Run a potential leader through this 'fool' test
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The sort of error that arises from a ruler: Fools are put in many high positions...
—Ec. 10:5
With all the turnover these days, you may be anxious to install new leaders to help shoulder the load. Here's a quick "fool-proof" checklist to help you identify whether a new leader has the character you're looking for.
1. Does the leader believe in God?
This is an obvious one, but I believe the wisest leaders in business believe in God.
The fool says in his heart there is no God.
—Psalm 14:1
Leadership without God isn't true leadership.
2. Does he or she talk too much?
The fool multiplies words.
—Ec. 10:14
Our leadership antenna should be sensitive to verbosity.
The more the words, the less the meaning, and how does that profit anyone?
—Ec 6:11
3. Does he thrive on quick, emotional intuition?
It is not good to have zeal without knowledge.
—Prov. 19:2
Leadership is a balancing act; it is informed zeal.
Desire without knowledge is not good—how much more will hasty feet miss the way!
—Pr 19:2The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.
—Pr 15:14
4. Does she just react to symptoms, or does she try to understand causes?
We must look deeper as we lead.
You are looking only on the surface of things.
—2 Cor 10:7
5. Does he thrive on conflict?
It is to a man's honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel.
—Prov 20:3
The challenge is to discern these character flaws in a potential leader before they're put into a position of authority. When we start observing these deficiencies in the leaders already on our team, rarely will we be able to stamp them out.
Excerpted from Servant Leader Strong: Uniting Biblical Wisdom and High-Performance Leadership, by Tom Harper (DeepWater Books, 2019).
 | Tom Harper is publisher of BiblicalLeadership.com and executive chairman of Networld Media Group, a business-to-business publisher and event producer. He has written five books, including Servant Leader Strong: Uniting Biblical Wisdom and High-Performance Leadership (DeepWater Books, 2019) as well as the Christian business fable Through Colored Glasses and its sequel Inner Threat (DeepWater, 2022). Learn More » |
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