Knowledgeable leaders select their outside alliances carefully, understanding their own character and subsequent actions are shaped by these relationships. Read Proverbs 13:20.

Solomon wrote the Proverbs often restating the same principle in slightly different ways to make sure his readers got the point. For example, the following Proverbs in conjunction with Proverbs 13:20 make his point very clear: Read more »

To be an effective over the long haul, a leader must be an encourager. Read Proverbs 12:25.

In the rough-and-tumble circumstances of life, members of your team will receive blows that will leave them emotionally battered, drained of their joy and grasping for a reason to hold on let alone do their best. During these times few functions a leader performs are more important than keeping hope alive. Read more »

Wise leaders create an environment where advisors are encouraged to give their input and feel free to enter into dialog even when their counsel is unpopular. Read Proverbs 11:14.

Effective leaders legitimize, encourage and utilize trusted advisors as they make decisions. These advisors add value to the leadership of the organization. This “inner circle” of counselors is so important that according to verse 14 without them a nation (business/ministry) will fail and with them victory is sure. Read more »

An effective form of communication used in the Proverbs is juxtaposing the lifestyles of two opposites. Leaders can learn a lot from the comparison of the ant from the insect world with the human sluggard. Read Proverbs 6:6-11.

Every leader is probably familiar with the instinctive work habits of the ant to gather and store food during the summer months so they have enough to survive during the winter, but leaders may not be as familiar with the word “sluggard.” The dictionary definition is someone that is lazy; somebody who avoids work or physical exertion. Read more »

Effective leaders help their team develop as leaders and at times this will mean correcting unacceptable behavior. Read Proverbs 3:11-12.

God’s Word gives leaders a model to follow. Think through the powerful implications of verse 12. Few things are more difficult for a leader than to give a firm rebuke to a team member yet a leader who truly loves their team will be found as quick to exhort and discipline their team as reward them. From my own experience it is tough enough to exhort and correct teammates when they make a careless or inadvertent mistake but when someone on the team purposefully imposes their own will to violate the established criterion for behavior or protocol the job is just that much more difficult. Read more »