Advice for Leaders
(Prov 13:10 NIrV) Pride only leads to arguing. But those who take advice are wise.
This morning we continue our series, Solomon was the wisest man to ever live (outside of Jesus). Under his tenure (as King) Israel built the greatest temple ever built. The project took over seven years to complete and Solomon entered into partnerships with other Kings and nations to outsource what his nation did not specialize in. All in all, the project required over 200,000 workers and the budget was over a Billion dollars.
I share this with you because I want you to understand a little about the man who is writing here. Although God had given him remarkable wisdom, he knew that he could not accomplish everything alone. He surrounded himself with wise people, welcomed and heeded their counsel, decentralized control of aspects of the project, and accomplished what God desired for him to do.
In the 20th verse of this same chapter Solomon said, “Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.” In other words, wisdom and foolishness are both transferred by association. If you want to grow wiser, you must surround yourself with wise people and then open yourself up to learn from them.
In Exodus 18 Moses had a problem. He was the leader or Israel, but he was attempting to address all the issues that arose by himself. His father-in-law (Jethro) told him, “What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.
He went on to say Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you... select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.
Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.” Moses did just that, his load became lighter, and he and the nation prospered because of it.
Our verse for this morning teaches us that it takes humility to accept advice and assistance from others. The Message Bible version of this verse reads, “Arrogant know-it-alls stir up discord, but wise men and women listen to each other's counsel.” Prideful leaders don’t empower their subordinates and the result is a climate of micromanagement, frustration, and inefficiency.
Solomon could have made all the decisions himself, Moses could have ignored his father-in-law, but in both cases neither man would have been the better for it and the nations they led would have suffered.
Every time I get to hear a senior leader speak they openly remind the audience how fortunate they feel to be where they are, how humbled they are by the experience, and how they must surround themselves with very capable (and in many cases smarter) individuals to be able to accomplish was is asked of them.
So what does this mean ? Three quick things:
1. You don’t know it all. Don’t allow pride you make you think you do.
2. You can’t do it all. You will burn yourself out and then you won’t be any good to anyone.
3. You can’t make every decision. You must surround yourself with wise people and then trust and empower them to perform your intent.
Father, I refuse to allow pride to keep me enslaved to self-promotion. I know I don’t know it all, so I thank You for blessing me with people around me who are well able to perform what I can’t. I will not micromanage my organization, my family, or anyone You bless me to lead. I will develop and empower those that I lead, so that they can become tomorrow’s leaders and so that I can be free to accomplish all that You desire for me to do before I die! I declare this by faith! In Jesus’ name. Amen!
(Prov 13:10 NIrV) Pride only leads to arguing. But those who take advice are wise.
This morning we continue our series, Solomon was the wisest man to ever live (outside of Jesus). Under his tenure (as King) Israel built the greatest temple ever built. The project took over seven years to complete and Solomon entered into partnerships with other Kings and nations to outsource what his nation did not specialize in. All in all, the project required over 200,000 workers and the budget was over a Billion dollars.
I share this with you because I want you to understand a little about the man who is writing here. Although God had given him remarkable wisdom, he knew that he could not accomplish everything alone. He surrounded himself with wise people, welcomed and heeded their counsel, decentralized control of aspects of the project, and accomplished what God desired for him to do.
In the 20th verse of this same chapter Solomon said, “Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.” In other words, wisdom and foolishness are both transferred by association. If you want to grow wiser, you must surround yourself with wise people and then open yourself up to learn from them.
In Exodus 18 Moses had a problem. He was the leader or Israel, but he was attempting to address all the issues that arose by himself. His father-in-law (Jethro) told him, “What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.
He went on to say Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you... select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.
Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.” Moses did just that, his load became lighter, and he and the nation prospered because of it.
Our verse for this morning teaches us that it takes humility to accept advice and assistance from others. The Message Bible version of this verse reads, “Arrogant know-it-alls stir up discord, but wise men and women listen to each other's counsel.” Prideful leaders don’t empower their subordinates and the result is a climate of micromanagement, frustration, and inefficiency.
Solomon could have made all the decisions himself, Moses could have ignored his father-in-law, but in both cases neither man would have been the better for it and the nations they led would have suffered.
Every time I get to hear a senior leader speak they openly remind the audience how fortunate they feel to be where they are, how humbled they are by the experience, and how they must surround themselves with very capable (and in many cases smarter) individuals to be able to accomplish was is asked of them.
So what does this mean ? Three quick things:
1. You don’t know it all. Don’t allow pride you make you think you do.
2. You can’t do it all. You will burn yourself out and then you won’t be any good to anyone.
3. You can’t make every decision. You must surround yourself with wise people and then trust and empower them to perform your intent.
Father, I refuse to allow pride to keep me enslaved to self-promotion. I know I don’t know it all, so I thank You for blessing me with people around me who are well able to perform what I can’t. I will not micromanage my organization, my family, or anyone You bless me to lead. I will develop and empower those that I lead, so that they can become tomorrow’s leaders and so that I can be free to accomplish all that You desire for me to do before I die! I declare this by faith! In Jesus’ name. Amen!
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