Principles for Making Hard Leadership Decisions

Deuteronomy 1:17

Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God's: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it.

Being a good leader is not easy. As a leader, you face difficult decisions every day, partly because the decision is not always clear on what you should do, and partly because of the immediate negative impact it will have on those you lead. However, the fact that you are a leader means you must be willing to do the difficult thing to do right. The verse above gives four principles that must guide you as you lead and make decisions.

First, do not let position influence your decisions. God says, Ye shall not respect persons in judgment. Leaders will lead the rich as well as the poor. They will lead the educated as well as the uneducated. They will lead the influential as well as those with no influence at all. They will lead the loyalists as well as the skeptics. They will lead those who hold leadership positions, as well as those who will be followers for the rest of their lives. As a leader, you cannot allow a person's position to influence your decisions. If you allow someone's position to influence your decisions, you will only make decisions based on how that person in position will treat you. Great leaders make their decisions by principles, and not by feelings, or how it will cause others to think about them.

Second, treat everyone the same. God continues to say, ye shall hear the small as well as the great. Everyone you lead needs to be able to get to you. Avoiding people because you don't like them or because they seem a little different is poor leadership. Leadership demands that you lead people of all types. If you cannot be available to everyone that you lead, you do not need to be a leader. Everyone must be treated the same if you are to be a spiritual leader.

Third, don’t let the hard decision keep you from making the hard decision. God continues to say, ye shall not be afraid of the face of man. There will be times when you must make decisions that will not make those you lead happy, but that cannot stop you from making those decisions. There will be times when you must make decisions of what you believe God wants you to do, and those who follow you will not always understand it, but you cannot let that stop you from making the hard decision. Part of leadership is making the hard decisions that the followers are unwilling to make. If you are unwilling to make the hard decision, then you are not qualified to be a leader.

Fourth, when you don’t know what to do, ask God what to do. God finishes this verse by saying, the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it. There are times as a leader when you will not know what to do, and it is in those times that you need to have a walk with God to be able to bring your decisions to God to ask Him for His wisdom. You cannot be a good leader and not walk with God at the same time.

My friend, being a leader is difficult, but God always gives you the wherewithal to be able to accomplish what He has allowed you to do, and to lead those whom He allows you to lead. If you will let these four principles guide you as a leader, God will help you to make the right decisions and guide you as you lead the people to where He wants you to lead them.