The Stewardship of Wealth for Leaders

Proverbs 31:8-9  (NLT) [the words of King Lemuel that he learned from his mother] Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those who are perishing. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.

Just who are the poor and what is the Christian's role? What is the role of a business owner? Where does being gullible end and compassion begin? Was Karl Marx correct - that the non-poor are to blame for the poor? Was Emerson right when he wrote, "Do not tell me, as a good man did today, of my obligation to put all poor men in good situations. Are they my poor?" We may not be responsible for the poor, but we are responsible to help them in the right way at the right time as God directs- the story of the Good Samaritan being a prime example.  It's not about us, it is about Him and He does care how we handle wealth and compassion. (Matt. 25:34-35).

We are to help but not because it makes us feel good. We are called to be compassionate because we are stewards, not owners, of what we have been given.

Copyright © 2006 by P. Griffith Lindell                       

Leader: Are You Listening?

Proverbs 28:9 (AMP) He who turns away his ear from hearing the law [of God and man], even his prayer is an abomination, hateful and revolting [to God].
(MSG) God has no use for the prayers of the people who won't listen to him.

Daily business issues often seem to be out of the "realm" of prayer and reading the Word. It is the "big" issues that drive people to seek God; but it is those small, daily issues that we think we can handle on our own, that begin our slide down the slippery slope of idolatry where we worship the creature rather than the creator. Running a business. Determining strategy.  Developing and implementing a sales plan. Preparing to mentor - all the stuff of business life. His Word is the essential of life: it provides a foundation for our core values. It shapes our purpose. It gives us true meaning. Tuning my ears to God's thoughts begins with my eyes focused on His word and my heart focused on Him in prayer.

How interesting; God listens to us when we listen to Him. Are you listening?

Copyright ©2006 by P. Griffith Lindell

Sincere Leadership

Proverbs 26:23 (MSG) Smooth talk from an evil heart is like glaze on cracked pottery.

The image is striking and apropos. Adding glaze, as fill, was the old trick used to hide blemishes. The Greeks marked their fine pottery after inspection with the word from which we get our word sincere - meaning unmixed or pure. Leadership that builds trust, that is original, innovative, and focused on people works best when it originates from a heart that is pure in motive. The antithesis is Machiavellian leadership. People want to be lead, not manipulated. That's all about heart - motive. The leader's prayer is the Psalmist prayer, "Create in me a clean heart, Oh God."

Daily heart surgery yields sincere leadership.

Copyright©2006 by P. Griffith Lindell

Uncompromising Leadership

Proverbs 25:26 (NLT) If the godly compromise with the wicked, it is like polluting a fountain or [thoroughly] muddying [and corrupting] a spring.

It was George Orwell who observed, "The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns, as it were, instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish squirting out ink." To whom will you "back down, stammering instead of speaking truth?" With whom will you "soft peddle" a position? Who do you treat "tenderly" for fear of alienation? Who will you not "debate" when God's glory is not recognized? The fear of other people has crippled many a leader, and we have seen it in politics and in the corporate world where one sometimes must manage "the thoroughbred" Sales VP whose ethics are questionable, but whose results seem to rule. Speaking the truth in love takes confidence, patience, and submission to the Holy Spirit – a task of the wholly devoted follower of Christ.

Are you that?

Copyright © 2006 by P. Griffith Lindell

Leaders and Competitors

Proverbs 24:17-18  (NASB) Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; Or the LORD will see it and be displeased, And turn His anger away from him.

There is an interesting metaphor about competition that vibrates with military images - the competition is somehow “the enemy.” Jim Collins discovered that Nike's values at one time included "crushing" the enemy - the competition. The paradigm posits that business is about winning no matter what or who is crushed in the process. However, good marketing is not about crushing the competition:  it is about differentiation:  about distinguishing your offering and its compelling benefits to the user. No crushing needed. Targeted, value-based messages produce positive results.

Once again, for the Believing businessperson, it is all about attitude - a heart thing. Are you solely rejoicing in Him - no matter the marketplace circumstance?

Copyright © 2006 by P. Griffith Lindell     

Leaders Let Go and Let God

Proverbs 21:1 (MSG) 1Good leadership is a channel of water controlled by God; He directs it to whatever ends he chooses.

What do successful businessmen like Ken Blanchard, Jim Amos (President of Mail Boxes, Etc.,), John Couch (one of the early VPs at Apple Computer) and Senator Bill Armstrong (former entrepreneur) have in common?  Read their stories and discover that each learned that it was pride that made them independent of God. Personal humility grew them and their businesses. It is our responsibility to plan, vision, propose, motive, implement, control, manage and lead; however, all this is done from an internal understanding that we are but a “channel of water controlled by God.” It is God who must be our strength. It is in Him we must trust.  We are not sovereign. Only God is.

Who do you really trust to guide your life?

Copyright © 2006 by P. Griffith Lindell     

Leaders Understand Internal Motivation

Proverbs 20: 5, 27 (AMP) 5Counsel in the heart of man is like water in a deep well, but a man of understanding draws it out.   27The spirit of man [that factor in human personality which proceeds immediately from God] is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.

The question "What business are you really in?" has fueled the longest and deepest discussions in my career. Goffee and Jones had asked this very question in a ten-year study, the results published in the Sept-Oct 2000 HBR, Why Should Anyone Be Lead by You? They discovered four "unexpected" traits of "inspirational" leaders - first being that leaders "reveal their weaknesses." Proud people shun that kind of leading. Their only "lamp" is themselves. It is all about them. Moses led millions. He learned to better manage the process by his father-in-law who immediately saw a managerial flaw early in Moses' career. Moses, his motive and heart pure, listened, set up the system to manage the process. Numbers 12:3 reminds us that "Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth."

Leading from a position of humility works.


Copyright ©2006 by P. Griffith Lindell     

The Generosity of Leaders

Proverbs 19:17 (MSG) Mercy to the needy is a loan to GOD, and GOD pays back those loans in full.

In his article The Cultivation of Transcendent Leadership, Jamie S. Walters posits that generosity is the first of the six principles of "transcendent leadership." As he points out, "Generosity of spirit...fosters collaboration, creativity, idea-sharing, knowledge-sharing, camaraderie, trust, satisfaction, and constructive communication." Mercy to the needy is not only financial help (which is important in its own right) but also is expressed, in the work environment, in the sharing of information, delegating both authority and responsibility and/or providing necessary feedback. Mercy is a quality from the heart.

Do you have the heart to lead?

Leaders Learn With the Head and the Heart

Proverbs 18:15 (MSG) Wise men and women are always learning, always listening for fresh insights. (NIV) The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out.

Knowledge. Always learning, looking for more - reading management journals or books on leadership. Filling our minds with facts, concepts and diligently connecting the dots. The acquiring of this learning we most often associate with the mind. Not the heart. Heart knowledge changes the meaning in this verse. True, leaders are life-long learners; however, Biblical leaders practice prudent learning – learning that seeks out and experiences God. Learning that changes the way we live and how we impact others.

Are you learning to lead – God’s way?  

Copyright ©2006 by P. Griffith Lindell