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In typical fashion, when George Allen moved to Washington, D.C., as head coach of the Redskins, he promised the nation’s capital the moon. He told them it would be just a few seasons before he would develop the Redskins into a championship football team. He promised them the Super Bowl by the end of his second season. The team had a brilliant preseason that first year. Then, early in the regular season, they won several amazing victories. It appeared the Redskins were to be lifted from their common role of loser to the uncommon role of winner.
As time passed, however, the inevitable occurred. They began to lose and lose and lose. The blame fell, at least in part, not on Coach George Allen, but on a quarterback named Sonny Jurgenson, one of the most gifted and effective quarterbacks to ever play the game. Jurgenson possessed a quality I deeply admire: personal security. It seems as though no one could intimidate Sonny Jurgenson.
One day after another defeat, Sonny was getting ready to take a shower and go home. A sportswriter leaned over to him in the locker room and said, “Say, Sonny, be honest now. Don’t all these off-the-wall remarks we write and all this public flack disturb you? Doesn’t it make you want to quit when people throw things at you from the stands and when you get those dirty letters?”
Sonny just leaned back, gave a big, toothless grin, and sighed, “No, not really, I don’t want to quit. I’ve been in this game long enough to know that every quarterback, every week of the season, spends his time either in the penthouse or in the outhouse.”
Sonny’s comment points out an important fact. It is true that if you are a leader, you spend your time either on the top or on the bottom. You seldom know what it’s like to be in between. You are either the hero or the villain. You are respected or you are virtually hated. People in leadership must live on the yo-yo of public opinion, under the gun of verbal jabs as well as on the crest of great admiration. Being “in the outhouse” is a lot more difficult than those choice times “in the penthouse.” It’s when we are under verbal attack of the intimidating public that we show our true colors.
Both leaders and followers are to blame for this “penthouse/outhouse” mentality. When leaders want to receive all the glory, they set themselves up for a great fall. Likewise, when followers put all of their trust in leaders, they set themselves up for great disappointment. There must be a better balance to this! Any successful team, company, organization, nation, community, church, or family must possess good leadership and good followership! But what does a person need to be a good leader or a good follower?
Well, God, in his infinite wisdom, answers this question in the book of Proverbs. He delivers a host of power packed wisdom sayings to guide both leaders and followers through life. He speaks to the type of character that is necessary for good leadership and followership and addresses the outcomes of each.
The Book of Proverbs deals with the issues of leadership and followership in monarchical language. When Solomon wrote these proverbs he was the King of Israel. In those days, most of the nations were ruled by kings who possessed absolute authority; leadership and kingship were virtually synonymous. As modern Americans, we do not live in a monarchical society, but these proverbs are relevant for all types of leadership. So, let us consider these Proverbs.
Leading the Followers (Proverbs 16:10; 20:28; 29:4, 12, 14)
Proverbs 16:10—In the ancient world, an oracle was a priest or a prophet who delivered messages from a god. The message carried authority because of its divine source. In this proverb, the king can speak with finality because God has placed him in power. Since he speaks on God’s behalf, his words and actions must be just. If he does speak and act with justice, he will misrepresent the Lord.
Proverbs 20:28—This proverb affirms that when a king displays the kindness and reliability that goes with his office, his subjects will respond with loyalty. He will be safe and his kingdom will be secure. This proverb points to the truth that power cannot rest on brute force alone.
Proverbs 29:4, 12, 14—According to Proverbs, a ruler can achieve national stability by ruling with justice, honesty, and fairness. On the other hand, a person who is greedy for bribes squanders the nation’s wealth. The ruler must set a high standard of integrity if he wants his kingdom to last. When he takes the advice of liars, he creates a climate where deceit can flourish, but when people find out that he rewards honesty, honesty will increase. And when the king treats the poor (those who have no bearing on his decisions) with dignity and fairness, both the Lord and the people will be pleased with him.
In 1789 an uncertain George Washington is urged to seek the presidency by Governor Morris, a Pennsylvania delegate to the Constitutional Convention. Morris writes Washington: “No constitution is the same on paper and in life. The exercise of authority depends upon personal character. Your cool steady temper is indispensably necessary to give a firm and manly tone to the new government.”
What is required to be a good leader? These proverbs highlight the character qualities of justice, honesty, love, kindness, and fairness as requirements for good leadership. I think we can actually boil all of these qualities down into two words: integrity and service! It is impossible for a person to be a good leader without integrity! A leader without integrity will eventually abuse the power and authority that comes with the position and the people will ultimately suffer. Likewise, it is impossible for a person to be a good leader if he or she does not serve. A king who sits on his high horse all day is not respected by the people.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, “In order to be a leader a man must have followers. And to have followers, a man must have their confidence. Hence the supreme quality of a leader is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, on a football field, in an army, or in an office. If a man’s associates find him guilty of phoniness, if they find that he lacks forthright integrity, he will fail. His teachings and actions must square with each other. The first great need, therefore, is integrity and high purpose.”
With all of this talk about integrity as a requirement for good leadership, some of you may be thinking to yourself, “Wow, I sure am glad I am not a leader!” And to that, I say “Hold up! Not so fast! You are not off the hook yet!” We may not all be kings or presidents of countries, but we are all called to some form leadership. For instance, if you are married, there is a God ordained reciprocal leadership role with your spouse. If you are a parent, you have a God ordained leadership role with your children. If you are a business owner or manager, you have a God ordained leadership role with your employees or subordinates. If you are a teacher, you have a God ordained leadership role with your students. If you are a deacon, trustee, council member, or pastor, you have a God ordained leadership role to shepherd the souls of the church. We are all leaders! How are you leading? Are you leading with integrity?
We certainly see the truth of these proverbs lived out all around us. Today there are many African and South American countries who cannot maintain a stable government because of corrupt leadership. Many American companies have gone bankrupt because of a lack of integrity at the top—Enron, Halliburton, AIG, etc. How many businesses have gone under because the owner didn’t treat his or her employees well? How many churches have fallen apart because of a lack of integrity and service in its leadership? How many marriages have broken up because of a lack of integrity?
Are you raising your children with love and honesty? Are you managing your employees with justice and fairness? Are you teaching your students with kindness? Whatever leadership role you find yourself in now or in the future, I hope you will lead with justice, honesty, kindness, love, and fairness! I hope you will lead the followers with integrity and service!
Following the Leaders (Proverbs 14:35; 16:12-15; 24:21-22; 27:18)
Modern American culture definitely emphasizes leadership over followership. We hear about the importance of good leadership all the time, but when was the last time you heard a lecture or a sound bite about good followership? There is no doubt about it, leading the followers is important to God, but so is following the leaders! How does one become a good follower? Well, God has given us a few proverbs to answer that question as well!
Proverbs 14:35—Here we see a clear contrast between a wise servant who brings delight to his king and a shameful servant who incurs the king’s wrath. The first one pleases the king, but the second one endures a blast of anger. Poor performance and behavior never wins the affection of the boss.
Proverbs 16:12-15—How do you please a king? First, be completely honest. Second, learn how to appease the king when he becomes angry with you. Kings have the power to destroy people’s lives. Third, work hard to stay in the king’s graces. In reality, each of these three principles applies to anyone in authority over us.
Proverbs 24:21-22—Rebellion may initially sound good, but it usually proves destructive in the end. God is the ultimate authority and he places people in authority positions. It is never prudent to rebel against divine authority and is seldom wise to rebel against human authority. We must always remember that God is the one who has placed human authorities over us.
Proverbs 27:18—Just as a person who tends fig trees gets to enjoy the fruit of his labor, those who are diligent to take care of the people in authority over them will be honored. A servant should value his master as a farmer prizes the fig tree, one of the most highly valued trees in Israel. This proverb also implies patience. It takes a fig tree a number of years before it begins to produce fruit. Likewise, it may take a number of years before faithful service to the master before it pays off.
What does it take to be a good follower? The same qualities as a good leader: Integrity and service! Notice the particular character qualities in these proverbs: good behavior, honesty, loyalty, hard work, respect, and patience. These all amount to integrity and service!
S. I. McMillen, in his book None of These Diseases, tells a story of a young woman who wanted to go to college, but her heart sank when she read the question on the application blank that asked, “Are you a leader?” Being both honest and conscientious, she wrote, “No,” and returned the application, expecting the worst. To her surprise, she received this letter from the college: “Dear Applicant: A study of the application forms reveals that this year our college will have 1,452 new leaders. We are accepting you because we feel it is imperative that they have at least one follower.”
Like leadership, we are all followers! Whether it is our parents, our boss, our teacher, or our government officials, we all have someone in authority over us. In God’s kingdom, following is just as important as leading. How good of a follower are you? Do you treat your parents with respect? Are you loyal and hard working for your boss? Do you exhibit honesty and good behavior for your teachers? Are you patient with your government officials? I hope we will all follow with integrity and service!
Eli Black was a brilliant businessman best known for two events in his life: He masterminded the multimillion dollar takeover of the United Fruit conglomerate, and he jumped to his death from the 42nd floor of the Pan Am building in New York City.
In the book An American Company, an executive described a business lunch he had with Eli Black. When the waitress brought a plate of cheese and crackers as an appetizer, Black reached out and took them, placed them on the table, blocked them with his arms, and continued talking. The executive hadn’t eaten for hours and hinted that he would like a cracker. But Black acted as though he hadn’t heard him and went on with the business meeting.
After a while, Black placed a cracker and cheese on the tips of his fingers and continued to talk. Several moments later, Black placed the cracker on the executive’s plate and then blocked the rest as before. It was clear that Black was in charge, manipulating others as he pleased. When you play “follow the leader,” check to see who is at the head of the line. Eli Black, for all his power, ended up in suicide. Jesus Christ, in all His humility, ended up the Savior of the world.
Jesus Christ is the greatest leader and follower in the history of the world. He is the greatest follower because he obeyed his heavenly father perfectly. He followed with integrity and service! He is the greatest leader because he has transformed the lives of millions of people all over the world for two-thousands and he is still doing it today! He leads with integrity and service!
Jesus is our perfect model for leading and following! As proverbs teaches us and Jesus modeled for us, the keys to good leadership and followership are integrity and service!