The Last Chance Bible Study Network
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Every Wednesday We Post Studies in the Word
"Leadership Principles Study"
12 Studies in Leadership Weekly
-Barry Werner-
13-18
Written by Barry-Werner on May 12th, 2009. Posted in Character, Dependence on God, Genesis, Leader Qualifications, Leadership Development, Leadership Principles, Long-Range Planning, Obedience to God, Old Testament, Personal Development, Problem Solving, Purpose/Passion, Self-Discipline, Servant Leadership, Vision. Problems are part of every leader’s life. Effective leaders do not let problems paralyze them; they know that solutions usually exist. Read Genesis 37:5-36; 39:1-41:16. Joseph dealt with everything from being tossed in a pit by his brothers and left to die, to being sold into slavery and transported to a foreign country, to false imprisonment and yet these problems did not stop him. Joseph could have taken any of these “problems” and lost faith in his situation and in God. It would be very difficult to imagine how long the last two years in prison seemed to Joseph after the release of Pharaoh’s cupbearer who had promised to speak to Pharaoh on Joseph’s behalf because Joseph had correctly interpreted his dream. If Joseph had put his faith in people instead of God, this incident could have crushed his spirit. Effective leaders look pass the moment with hope for the future even when they can’t imagine what that future might be. If you are a born again believer, you have something wired into your new DNA if you will dig down and find it: Effective leaders deal with the short term problems but keep their eyes set on the future. Have you analyzed the problems in your leadership world? How do they fit into what you believe to be God’s plan for your life? Are you allowing short term situations to create attitudes that are unhealthy to achieving your long term goals? Write a single paragraph with your long term goals and objectives and whenever you are becoming overwhelmed by issues, look at your situation through the filter of your long term goals. Tags: Character, Future, Goals, God's promises, Plan, Problem Solving, Skills Trackback from your site. Written by Barry-Werner on May 13th, 2009. Posted in Character, Decision Making, Genesis, Integrity, Leader Qualifications,Leadership Principles, Old Testament, Power and Influence, Problem Solving, Self-Discipline. Trustworthy leaders tend to find favor in the workplace and with those around them. Read Genesis 39. Joseph came to Egypt as a teenage slave. He had no resume, no references, no track record and did not speak the language. He was purchased from the slave traders by Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, a captain of the guard. One trait in Joseph’s character, trustworthiness, allowed him to find favor with his master and as a young man he was “…made overseer of his (Potiphar’s) house, and all that he had he put under his (Joseph’s) authority.” Not long into his new position, Joseph’s trustworthiness was tested. Potiphar’s wife found Joseph attractive and threw herself at him but Joseph resisted with the words, “How then can I do this great wickedness (to my master), and sin against God?” Even after being falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife and imprisoned for a rape he did not commit, Joseph maintained a trustworthy nature and he found favor “And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison, whatever they did there, it was his doing.” According to the dictionary a trustworthy person is reliable. Trust is not won overnight; trust develops over time. Trust takes time to earn but can be lost in an instant with one decision. Trustworthy leaders must lead with consistent integrity, reliability, and dependability to earn and keep the trust of their team. On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being totally trustworthy and 1 being very untrustworthy, where do you rank yourself? If you rank less than a 7 ask God to show you why your behaviors do not match His truths concerning that trait in your character. Tags: Accountability, Dependable, Influence, Integrity, Trustworthy Trackback from your site. Written by Barry-Werner on May 14th, 2009. Posted in Character, Empowerment, Genesis, Interpersonal Relationships, Leadership Principles, Old Testament, Power and Influence, Purpose/Passion, Values. When Joseph’s brothers realized that the one they had betrayed could now do with them as he pleased, they feared payback. Instead of retaliating, Joseph did the unexpected; Joseph blessed them and empowered them to complete the task that had brought them to Egypt. Read Genesis 45:4-7. Each of us can learn from Joseph traits that will empower our leadership to go to the next level. Joseph had several qualities that made him an empowering leader: Effective leaders are lifelong developers of the life qualities of security, identity, empathy, purpose, and perspective. Which of these life qualities is your strongest trait? Which is your weakest? Write a single sentence using a truth from God’s word that should govern your behavior in each of the five areas that empowered Joseph. Tags: Empathy, Empower, Identity, Perspective, Purpose, Security Trackback from your site. Written by Barry-Werner on May 15th, 2009. Posted in Character, Genesis, Integrity, Leadership Development, New Testament,Obedience to God, Old Testament, Personal Development, Philippians, Power and Influence, Romans, Self-Discipline, Values. How a leader deals with the circumstances of life, both positive and negative, tells many things about their character. Circumstances can’t always make a leader’s character, but they certainly will reveal it. Read Genesis 50:15-21. Joseph puts his entire life in perspective in the final chapter of Genesis. The single greatest test of Joseph’s character may have come at the height of his power. During a terrible famine, his brothers, desperate for food, humbly bow down before him just as he had predicted decades earlier. At a moment when he could have extracted any measure of revenge, Joseph forgave his brothers. The character Joseph had developed during his years as a slave and in prison enabled him to refrain from exacting the kind of vengeance that a lesser leader would have dished out. Because of the character he had developed, Joseph was able to maintain the proper perspective and use his power to forgive and bless his brothers (similar to what Jesus did for us as described in Romans 5:8-11). Both extreme blessings and extreme adversity bring our leadership lives to a crossroads that makes us choose one of two paths: character or compromise. Every time a leader chooses character, they become stronger. This is true even if their choice brings negative consequences i.e. the choice Joseph made concerning maintaining a moral position with Potiphar’s wife that landed him in prison. The development of character is at the heart of a leader’s development. To have God’s perspective on life, leaders must develop their character. Philippians 3:12: Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Tags: Character, Compromise, Joseph Trackback from your site. Written by Barry-Werner on May 18th, 2009. Posted in Exodus, Leadership Development, Leadership Principles, Old Testament. God established certain laws and principles that everyone lives by. Even leaders God specifically chooses need time and experience to grow and prepare for effective leadership. Read Exodus 2:1-4:31. Because of a law passed by Pharaoh concerning Jewish baby boys, Moses was one of a few of his generation that survived and then only through divine circumstances. Ironically, Moses not only survived but was raised by Pharaoh’s daughter as part of Pharaoh’s extended family. Moses spent 40 years in Pharaoh’s family learning how to be a royal leader. As a man, Moses “…went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens.” When he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, Moses killed the Egyptian and buried his body in the sand. Moses instincts as a leader gave him a desire to help his people but his immaturity as a leader had him attempting to do the right thing the wrong way. Some of the leadership principles Moses had learned in the palace fit human wisdom i.e. the most powerful will prevail, but not God’s way. Because he murdered an Egyptian, Moses had to flee Egypt. Even though a new chapter in Moses’ life was about to open, the training as a royal leader became a part of Moses’ leadership DNA. God allows every leadership situation for a reason and mature leaders call on every previous experience to be effective. God put Moses through another 40-year leadership training school in his new home in the land of Midian. Because Moses exerted some leadership traits at a water well where male shepherds were treating female shepherds unfairly he found favor with the father of one of the female shepherds, a man named Jethro. Later Moses married Jethro’s daughter and then worked for his father-in-law for 40 years as a shepherd. During these years God trained Moses in leadership survival skills as the shepherd (leader) of sheep, an animal that is very weak when attacked, is not loyal to any one lead sheep and will follow any sheep that chooses to lead regardless of their qualifications, even if that involves going the wrong direction. God prepared Moses for leadership over a number of decades. Leaders are always developed in a slow pot cooker not microwave ovens. Developing leadership skills over a period of time under different circumstances deepens a leader’s maturity, perspective and understanding. Effective leaders grow in every developmental situation. What situations from your past uniquely qualify you for your current leadership position? Write a paragraph detailing the transferable principles of leadership that you have carried from previous experiences into your current position. Tags: Experience, Leadership, Process Trackback from your site. Written by Barry-Werner on May 19th, 2009. Posted in Communicating Vision, Encouragement, Exodus, Leadership Development,Leadership Principles, Old Testament, Vision. Leaders must repeatedly cast the vision, however, if your team is discouraged, the vision you cast may be undermined. A Spirit-empowered leader counteracts discouragement by the constant restatement of the vision and consistent action toward the goal. Read Exodus 5:22-6:9. In Exodus chapter 3, God had Moses assemble the Hebrew elders and tell them of His vision to give the Hebrew people “…a land flowing with milk and honey.” God told Moses “The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him…” The initial response to the vision was positive and the people embraced Moses’ leadership. When Pharaoh did not immediately comply with their request discouragement set in. Once a team is discouraged, their interaction with each other will reinforce the perceived problem and there is a potential for the negative synergy to take the leader and the vision down. I had a firsthand look at how this happens during my time in Viet Nam in the late ‘60s when troops in my unit lost confidence in the mission. I also had a firsthand look at a great leader, our new CO, who refocused us on our goals, returned us to a disciplined unit, restored our pride in being a Marine, and brought focus to the mission we had been sent to accomplish. When discouragement invades a team, a leader must display consistent character to their team. That does not mean there will not be a temptation to be discouraged but the Spirit-empowered leader will find the source of power God provides to rise above the discouragement. Several times during the months between initially casting the vision to the Hebrews and Pharaoh finally allowing the people to leave Egypt, Moses found himself seeking God to reinforce in his heart the vision that he had been given. Even though there were no initial successes, Moses was consistent in looking to his source of strength and his actions did not waiver. Moses constantly restated the goal that God had a plan for the Hebrews and that there would be a great reward if they did not give up. An effective leader must anticipate setbacks and rise above team discouragement. They cannot ignore it but their actions must influence the team to move pass it. The wise leader refines the vision statement so it can be stated in very simple terms, can be remembered and visualized by everyone on their team, and helps the team crystallize the reward that will come when the vision is a reality. The constant restatement of the vision (the goal) allows the team hope and hope allows a team to break the bondage of discouragement. Do you shape your team’s emotions or do your emotions mirror your team’s emotions? Effective leaders lead! Tags: Character, Discouragement, Goals, Vision Trackback from your site.Are problems paralyzing your leadership? (69-2)
Do you have trustworthiness? (69-3)
Are you an empowering leader? (69-4)
Are you a leader of character or compromise? (69-5)
What situations from your past uniquely qualify you for leadership? (70-1)
How do you counteract discouragement? (70-2)
Yes! Jesus is Coming!
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