The sun rises and sets every day. The pattern is so consistent that we build charts looking years into the future establishing the time for sunrise and sunset based on the rotation of the earth and the tilt on its axis. The North Star is so consistent in its location that it is used as a navigational reference point in the northern hemisphere. God’s created order has evidence of intelligent design from the smallest living system to the human brain and beyond to the far reaches of the universe. Since we are created in God’s image, it should come as no surprise that leaders need to apply structure and organization to their organization to be consistent and effective. Read 1 Chronicles 27:1-34.

Chapter 27 details one of the best examples of a leader using structure and organization to be effective. David’s administrative abilities shine through in this description of the careful organization of his army divisions, tribal officers and royal overseers. If a leader studied only this chapter and learned to use the principles of structure and organization used by David, they would increase their effectiveness to utilize multiple resources around a common goal.

God’s created order is replete with evidence of intelligent design. Even the simplest living system is more complex and subtle than the most sophisticated computer yet designed. God is the architect of structure and organization. Read 1 Kings 4:1-28.

Solomon created an organizational structure led by hand-picked chief officials and district governors. The Biblical accounts of his extensive building projects and fortifications demonstrate the organization and effectiveness of his military and administrative systems. It should come as no surprise to a leader that the God of the Bible uses structure and organization to accomplish His many purposes through leaders created in His image.

Structure and organization allows a leader to gather multiple resources and focus them on the desired outcome. Well-led organizations can accomplish far more than any individual can hope to accomplish alone.

So what kind of structure should a leader bring to an organization in order to make it function effectively? Solomon gave us one example, Moses another, but scripture doesn’t provide us with any one rock-solid system that serves as the universal ideal organizational structure. Why? Because no such structure exists! Organizational structure is not an end in itself but is designed to channel resources to meet the task and mission of the organization. To be effective a leader must allow structure and organization to change as resources and tasks ebb and flow.

How a leader deals with the circumstances of life, both positive and negative, tells many things about their character. Circumstances can’t always make a leader’s character, but they certainly will reveal it. Read Genesis 50:15-21.

Joseph puts his entire life in perspective in the final chapter of Genesis. The single greatest test of Joseph’s character may have come at the height of his power. During a terrible famine, his brothers, desperate for food, humbly bow down before him just as he had predicted decades earlier. At a moment when he could have extracted any measure of revenge, Joseph forgave his brothers.

When Joseph’s brothers realized that the one they had betrayed could now do with them as he pleased, they feared payback. Instead of retaliating, Joseph did the unexpected; Joseph blessed them and empowered them to complete the task that had brought them to Egypt. Read Genesis 45:4-7.

Each of us can learn from Joseph traits that will empower our leadership to go to the next level. Joseph had several qualities that made him an empowering leader:

Trustworthy leaders tend to find favor in the workplace and with those around them. Read Genesis 39.

Joseph came to Egypt as a teenage slave. He had no resume, no references, no track record and did not speak the language. He was purchased from the slave traders by Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, a captain of the guard. One trait in Joseph’s character, trustworthiness, allowed him to find favor with his master and as a young man he was “…made overseer of his (Potiphar’s) house, and all that he had he put under his (Joseph’s) authority.”