I saw a video at church yesterday from a past Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit. Featured was Erwin McManus who, at one point was behaving much differently than most speakers at past Summits. He was throwing bananas into the crowd and even chopping up a watermelon like a Samurai…probably a first on the stage at Willow Creek. This was more than entertainment though, he had a purpose.

He asked those who caught bananas what it was they were holding. Everyone said they held a banana. After all responses came in, Erwin said, “You all aren’t skeptical enough. How do you know what’s inside? All you can see is a banana peel.” He then asked everyone to open up their banana peel and take a bite of what was inside. And guess what? They all bit into a banana…no surprise.

McManus then shared that anything that God makes has integrity. In other words, it is the same on the inside as it is on the outside. God also made humans so we all ought to have integrity and be the same on the inside as we are on the outside. However, because God has given us free will and we choose to move away from His way, most people portray something on the outside that does not match up with what’s on the inside…they wear masks.

When I have observed successful leaders, they understand this. Those who are less effective are almost always less than authentic and lack integrity, oftentimes due to the insecurity of the leader. They, too, wear a mask to hide the real them. The silly part in all this is that those following a mask-toting leader know what he or she is doing. They aren’t fooled…they see through the façade. This only leads to a loss of respect which undermines the leader’s effectiveness.

So the question for you is…are you willing to put down the mask, be vulnerable and lead like a banana? If so, it will take humility.