed personally. Feel free to disagree or add to my list. I certainly don't have all the answers.

5 of the worst leadership traits

Avoidance - The leader who ignores problems invites trouble to the church or organization.

Problems never go away on their own. They fester and eventually explode.

It may take a long time for them to be exposed, but they will eventually catch up with the leader.

Yet I have seen some leaders survive a long time while avoiding the real problems.

Control - Inflexibility on the part of a leader limits the church or organization to the level of performance solely by the leader.

That's always bad.

Even if the person is a genius, there's a lid placed upon the organization or church's future.

People feel squashed of their potential and under appreciated, producing half-heartedness and poor morale.

Who needs that?

But there are still growing organizations with controlling leaders.

Pride - Perhaps the worst trait I've personally observed is the arrogance of a leader.

It turns people away in disgust when they hear a leader brag on all his or her accomplishments.

The braggart feels good but is never as popular as he or she perceives.

I've found if a leader is really good at what they do, they won't have to tell others about it. Continue reading

• Ron Edmondson is CEO of Leadership Network. Previously, he was a pastor, revitalizing two churches and planting two churches. He has also been a church leadership consultant.
• Image: CrossMap

We might talk about the ‘me' generation, the addiction to selfies, or the overbearing politician in any of these terms.

But this ignores their important differences, and threatens to flatten out all the interesting contours of the landscape of the self.

The English poet John Milton offer a useful starting point for discussing these notions.

He thought, rightly, that a ‘pious and just honouring of ourselves' was essential to us - ‘the fountainhead whence every laudable and worthy enterprise issues forth'.

Writing in an essay on church government in 1642, he called for sufficient self-respect or self-confidence to fit us for the undertakings that enrich our lives or those of others.

Too little of it, and we would shrink away from things that we might well need to do.

Too much, and we start doing things that we are not actually fit to undertake.

Milton was talking of modest self-confidence, enough to give us courage to face problems and tackle difficulties.

Today we might think of it as having appropriate self-esteem, and it ought to be one aim of a good education.

But here we need to add an Aristotelian caveat.

The root idea behind the concept of esteem is that of an estimate.

In nearly all contexts it is better not to estimate things too highly or too lowly, and it is the same with estimates of the self.

If I estimate myself too highly in most respects, I am likely to head for a fall: literally if, for example, I think I am a better climber or horse-rider than I am, but metaphorically in almost any other respect. Continue reading

Sources

• Aeon Magazine
• Image: Yves Herman/Reuters / Aeon