Take a quick look at the world of politics and business and you might notice there seems to be no shortage of poor leaders.
I think the failure of so many people in leadership positions is due to one of two things: 1) the wrong people are being selected as leaders, and 2) the people selected are not being developed into good leaders!
The Bible provides a wonderful example of the selection process that businesses would do well to imitate!
Biblical Style Leadership Selection
Luke records a difficult situation facing the apostles in Acts 6. The church was growing with new converts to Christianity coming from both Hellenist Jews and Hebraic Jews. The Hellenist Jews were complaining because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. This was a big problem that had the potential to divide the young church!
So the apostles got together to find a solution. They quickly realized that if they were to help out in the distribution of food, their primary task of spreading the Gospel would be neglected. They needed to expand the leadership pool, and they needed to do it quickly.
They brought the Hebrew leaders together and told them to select seven men who were known to be full of the spirit and wisdom. The Hebrew leaders selected the seven men, six of whom were Hellenists, and one man who was a Gentile proselyte. These men were presented to the apostles who approved of their selection and commissioned them by laying hands on the men and praying for them.
Six Key Steps to Select the Best Leaders
1) They recognized there was a problem. The apostles realized there was a problem and addressed it immediately.
Lesson for Us. The first step is selecting the right leaders is to recognize what the problem or situation is. How else will you know what leadership skills are needed?
2) They held a meeting to discuss possible solutions. The apostles gathered all the constituents together to come up with a solution to the problem.
Lesson for Us. Bring the people who know the most about the problem to work on the solution. That way they will be invested in the outcome because the solution is of their own making!
3) They delegated the selection of leaders. The apostles delegated the task of finding new leaders from amongst their own group.
Lesson for Us. Don’t be tempted to do work that takes you away from your primary responsibility. Delegate that work to those that are closest to the problem!
4) They established specific criteria for the new leaders. The apostles required that each of the new leaders be men known to be full of the Spirit and men of wisdom.
Lesson for Us. If you have defined the problem and developed a solution, then you can turn your attention to determining what skills will be needed to solve the problem.
5) They reviewed the proposed personnel selections. Before installing the proposed leaders, they reviewed the recommendations from the selection committee.
Lesson for Us. Delegate but stay engaged. Even though you delegate the selection of the people needed, stay engaged by making sure that the leaders that are proposed are the right leaders for the job!
6) They commissioned the new leaders. The apostles prayed over these men and laid hands on them commissioning them for their work in the ministry.
Lesson for Us. Once the leaders are selected and approved it is important to commission them for their work. Let them know what their duties and responsibilities are so they can do quality work. Finally, pray for your leaders. We all need God’s strength, and wisdom and prayer are the only way we can connect to God’s power and wisdom!
The result for the apostles was they were able to continue to do the work to which God had called them. The newly appointed leaders resolved the problem with the widows. And most importantly, the church grew rapidly and people were obedient in their faith!
We could use a little bit more of that today!
Join the Conversation
As always questions and comments are welcome. What has been your experience with leaders and the selection of future leaders? Have you worked for leaders who were ill-equipped for the job? What was the impact on the organization?
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Category: Skills | Leadership Development
I believe that leaders come in different styles and approaches. I think one thing that is proportional to deeming a successful leader is the perspective and unity of the group being lead. A group that is not bound by common ground will have different moral and priorities. A group should have a leader that is well grounded in the problem or issues of the group just as the text said. The reason being is that a christian leader can do an awesome job of leading people with christian morals and priorities but if the group is not on the same page (say their atheiest), then they may very well not be pleased with his or her job. I believe that we need to address realistic problems and make that the priority of the leadership and devise a plan to solve it. Otherwise a leader can solve problems that are not prevalent and be seen as not an effective leader. I believe that we as a people also impose our priorities and morals upon our leaders when that leader may not even share the same beliefs or even care. A leader should be held to what he said them was going to do not what we impose on them. Also I think a leader should be elected for what he promises he will do.
The apostles took a thoughtful and organized approach. What scares me today is how many “voters” are uninformed on issues, ideology and the candidates asking for their votes. If little critical thought goes into who one votes for, then no wonder we get some of the characters we do!
I believe that a great leader has the ability to bring people together. There are many times where leaders are stuck in the middle of an argument and not being able to pick a side. A great leader can find the source of the argument and bring both parties to an agreement. Leaders are set to help out with the community and make it a better place for all. Therefore, a great leader is one who can make the community a better place by bring people together.
People need leaders for guidance and support. Many times, leaders are either selected or people will volunteer to become leaders, to shoulder heavy responsibilities for others. While people may say that there are poor leaders such as the current or past president, it is just an opinion. Very few people are able to understand what the president has to deal with on an everyday basis just to keep the country running and keep peace with the rest of the world. It is easier to complain than to actually do the job well. Also, the president does not make decisions on his/her own. They have their personal team of consultants from various fields of expertise to guide and help them make good decisions.
Leaders are made, not necessarily born. While some may be blessed with a natural ability to lead or manage others, it takes work to become a role model, to set an example for others, and to learn to make good decisions. While people may not like their leaders because of their decisions, leaders are human too. They also make mistakes and learn from them.
I believe that selecting leaders does not make them poor leaders. When they do not have the resources to grow and mature, they are not able to reach their full potential. Leaders need accountability and people who can support them in their personal life and leadership (work) life.
I have worked with great leaders and also had the experience of working with people in leadership positions they did not want to be in. It is difficult to work with leaders that don’t want to be in that role because they only focus on doing their part. Being a leader does not equal being a supervisor. A leader directs people, motivating and putting to work all the resources available. Working with great leaders has taught me that the reason why they are in a leadership role is because they know how to deal with people. They have experience in their field but are far more knowledgeable in areas such as behavioral management. They know how to get a team to work together and appoint the right people to get the job done. Being a leader isn’t an easy task because humans are multifaceted and continually changing.
When I first began reading this post one of the first pieces of information that resonated the most with me was delegating the selection of leaders. I know that human instinct is to want to be involved in the process to make sure everything is handled well, but it takes a lot of wisdom to realize that would take away from your goal. Personally, I have worked with great leaders that carried the weight of their positions well and to the best of their abilities. Though I do not feel they were ill-equipped for their positions I think that a common weakness for leaders is showing uncertainty or seeming unknowledgeable because that could impact credibility and trustworthiness among employees.
These six steps could not be any more accurate. As the days go by, more and more people are losing track of this and are beginning to see more toxic leadership become a norm. Some leaders do not lead with these principles in mind and it is not only affecting them and their leadership capabilities, but it is affecting those around them as well. It even can be see in the first step. More and more leaders are used to seeing a common place practice where people in positions of leadership are deflecting the realization that there is an issue at hand. True leaders would recognize the task at hand and take immediate action to resolve the issue.
With more management positions opening up and in search of young leaders with college and university education to fill it up corporations and small businesses need to balance selection process of leaders with biblical guidelines. All human decisions can fall victim to personal feelings, motivations, and intentions. Human personnel decision based on these six steps from the bible can help navigate rational and thought out decisions to select the most appropriate and proper leader for the roles open for management positions. Not only are these six steps pivotal in selecting the leaders, but also to check to see the fruits that the candidates bear in their lives are essential in picking the right leader that are servant-minded leaders. Human resources need to base their selection process of employees on bible verses’ selection of candidates for church positions so that the businesses are run on God’s will and His kingdom.