Like a loving parent, effective leaders urge those under their charge to develop the wisdom, understanding and skills that will lead to their success. Read Proverbs 4:1-9.

Rather than simply teaching the characteristics of success, effective leaders focus on people and invest in them. They create a culture that enables people to develop the wisdom needed to do their work with excellence. They pay attention to details and decisions that are essential to their team’s development of wisdom and common sense. Wise leaders create a culture that affirms wise decisions and holds team members accountable for decisions and actions that demonstrate a lack of wisdom.

Effective Christian leaders lay a solid, godly foundation when developing their leadership skills. Read Proverbs 4:1-27.

Developing as a leader or helping those on your team develop as leaders is a complex task. Before delving into the specifics of a particular leadership development process, Proverbs 4 tells us that the foundation for effective, godly leadership is wisdom and understanding.