Bad Leader

What I do not see as often is information on what a bad leader looks like. So I thought I would make my own list. In my last post, I gave you the first five warning signs that you may NOT be a good leader. Here are the second five of my 10 warning signs (and brief descriptions). I have also included some Scripture references. Take a look and see if you have anything to worry about!

5 More Warning Signs You May NOT Be A Good Leader

6. You would not want to be an employee in your own company.

A good leader has built her team on based on integrity, excellence, teamwork, a learning attitude, and a number of other healthy values. Based on this, she would not mind working in that environment herself (as an employee, for another leader).

You are not a good leader if you have used other methods to build your team. Whether it is intimidation, secrecy (no sharing of information, vision, etc.), or micromanagement, these methods would not be acceptable to you if the roles were reversed and you had to work in that same environment as the employee. (Matthew 18:23-35)

7. No one is (sincerely) asking for your advice.

A good leader has shown himself to be a learner. He is open-minded and a great listener. As a result, people naturally gravitate to him seeking advice.

You are not a good leader if people are not coming to you in the same way. You may be guilty of always criticizing or it may be that you just do not listen. Maybe you are not approachable because of the ivory tower in which you work or it could be that you make it known you are not open to learning. Regardless, people are going elsewhere for wisdom and advice. (Proverbs 13:14; 14:7)

8. Your team does not know your vision for the company.

A good leader knows that she cannot hold her vision for the company close to the vest. She knows she needs other DNA carriers spreading the vision. Therefore a good leader over-communicates her vision and reinforces it with policy and process decisions.

You are not a good leader if your team cannot describe in detail your vision for the company. You have not done your job if they cannot recount how they are personally responsible for carrying out that vision in their particular job. Quit protecting it and get it out there! (Nehemiah 2:11-18)

9. You are more interested in your success than the success of your team.

A good leader knows that he can get anything he wants in life if he will just help enough other people get what they want in life (Zig Ziglar). A good leader seeks to remove obstacles from in front of the members of his team so they can be more productive rather that only focusing on his own issues.

You are not a good leader if you think someone has to lose in order for you to win. You are missing out on tremendous fulfillment when you love yourself first and foremost.
(Proverbs 11:24-25)

10. You are not following the right leader.

A good leader knows she is not the highest authority. A good leader recognizes that though there are certainly other good leaders out there, she puts her trust in God. By using the Bible as a guide for her leadership style, she makes sure she is operating as close as she can to what her Creator intended in the original design!

You are not a good leader if you are following anything or anyone other than God. Sure, their are other godly leaders from which you can learn. But if you are relying on them for your example, you are inviting disappointment. Put your trust in the only One worthy of your full trust!
(Psalm 146:3-6)

What warning signs would you add to this list?

Which of these is your biggest challenge?

What will you do to change it?

What Would You Invest to Have 50 Biblical Mentors?

Imagine what it would cost to sit down to lunch with more than 50 different leaders to glean their wisdom for life.

• What would it cost you to travel to more than 50 locations?
• How much would you pay for hotels and food?
• What scheduling headaches would you encounter trying to make it happen?

Your costs would easily run into the thousands of dollars if you could pull it off at all. But 17BPS has done it for you.

Now you can have all this wisdom delivered when it is convenient for you for only a fraction of the cost.

Click HERE to learn more!

Photo by bikeriderlondon/Shutterstock

Wisdom Ignored

In my last couple of posts, I have been discussing the problems that surface when someone seeks wisdom from godly counselors and then ignores or dismisses the wisdom they are given. We have all seen this happen and have likely been guilty of it ourselves at one point or another in our lives.

For various reasons, we seek out wisdom from godly advisors, but we do not take it and apply it as they prescribe. Maybe we were actually seeking someone to agree with us or to confirm our own wisdom. Maybe the wisdom offered requires more work or discomfort than we are willing to experience. There are many more reasons this could happen.

Various Problems

Regardless of the reasons, ignoring wisdom causes problems. In my first post on this subject, I showed how ignoring wisdom can lead to serious trouble for the one doing the ignoring. The next post described how godly advisors can (and should) stop offering advice to someone who repeatedly ignores it. In today’s post, we will look at how this issue affects those who are following the repeat offender.

Higher Standards

First, lets remind ourselves that as Christian business owners and leaders, we are held to a higher standard. The Bible is clear about this and we have spent a lot of time in this blog discussing this fact. We cannot allow ourselves to forget that we are not only responsible for ourselves. We are not the only ones facing the consequences of our decisions.

We are also responsible for those who work for us and with us. We are responsible for their families as well. We have responsibility for our vendors as well as our customers. Everyone with whom we come into contact is relying on us to make wise decisions in one way or another. Whether we like this or not, this is the path we have chosen.

As a result, when we run into a situation that requires us to seek wisdom from godly advisors, it is likely a decision that carries significant consequences. It is likely a decision that will affect all of those we mentioned above. If we decide to ignore the wisdom we receive for whatever reasons, then we are sentencing others to our same consequences. We are taking them with us!

What Does Scripture Say?

Let’s look at what the Bible has to say about this…

The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.
– Proverbs 13:14

He who heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.
– Proverbs 10:17

Leading Others Astray

Here you see that when we ignore the teaching of the wise, not only are we headed toward the snares of death, but we are also leading others to that fate as well. These are people that have trusted us to lead them. When we ignore the wisdom in front of us and choose our own path, we take them with us to face the consequences!

Even if we are okay with our own personal consequences of ignoring wisdom, we cannot allow others to be led astray as a result. Either we need to step down from our position of leadership or we need to step up to the responsibilities that come with it!

Pray For Clarity

I would encourage you to pray (as I will) that God would reveal to you situations where you ignored wisdom offered. Pray that He will make those situations clear to you and show you how to avoid them in the future. Pray for Him to give you wisdom, along with discernment to see it in others. Pray for the humility necessary to accept wisdom from others the next time you ask for it.

Have you witnessed disastrous results for those following one ignoring wisdom?

Do you accept the responsibility for leading others according to godly wisdom?

How do you maintain the humility needed to remain open to wisdom offered?

What Would You Invest to Have 50 Biblical Mentors?

Imagine what it would cost to sit down to lunch with more than 50 different leaders to glean their wisdom for life.

• What would it cost you to travel to more than 50 locations?
• How much would you pay for hotels and food?
• What scheduling headaches would you encounter trying to make it happen?

Your costs would easily run into the thousands of dollars if you could pull it off at all. But 17BPS has done it for you.

Now you can have all this wisdom delivered when it is convenient for you for only a fraction of the cost.

Click HERE to learn more!