Fake it Until You Make It?

I recently read an article in Collide Magazine's final issue title, Fake it Until You Make it, by Ben Arment. The article told the story of U2's rise to fame. They were from Dublin, Ireland and struggling to make it. So they went to London to make it big...except they didn't. But they gave off the impression to their hometown that they did. They faked it, and that made all the difference in their hometown. Quickly they became a bigger deal than they previously were, and the rest, as they say, is history. Arment summed up the article with this:

Whether it's rock bands, best-selling books, or churches, people prefer to go with options that have already made it. And if you haven't made it just yet, you have to fake it.

Then, yesterday in our staff meeting we watched the first session of Dr. Henry Cloud's White Board | Red Couch leadership teaching DVD. In this first session he explains that there are 3 key ingredients to success in leadership - 1. Competence, 2. Alliances, and 3. Character.

Competence speaks to what we know how to do. Alliances speaks to who we know. Both key ingredients to success. But a lot of people stop with these first two. And you can get a long way on just those two. But long-term success needs character as a part of it.

Your character, or your make-up is what holds up the success of the business, or your leadership or whatever else. It's like the foundation. Everyone has cracks in their foundation - they're human. But someone with a developing character is able to make it further, and over the long haul.

So, can you fake it until you make it? Sure. It worked for U2, and it's worked for a lot of companies and people. But at some point, without character developing along with all of that, you'll end up being found out. As my Senior Pastor, Tim always says, "Character will reveal itself."