#438: 4 Essential Traits That Make or Break an Effective Leader

I love examining the leaders portrayed in the Scripture. I try to discern what makes some leaders successful and others great failures. This week in my study of the book of Esther, I noted four traits that make or break an effective leader.

If you are familiar with the story of Esther, there are four main characters: Esther, Mordecai, Haman, and Xerxes.

Let’s look at each character to understand how they fit into the story and see if we can discern what made each an effective leader or a poor one.

Mordecai the Confidant

Mordecai, a Jew who was taken into captivity by the King of Babylon, was now living in Suza, the capital of King Xerxes’ Persian Empire. Mordecai learned of a plot to kill King Xerxes and foiled it by reporting it to the queen.

Mordecai is Esther’s cousin, and because her parents were killed, he raised Esther as his own daughter. He gave Esther advice when she was taken into the King’s harem and continued to watch over her while she was there.

Mordecai continued to advise Esther when she was the queen and when Haman hatched his plan to kill all the Jews in the empire.

Esther Becomes Queen

Esther was a young woman when Xerxes initiated a search for a new queen. She was taken to the King’s harem to begin a year of beauty treatments. Esther won the favor of Hegai (the man in charge of the harem). Eventually, she was taken to Xerxes, who was so pleased with Esther that he made her queen of the empire.

Esther may have been a young, innocent woman when she entered the King’s palace, but successfully winning the favor of both Hegai and King Xerxes suggests that she had emerging skills as a leader.

Haman the Megalomaniac

Upon Haman’s introduction to us, Xerxes has just promoted him. With his inflated ego, Haman now expects everyone to bow down to him as he passes by. When Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman, Haman devised a scheme to pay a massive bribe to Xerxes to authorize Haman to kill all the Jews in the kingdom (estimated to be nearly 10 million people)!

As a leader, Haman is corrupted by his focus on self. His ego and ambition are driving his behavior as he seeks revenge on Mordecai and the Jewish people.

Esther Rise As A Leader

Esther comes into her own as a strong leader when Mordecai informs her about Haman’s plot to annihilate the Jewish people. She sets aside her instincts for self-preservation and becomes determined to do whatever is necessary to save her people.

Esther uses her knowledge of Xerxes (his love of feasts) and Haman (his ego) to invite them to a series of banquets in which she ultimately can reveal Haman’s evil plot. Haman is hung on the very gallows Haman had built to hang Mordecai at the King’s order.

Esther’s work is not done yet, however. She had eliminated the hated Haman, but the edict to kill the Jewish people still stood. So Esther confronted the King and boldly asked him to rescind his order authorizing the killing of the Jews. Xerxes then issued an edict saving the Jewish people.

Xerxes the Weak Leader

Xerxes shows himself to be a weak leader, ill-equipped to be the King of the largest empire on earth. He drank to excess. He exiled Queen Vashti because she refused to come to his party. He was prone to impulsive decisions fueled by fits of anger. Bad advisors easily manipulated him. He was open to being paid a bribe to authorize the killing of millions of his subjects.

In short, his weak character made him an ineffective leader.

4 Traits of an Effective Leader

Reviewing the actions of Xerxes, Haman, Mordecai, and Esther, four traits of an effective leader are absent in ineffective leaders.

Character

Xerxes demonstrated a lack of character. He repeatedly demonstrated that he was more interested in fulfilling his own fleshly desires than in governing the people. In addition, Xerxes showed a lack of discernment in his chosen advisors. Worse, he accepted bribes to annihilate millions of his own subjects.

A quest for power and position drove Haman so much that he would do anything to advance his own agenda.

Mordecai demonstrated his character when he learned about a plot against the King and took action to foil the plot. He raised his young cousin as though she were his own daughter and stood by her as a trusted counselor.

Esther enters the story as an innocent young woman but quickly establishes herself as a woman of character, gaining the trust of Hegai and Xerxes. Esther highlights further strength of character as she deals with the threat of annihilation from Haman.

Integrity

Xerxes and Haman both lack integrity. Their moral compass is broken! They will do and say whatever seems to suit them best at the moment without concern for the long term or the effect of their decisions on others.

Mordecai and Esther demonstrate their faith in God as they maintain their integrity in the face of ever-present dangers. Rather than shirking their responsibility as leaders at this moment, they both stand strong, opposing evil and saving the Jewish people.

Courage

Mordecai demonstrated his courage in reporting the plot against the King, refusing to bow down to Haman, and standing by Esther as her trusted counselor.

Esther exhibited great courage from the time she entered the palace. She established herself as queen and artfully brought about the fall of her enemy, Haman. She went on to take action with Xerxes, which saved the people from annihilation.

Servant-Hearted Focus

Mordecai demonstrated his concern for others when he reported the plot against the King. He raised his young cousin and stood by her as a trusted advisor. Together, Mordecai and Esther willingly risked their own lives, putting the lives of the Jewish people ahead of their own.

Haman, on the other hand, was only ever interested in himself. Everything he did brought him more power and position.

Effective Leaders

Mordecai and Esther worked together, demonstrating all four traits of effective leaders: character, integrity, courage, and a servant’s heart.

Xerxes and Haman were both focused on themselves, lacking the traits of effective leaders.

As leaders today, we should strive to emulate the effective leadership traits of Mordecai and Esther and not those of Xerxes or Haman!

More Articles

I have written several articles on a leader’s qualifications. You can find them by typing “Leader Qualifications” in the search bar. Meanwhile, here are a few of my favorites.

• #433: What Traits Are Essential for Godly Leadership?
• #391: Not All Effective Employees Make Effective Leaders
• #379: Our Leadership Legacy Includes our Strengths and Weaknesses!
• #353: Is Your Ability to Influence Tied to Your Influenceability?
• #340: Is the Road to Ruin Paved with Pride?

Join the Conversation

As always, questions and comments are welcome. For example, does one of these four essential traits of an effective leader resonate the most with you, or are they all necessary?

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Category: Personal Development | Leader Qualifications