1 Kings 3:6
“And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.”
Assuming a leadership position oftentimes reveals the true person inside. Good people have assumed leadership roles only to become someone others never thought they would be. The reason this happens is because when a person is in leadership, and they seemingly have no one to answer to, the accessibility of power reveals the weaknesses of that person’s heart.
When Solomon became king, his true heart was revealed. He was not like his brothers who were filled with pride, but he was humbled by the fact that God would allow him to sit on his father’s throne. When God appeared to Solomon and gave him a blank check to ask what he wanted, his true heart attitude about leadership was revealed. There were four leadership attitudes Solomon had which every leader should emulate if they desire God’s blessings to help them in being a good leader.
The first leadership attitude is unassuming leadership. Solomon did not feel that he deserved the throne, instead he was humbled that God was merciful enough to allow him to sit on his father’s throne. Every leader should understand that it is only of God’s mercies that they have a leadership position. A great leader should fill their position with a humble spirit knowing that they are not better than others, but an attitude that God was merciful enough to give them the position to serve others.
The second leadership attitude is appreciative leadership. Solomon was not interested in destroying his father’s name to build a name for himself; rather, he appreciated all that his father did for him and built upon that foundation. Great leaders don’t destroy the name and works of previous leaders; instead, they build upon the foundations that previous leaders built.
The third leadership attitude is servant leadership. You will notice that Solomon understood his position was given so that he would serve the people. Leadership is not given to rule the people, but it is given to serve the people. Whenever a leader forgets whom they are serving, they can be assured their leadership days will be limited. Leaders should never serve themselves and their legacy, but they should always serve others.
The fourth leadership attitude is discerning leadership. Solomon asked God to give him discernment as a king. Discernment is the determination of what is right and wrong. Every leader should ask God to help them be a discerning leader. Leadership that is weak in determining right and wrong is leadership that will destroy those whom they lead. Leaders need to have the foresight to look ahead and see what is right and wrong. Discerning leadership builds great people and keeps them from heartache.
Whatever the area is in which you lead, you need these four leadership attitudes. Never forget that leadership does not give you the ability to do whatever you want; rather, it requires you to have these four attitudes to serve people. When leadership has the proper attitude, then those they lead will help them accomplish great tasks together for God.