Today’s reading: Joshua 23,24
In the absence of effective leadership, people wander. In January 2019, Forbes.com reported that only 1/3 of US workers demonstrate a healthy level of engagement in their jobs. I honestly don’t think this is a coincidence. Great leaders are a rare commodity.
In his July 15, 2019 blog post, Michael Hyatt, a well-known thought leader on leadership, shared what he believes are five key characteristics of an effective leader – insight, initiative, influence, impact and integrity. Our scripture for today (Joshua chapters 23 and 24) is Joshua’s farewell speech to his leaders. If I had to describe Joshua in two words, those words would be “great leader”. In fact, the adjective “great” doesn’t seem impressive enough to accurately describe the incredible leader Joshua actually was. As I studied his life this week, I saw how it demonstrated all five of Michael Hyatt’s key leadership characteristics. Let’s take a look –
Insight – Effective leaders can gain clarity in the midst of complex situations/issues/problems in order to set a course of action.
Initiative – Effective leaders don’t ask others to do what they are not willing to do themselves. This demonstrates a level of dedication that earns the trust of their followers.
Influence – Effective leaders are someone others want to follow, people are drawn to their vision and values.
Impact – Effective leaders make a difference, they create and sustain change.
Integrity – Effective leaders have a moral compass, they do the right things for the right reason. Integrity is the foundation of effective leadership, as it determines the quality of a leader’s impact. A great leader makes people better at the same time they drive results. An ineffective leader, in contrast, may be able to get the same results, but they often leave a trail of bodies in the process.
God promised his people the land of Canaan (the “Promised Land”), but he didn’t’ serve it up to them on a silver platter. Rather, under the leadership of Joshua, the nation of Israel was to conquer the land of Canaan one city at a time. Joshua’s keen insight on how to win battle after battle came from his faithfulness to seek God’s guidance before every battle (other than at Ai, where Joshua’s army got their tails kicked).
Joshua personally led his army to conquer thirty-one kings/cities (see Joshua 12:9-24 for a complete list). In his farewell address, Joshua challenged his leaders to follow his lead and honor/serve the Lord wholeheartedly just like he did.
“Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:14-15).
The nation of Israel responded to Joshua’s challenge by affirming their commitment to the Lord.
“We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God” (Joshua 24:18).
Are you an effective leader? Do you have insight, initiative, influence, impact, and most of all integrity? Is your moral compass aligned to God’s word? Like Joshua, are you inspiring those you lead to choose to serve the Lord? I pray the answer is yes.