What kind of a leader are you?
It’s interesting to note the postings on leadership popping up on LinkedIn and Facebook—as if leaders need a reminder on how to be great at their jobs again. For some, it may be to fully embrace the leadership role he or she has. For others, it could be about the team and how to bring them up to their full potential.
There are many interesting leaders and leadership styles in the Bible. Here’s a great example of empowered leadership:
Joseph became the vizier of Egypt, today’s equivalent of a COO (chief operating officer). Joseph was highly recommended to Pharaoh by the chief cupbearer as a dream interpreter. And with God revealing through Joseph the meaning of Pharaoh’s dreams, he rose to power. “'Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards to the throne will I be greater than you…See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt,' Pharaoh said" (Genesis 41:39-41).
Healthy versus Not-so-healthy Leaders
Some leaders are threatened by team members, but not Pharaoh. He stepped aside to let Joseph manage Egypt for him. He listened to Joseph’s strategic plan and let him implement it—gathering and storing during the plentiful years and selling during the famine. As a result, “Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians…moreover, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth” (vv.56-57). Joseph made Pharaoh even greater because the “land became Pharaoh’s,” and the people became his servants, as the Egyptians exchanged all their fields for grain (Exodus 47:20-21). This is the result of a dependable COO being left to do what he’s meant to do.
Andrew Olsen said, “If you, leader, need to be the most important person in the room, you’re building a culture that values self-promotion and arrogance.” One Harvard Business Review article mentioned: “Gone are the days of the heroic individual leading from the front…Leaders are now supposed to empower and enable their people.” You can set in place symbiotic relationships, one that will be beneficial to all parties.
Olsen drew another picture of a leader, that of a slavedriver: “If you, leader, put the importance of ‘hitting your numbers’ over the health and well-being of your people, you’re building a culture that values profit over people.”
Fast forward over a hundred years later, a new Pharaoh was in place—an oppressive one. Often, this kind of leader will have “hired hands” to do the dirty job. This Pharaoh ordered taskmasters over the Israelites “to afflict them with heavy burdens… [The taskmasters] ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves” (Exodus 1:6-14).
The Ten Commandments movie with Charlton Heston portrayed hundreds of men doing the back-breaking work of pulling those massive rocks to build the pyramids, while the others are busy molding mud and straw to bake in the sun. The women were going around to offer water to thirsty laborers with dry, parched throats. And if you do happen to go to Egypt, especially in the summer, there is not much cover for the blasting sun.
The third kind of leader is a reluctant one. The oppressed Israelites were groaning, and God heard them. He planned for a leader to lead them out of Pharaoh’s oppression. Moses, a shepherd for his father-in-law, was getting this promotion. During his conversation with God, Moses tried to get out of this leadership opportunity. First, he told God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11). Second, he asked, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you’ and they say, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” (v.13).
Moses continued dissuading God. “They will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’” (Exodus 4:1). Still, he made another attempt to stop his promotion: “I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue” (v.16).
Embracing Greater Opportunities
Why do some leaders have a hard time embracing greater opportunities? Moses was told exactly what to say and what to do. God even gave him an assistant, his brother Aaron. Roy T. Bennett encouraged us with these words: “Believe in yourself. You are braver than you think, more talented than you know, and capable of more than you imagine.” Finally accepting the charge and armed with God’s wisdom and guidance, Moses led the people for 40 years.
The fourth kind of leader is the narcissist. Olsen said, “If you, leader, can’t handle difficult feedback and punish people when they point out flaws in your leadership, you’re building a culture of fear and mediocrity.” When feedback is positive, the leader will keep going, listening with much interest. Once the feedback is not-so-pleasant, the leader shuts down and has a hard time sifting through and managing his or her own emotions.
When King Saul victoriously returned with David, after the death of Goliath, “the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments. And the women sang to one another as they celebrated, ‘Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands.’ And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, ‘They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?’ And Saul eyes David from that day on” (1 Samuel 18:6-9).
David did not compose the women’s joyful song mentioning his accolades. Yet, it aroused an ugly emotion within Saul toward David. When jealousy affects a leader, the desire to use authority and position to inflict punishment starts to bubble to the surface. It can start with thoughts of “me versus he or she or them” and either slowly or quickly move towards “I will get even one of these days.” In the case of Saul, the desire to kill David became his driving force, causing him much agony and sleeplessness. His crazy thoughts made him overlook David’s loyalty to him.
Then, we have the “boots on the ground” leader. This leader is on the frontlines, not just sitting behind the desk, and able to manage and pivot no matter the circumstance.
Leadership's Wins and Losses
David lived up to his “ten thousands” with victories. But it wasn’t always a win, for there were times of pursuit and hiding and loss. When he became king, it was said that “David administered justice and equity to all his people” (2 Samuel 8:15). All those who fought with him, his trusted men, reigned with him, and he went to battle with his men in the spring, as was the custom at that time.
Once you are in a position of authority, you are in the big leagues. You need to be the inspiration of your team, making sure everyone is successful in your organization, doing what each one does best. There is no competition, only teamwork. Train each member well, not just to effectively contribute to your organization’s goals, but to prepare them for more responsible positions in the future. The best recognition you can receive is to be part of someone’s growth and development.
What kind of a leader are you?
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Luis Alvarez
Luisa Collopy is an author, speaker and a women’s Bible study teacher. She also produces Mula sa Puso (From the Heart) in Tagalog (her heart language), released on FEBC Philippines stations. Luisa loves spending time with her family over meals and karaoke!
