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 believe they can be trusted as their leader by giving them understanding of the scope of their work before a project starts and continually reinforcing why the team is taking certain actions as the project progresses. These actions are designed to help the team believe in their leader as much as understand the project. Read Nehemiah 2:5-18.

God had given Nehemiah His favor with King Artaxerxes and allowed him to return to Jerusalem from Babylon to rebuild the protective walls around the city. Nehemiah showed up in Jerusalem with some fanfare. He rode in, probably dressed more like a “royal” than an ordinary caravan visitor. He was escorted by a troop of Persian cavalry sent by the king for his protection. His initial actions gave indication he wasn’t passing through but staying a while. If you were a citizen of Jerusalem, there was more reason to mistrust Nehemiah than to trust him. It might have been hard to see him as a leader that had Jerusalem’s best interest at heart. Read more »

Every competent leader knows the importance of building a team. Read 1 Chronicles 11:10-23.

The Bible offers an impressive list of military leaders connected to David, calling them his “mighty men” and describing several of their incredible exploits. David’s mighty men formed a loyal, committed and capable team who supported, encouraged and protected David in the years before and after he was anointed king of Israel. Read more »

Effective leaders are always on the lookout for good people. Virtually every leader carries around a mental list of what kind of people they would like on their team. It would surprise some leaders to discover that the teammate they get has less to do with what the leader wants and more to do with who the leader is. In most situations a leader draws people to them who possess the same qualities that the leader has. Read 2 Kings 2:1-15.

Elijah had a charismatic personality that affected all those around him on every level. Remember the lessons from 1 Kings 18 when Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal, he connected with the people of Israel. He didn’t just sit idly by while the prophets of Baal did their incantations to call down fire on the sacrifice; he taunted them and made sarcastic remarks concerning Baal napping. When the time came for Elijah to implore God to bring the fire to ignite the wood on the sacrifice he poured water on the wood and made a display that won the people’s hearts. And, when he called for the execution of the false prophets, the people were captivated and on his team. Read more »

All of us have met or served with leaders who read one too many of their own press clippings and started to believe what they were reading. They forgot that they did not achieve any victory alone. Effective leaders understand the value of their team and are fiercely loyal to them. Read 2 Samuel 23:8-35.

David led one of the most famous teams written about in the Bible. Some of the battle feats are so phenomenal that if we saw them reenacted in a movie we would immediately assume the story was fictional. Josheb-Basshebeth “raised his spear against eight hundred men, whom he killed in one encounter” (v. 8). Another one of David’s Mighty Men was Eleazar who, when all the rest of the army retreated “…stood his ground and struck down the Philistines till his hand grew tired and froze to the sword….The troops returned to Eleazar, but only to strip the dead” (v. 10). Eleazar single-handedly defeated the troops that put the rest of the army to flight. This team was so important to David that he named them individually in chapter 23. Read more »