What is your current “decision-making process/strategy? (212-1)

Decision making is critical leadership skill for every effective leader.  Read Nehemiah 1:1-11.

Nehemiah was a Jewish man who had gained favor with Persian Royalty during the time the Jews were exiled from Israel to Babylon.  Nehemiah lived in a time after the Persians had conquered Babylon, in the 20th year of Artaxerxes, king of Persia, (445/444 BC), and Nehemiah was cup-bearer to the king.   A cup-bearer is an officer of high rank in royal courts, whose duty it was to serve the drinks at the royal table. Since there was constant fear of plots and intrigues, a cup-bearer must be regarded as thoroughly trustworthy to hold this position. When Nehemiah heard some difficult news from those who had returned to Persia from Jerusalem he had a major decision to make. If he asked to leave the kings service, even for a short period of time, to return to Jerusalem to help his fellow countrymen, he might be regarded as disloyal and suffer prison or death.

Decision making is one of leadership’s core competencies. In fact, decision-making ability differentiates between poor and good, and between good and great, leaders. Decisions reveal values and intelligence. For the Christian leader, making good decisions requires obedience to and dependence upon God. They demand wisdom. As you consider the many core competencies related to leadership, it will become apparent that making decisions affects just about everything else leaders do. In a given day, the decisions can number into the thousands. Some are small; others are life-altering, but every decision impacts strategy and our team’s actions.

Nehemiah provides one of our best patterns for a Christian leader who wants to  make good decisions:

• First, he carefully studied the situation (V2-3)
• Second, he empathized with those his decision would affect  (V4)
• Third, he humbled himself before God (V4)
• Fourth, he prayed and he petitioned God for help (V5-11)

What is your current “decision-making process/strategy?   Does your decision making process include humility before God and seeking His guidance before the decision is made or do you seek God only after problems surface? Ultimately, Nehemiah knew what every great Christian leader knows: All wisdom for making good decisions comes from God.

(Some material used in this post was adapted from footnotes in The Leadership Bible)