Composure. It’s a quality we look for in any leader, from political candidates to CEOs to college presidents. To assess a person’s leadership ability, composure is one of the main things we try to measure – how rattle-able they are under pressure and in crisis.
Composure is about an inner integrity that is neither instant nor easy. It flows from our self-knowledge and character. To borrow from author David Brooks, it’s more about a person’s ‘eulogy virtues’ than their ‘resume virtues.’
The world needs people of composure, and not just those at our highest levels. So how do we get there?
We have to be willing to visit our own basement. We banish our worst traits and trick ourselves into believing they don’t exist. We end up fragmenting our public and private selves in a way that fractures integrity. Composure is hard to come by when we do not deal with this reality.
We have to get out of the echo chamber. In this age of overwhelming voices and knowledge, we carefully pay attention to the people who tell us what we already think. Composure requires that we live in a world of diversity and difference. We have to learn to be kind and wise in the presence of radically different people.
We need to develop an uncommon sense of welcome. In our culture, we form alliances of like-minded people and resist others before we ever actually know them. But people of composure have a hospitable attitude. They are rock solid, steady, and principled, and they understand that disagreement with civility is far better than rude pre-judgment.
When we seek leaders in our society, I’d encourage us to pursue something much deeper than appearances or coached reactions. Let’s look for people of true composure.As president of Trevecca Nazarene University since 2005, Dr. Dan Boone has spearheaded tremendous growth in campus infrastructure, enrollment, academics and athletics. A pastor, speaker and author, he has served churches in five states and written more than 25 books. He holds a doctorate in ministry from McCormick Theological Seminary.
