Every great leader has the ability to relate to their team and people in their sphere of influence. If you want to be a superior leader, you must learn to connect with people. Relational leadership dramatically raises your influence as a leader. Team loyalty requires that you relate with your team through empathy, understanding, truth, fairness, respect, and mutual accountability. If a leader will give of themselves in these areas to their team, their team will be loyal and will follow their leadership anywhere. Ignore the need for connection and your leadership influence will be limited or a disaster. Read 1 Kings 12:1-24.

King Rehoboam had an opportunity to make some reasonable concessions to the people of the nation of Israel in the early days of his leadership that would indicate he understood their situation, empathized with their circumstances and would be fair in his leadership. Even when the previous king’s closest advisers counseled Rehoboam that he could win the people’s hearts forever by lightening their workload and tax burden, he turned a deaf ear to the people’s need.

Relational skills are very important to godly leaders. A godly leader’s faith doesn’t simply revolve around religious creeds or doctrines even though God-honoring creeds and doctrines are important. God designed us to have vertical relationships with Him and horizontal relationships with the people around us. Developing good relationships is critical to any leader’s long-term success. Review again 1 Samuel 25 this time making comparisons between the approach to relationship building of Abigail and her husband Nabal.

As you review Abigail’s actions think about the following relationship building skills:

No leader can enjoy success without developing a healthy sense of discernment and intuition. Read Numbers 22:21-35.

Balaam lacked both discernment and intuition about what was happening around him. Balaam angered God because he disobeyed what he knew (or should have known) to be right. It actually took an angel standing in Balaam’s path to stop him. Balaam lacked the discernment to see the angel’s blockade and even whipped his donkey, who had more discernment than Balaam, for responding to the angel.