Everyone needs leadership skills. Some people are called to be leaders at their job, while others lead in their homes. Whether you’re a corporate leader, entrepreneur, pastor, parent, or student, you’ll need to master specific skills to succeed. But the truth is all leadership is not created equal. Great leaders also experience their fair share of challenges. I wrote a book called Leadership Mastery to help people avoid the problems that can come with leadership and reach their full potential.
You can find the most powerful tools to strengthen your leadership skills in another book you probably already own– the Bible! The Book of Joshua contains some powerful leadership principles that you can use in every season of your life. In this blog, I identify three leadership skills we can learn from the Book of Joshua:
1. Faith
2. Humility
3. Wise Counsel
1. Faith
There’s a good reason that faith is at the top of this list. As a leader, success is not a guarantee. You’ll need to take steps in faith toward your purpose and trust God with the outcome. When you instill a spirit of faith in yourself, you can communicate your vision and lead others well.
God gave Joshua practical ways to strengthen his faith as he prepared to lead a nation to their Promised Land. Joshua 1:8 (ESV) says: “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” When we focus on God’s Word, it starts to influence how we lead. Joshua had the faith to lead a nation through the Jordan river, the fortified city of Jericho, and into battles against giants and stronger nations. Like Joshua, we can face leadership challenges head-on when we move forward in faith.
2. Humility
When you consider good leadership skills, does humility come to mind? Some may think humility is a weakness, but the Bible gives us a different perspective. The Mirriam-Webster dictionary describes humility as “freedom from pride or arrogance.” Joshua developed his leadership skills as a servant of God who knew that the Lord was responsible for his success.
Before Joshua had his own book, he was a great warrior who led Israel to victory when the Amalekites attacked them in Exodus 17:8-10. And yet, that’s not how we are introduced to him in the book of Joshua. Joshua 1:1 describes him as “Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant.” After serving Moses for 40 years, Joshua didn’t become a leader until the age of 80. Even though Joshua led a nation through a miraculous journey to their promised land, he didn’t take any credit for it. Here’sHere’s how he described all of his victories in Joshua 24:17-18:
“For the Lord our God is the one who rescued us and our ancestors from slavery in the land of Egypt. He performed mighty miracles before our very eyes. As we traveled through the wilderness among our enemies, he preserved us. It was the Lord who drove out the Amorites and the other nations living here in the land. So we, too, will serve the Lord, for he alone is our God.”
3. Wise Counsel
God does just about everything in your life through relationships. Leadership is no different. When you’re looking to discover what’s next, you’ll need wise counsel to make the decision. God often speaks through other people. Good leaders receive guidance from wise counsel.
Before Joshua made a move to possess Jericho, he sought wise counsel. Here’s what he said in Joshua 2:1: “Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “’Go, look over the land,” he said, ‘especially Jericho.’” When those men came back with a good report for Joshua, he used that information to move forward in victory.
Some people are born with leadership skills, while others may need more guidance to become stronger in this area of their lives. I believe everyone is responsible for honing and sharpening their leadership skills to help their own lives and those connected to them. If you’re ready to implement leadership tools and strategies in your life, click here to get your copy of Leadership Mastery. If you want to dive even deeper and learn what it takes to lead with purpose, head over to WealthBuilders University for our “Foundations and Functions of Leadership” course.
