Wise leaders understand that every member of their team is critical to the team’s performance. Read Proverbs 25:4-5.

Verses four and five are designed to be read together to make a single point. Similar to removing impurities from precious metal to make it valuable, an organization needs to remove corrupt (wicked) individuals from their team to make it a quality, effective team.

Wise leaders not only learn lessons from the past but apply that knowledge to their current situation. Read Proverbs 24:30-34.

King Solomon used a little story within a series of proverbs to teach a valuable lesson. The wise farmer learns from and applies information from every situation even a lazy neighbor. The wise farmer learned a lot more than his eyes saw at first glance. At first glance he learned that weeds grow in the field of a lazy farmer who lacks good judgment. A second look gave the wise farmer an application much deeper.

Leaders who have minds saturated with God’s Word and a submissive attitude toward God’s instructions will find wisdom that gives them a hope for the future. Read Proverbs 24:13-14.

When instructing the young men (see 1:4) for leadership, King Solomon told them that wisdom was essential to a hopeful future. He was not talking about wisdom that they could reproduce on a test or recite in front of a group, that’s really just information instead of wisdom. He was talking about the ability to make sensible decisions and judgments based on Biblical principles (see 2:6).

Responsible leaders can answer the questions “Where are we going?” and “How do we get there?” Read Proverbs 24:3-4.

The wording in Living Bible paraphrase helps Proverbs 24:3-4 come alive by using everyday English. It says, “Any enterprise is built by wise planning, becomes strong through common sense, and profits wonderfully by keeping abreast of the facts.” Leaders can get their hands around simple words like planning, common sense, and keeping up with changes that affect their organization. It is a pretty simple formula, but if you drop any one of the three elements your leadership can become ineffective.

Knowing and understanding Biblical truth is critical if a Christian leader is to make God-honoring decisions. Read Proverbs 23:23.

Decision making is one of leadership’s core competencies. The ability to make excellent decisions differentiates between poor and good, and good and great leaders. A leader’s decisions reveal values and intelligence. And, while it is crucial that leaders make wise decisions, no decision is wise if it is built on falsehood rather than the truth.