Courageous LeadersSample

LEADERSHIP FAILURE

Stories of leadership failure are not uncommon news these days. Even in Christian circles we keep hearing stories about such situations. King Saul’s life is an excellent study in “Leadership Failure”. One who was chosen and “kept by God” soon becomes one who is rejected and “left by God”. Stories like these are kept as warnings in the Bible for us in leadership to reflect and learn from. I want to share a few thoughts from Saul’s life.

Saul’s failure started with a “Crisis Situation”. Confronted by a hostile enemy, surrounded by a panicking and fearful colleagues and people, Saul too panicked. Expected to wait for Samuel to come and give direction on how to go ahead, Saul, forgetting the centrality of God, panicked and took a hasty decision going beyond the limits of his role and responsibility and ended up being rejected by God.

How do we respond in crisis situations?

The next situation is where in the face of a potential and impending success, to complete the victory as soon as possible and possibly make a name for himself, Saul takes hasty, impulsive and autocratic decisions “of binding people under an oath” that they will not eat till the war is over! This decision led to potential failure and potential loss of his own son’s life, who had not heard this decree from the father and who had some honey to energize himself.

How are our decision- making processes?

The next situation is where, once the victory is won, he compromises by keeping for himself and his people the best of the sheep and cattle and everything that was good, though God through Samuel had told him to destroy everything. Faced with the opportunity of raising resources for him, the nation and his army he allowed compromise of values and principles, which God had revealed, to him.

Do we compromise on values and/or tolerate compromises?

And when the realization set in that many of such decisions were wrong, and when confronted, he instead of owning responsibility passed the buck, tried to save his face and ended up refusing to take responsibility for his decisions.

Do we take responsibility for our decisions, when they may have been wrong?

The result of these situations was — God was sorry that He had chosen Saul, and he rejected him from kingship. Saul, without realizing that God and His Spirit had left him, continues as an insecure, indecisive, vindictive leader, holding on to power and position from which God has already removed him.

Prayer

Lord teach us not to panic but to be patient, realizing that you are with us.