The story of Achan teaches us a sobering lesson: even seemingly minor hidden failures, such as financial mismanagement, unethical behavior, or lack of transparency, can unravel the success of an entire organization, leaving leaders to face devastating consequences.
In leadership—whether in business or ministry—we often focus on strategy and success. However, as Achan’s downfall, described in Joshua 7, illustrates, the things done in secret can undermine everything we’ve worked to achieve. His sin wasn’t just a personal failure; it brought defeat to an entire nation, demonstrating how individual actions can affect an entire community. As Christian business leaders, we must recognize that integrity isn’t just a personal virtue—it’s the bedrock of our leadership. Let’s explore how the lessons from Achan can help us lead with greater wisdom and accountability.
The Leadership Lessons from Achan
When Achan disobeyed God’s direct command by taking items set apart for destruction, he likely thought his actions would go unnoticed. However, his secret sin led to Israel’s defeat at Ai, bringing suffering to the entire nation. As leaders, we often underestimate how even small, unseen lapses in judgment can cascade into larger consequences. The lessons from Achan force us to confront a critical leadership truth: nothing remains hidden forever, and the ripple effect of our choices can influence our teams, companies, and communities.
1. The Consequences of Hidden Sin
Achan’s disobedience—taking items devoted to destruction (the ‘herem’, a term used to describe items that were to be completely destroyed as an offering to God)—resulted in not just personal loss but the defeat of the entire nation of Israel in battle. Leaders must recognize that their hidden actions, even those not immediately visible, can profoundly impact the broader organization they lead. Integrity is foundational to leadership, and hidden sins can undermine trust and success.
Leadership Application: Transparency and integrity in all actions are critical. Leaders must lead by example, understanding that even private missteps can affect the entire team or organization.
2. Corporate Responsibility
The lessons from Achan demonstrate that individual actions can affect the entire group. Joshua and the people of Israel suffered a military defeat because of one man’s sin, showing the interconnectedness of a community. Leaders must know that individual failures can have ripple effects, especially among their team.
Leadership Application: Leaders need to foster a culture of accountability, ensuring that every team member understands their responsibility to the group. It’s essential to establish checks and balances to prevent individual actions from compromising the whole.
3. Prompt and Decisive Action
After Israel’s defeat, Joshua sought God for answers. Once the sin was identified, Joshua acted swiftly to address the problem. He confronted Achan and took the necessary, though difficult, steps to deal with the sin and restore God’s favor. The lessons from Achan emphasize the need for leaders to confront problems head-on, even when it involves tough decisions. This swift and decisive action empowers leaders to face challenges and maintain integrity.
Leadership Application: When issues arise, leaders must seek wisdom, gather information, and address the problem decisively. Delaying action can compound the consequences.
4. Leaders Bear Responsibility for the Group
Although Achan sinned, Joshua, as the leader, bore the responsibility to identify and address it. Leaders are responsible for the team or organization’s overall health, success, and integrity. Joshua’s humility in seeking God’s guidance is a model for leaders needing divine wisdom in moments of crisis.
Leadership Application: Leaders should take responsibility for the actions of those under their care and not shy away from seeking external wisdom or counsel (as Joshua sought God) to navigate complex issues.
5. Communicating and Enforcing Clear Boundaries
The instructions concerning Jericho were clear: all items were to be devoted to the Lord. Achan’s failure to adhere to these instructions shows the importance of clarity in leadership. The lessons from Achan highlight that leaders need to ensure their expectations and boundaries are communicated, understood, and enforced consistently.
Leadership Application: Setting clear expectations and ensuring everyone understands the consequences of crossing boundaries is essential. It is also important to enforce rules uniformly to maintain integrity and fairness.
6. The Need for Restoring Trust and Unity
Once the sin was dealt with, Israel could move forward and ultimately succeed in their next battle. The lessons from Achan remind us that leaders must focus on restoring unity and trust within the team after addressing a breach of integrity. This focus on healing and moving forward instills hope and optimism for the future, which is essential for long-term success.
Leadership Application: After addressing failures, leaders must focus on rebuilding trust and ensuring the team can move forward in unity and strength.
Conclusion
The lessons from Achan teach us that leadership is more than strategy and success. It’s about integrity, accountability, and willingness to make tough decisions when necessary. As Christian business leaders, we are called to lead with transparency and take responsibility for our actions and those of our teams. By learning from Achan’s failure, we can strive to build stronger, more resilient organizations grounded in trust and integrity.
Action Steps for Leaders
As leaders, the lessons from Achan challenge us to reflect on our own integrity, the culture we foster within our organizations, and the steps we take when failures occur. To translate these lessons into action, here are five practical steps that every leader can apply to their leadership journey:
- Conduct an Integrity Audit: Take time to examine your leadership practices and ensure they align with your values and principles. Ask yourself if there are areas where you might be compromising on integrity, even in small ways.
- Foster a Culture of Transparency: Encourage open communication within your team and organization. Create a safe environment where employees feel comfortable bringing issues or failures to light before they escalate.
- Establish Clear Boundaries and Expectations: Set clear guidelines for acceptable behavior and ensure that everyone on your team understands both the rules and the consequences of breaking them.
- Address Issues Quickly and Decisively: When problems arise, take swift action to address them. Delayed decisions can allow issues to grow and harm the integrity of your team or organization.
- Rebuild Trust After a Failure: After addressing failures, take intentional steps to restore trust and unity within your team. Lead by example, showing humility, forgiveness, and a commitment to move forward together.
Discussion Questions for Leaders
To deepen your understanding and application of the lessons from Achan, these discussion questions will help you reflect on the challenges of leadership and foster meaningful conversations within your team or leadership group:
- How can hidden failures within a team or organization affect overall success?
- What steps can a leader take to ensure they maintain integrity in both personal and professional life?
- Why is it important to take swift, decisive action when problems arise in leadership?
- How does creating a culture of accountability and transparency affect team dynamics?
- What are some practical ways to rebuild trust within a team after a significant failure or breach of integrity?
More Articles
I have written several articles on a leader’s integrity. You can find them by typing “Integrity” in the search bar. Meanwhile, here are several of them.
- #579: Cultivating Integrity: Does Your Faith Shape Your Leadership?
- #545: Why Faithfulness to God is Key to Effective Leadership in Today’s World
- #485: Our Integrity as Christian Leaders is Most Often Hurt by This One Thing!
- #483: Follow These Four Steps to Build a Life Without Compromise
- #481: You Have Two Options When You’re Trapped Working in The Belly of The Beast!
Join the Conversation
As always, questions and comments are welcome. Which of the five lessons from Achan resonates the most with you? Why??
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Category: Personal Development | Integrity
During my years as police chief, a sergeant came to me with evidence that another sergeant had improperly used police officer association funds for personal gain. The suspected sergeant was liked and popular. The funds involved were not a high dollar amount. It would have been easy to direct staff to get the sergeant to clean up his actions. Instead, I referred the investigation to the district attorney’s office. They investigated, and more misuse of funds was uncovered. I recommended termination. The sergeant tearfully plead for a lesser consequence, but I could not change my mind. Integrity is everything, especially in police work. The entire episode was painful, as I liked the sergeant and knew his spouse had medical issues. Had I chosen a lesser punishment, it would have sent the wrong message.