What is guaranteed to damage an organization irreparably is to run on the belief that just about anybody can take up leadership in it. That system will not recover from such a mindset.
Leaders are born, then made through experience and exposure. Don’t put the most senior up by age or position. The truth is, except where they are motivated by ego, anyone who understands the burden of leading will not put his or her head out to it unless they sense that the grace to shoulder it is present. Leaders are the easiest to sense, even where they lack the requisite experience, in the meantime. It is wise to be content to follow, or work under someone, if you were not made for it. And you are among the first to know it either way. I can assure you that, you are as much an asset in whatever position you function, once you bring your own intrinsic traits and right spirit to the task.
Some think they deserve leadership because of the amount of their sacrifice or length of contribution to the cause! What they are rarely mindful of is that, the leader is the conspicuous one, and for that reason, he suffers the most. Being on top, he is the topic. He or she is the bearer of virulent and often uninformed and undeserved criticism. This alone will crush and damage those without the calling for the role. God’s real children will submit and accept to follow with a great spirit and godly motivation in the role the Lord calls them to. Ambition is from the devil. Even leaders fall prey to ambition where they go beyond the parametres of the God-given vision to seek what pleases their minds rather than what God has ordained. It is a snare to want it bigger, or acceptable in men’s sight.
God equips leaders with three qualities, and they are: a deep conviction, courage, and wisdom. I believe Solomon was chosen over all his brothers because of the distinctive qualities God planted in him from birth. This manifested when Adonijah requested for Abishag’s hand in marriage. You will be tested the moment you assume the role, and it will be obvious whether you possess the qualities or not. Where the first leadership test fails, the downward spiral of the system begins at once.
An ordinary mind would assume that Adonijah’s demand for Abishag’s hand in marriage was innocuous, or harmless. It was a test of Solomon’s leadership ability, hatched by his enemies. It was orchestrated to undermine his authority, it would have proved disastrous if he had failed. It was the latest face of Adonijah’s rebellion. He also knew without being told everyone involved in the plot.
This is one reason democracy is a very dangerous concept, especially when practised in the Lord’s household. This is because it relies on the collective will of ordinary people, some of whom despite big, self-assured opinions and worldly education, really do not know their left from their right. Where God makes the choice of who to lead, everyone will rejoice. But where the thoughts of men are allowed to replace the wise counsel of God, everyone will mourn.
It is worthy of note that Solomon here had yet to dream his dream in which he asked God for wisdom to lead His people. This was the intrinsic, prenatal wisdom Solomon brought to the task, and not the enhanced one he got after that remarkable encounter with God. Over the issue of Adonijah, Solomon manifested a trait called discernment. The rest of us hear and understand only what was said, a leader however discerns what was left unsaid from what was spoken. The average person cannot see a threat until it lands on his nose, a leader on the other hand can see what eludes everyone more than one mile away.
Let’s also address the issue of courage in leadership. Where a leader is fully persuaded about the rightness of an action, he will not mind if what needs to be done rocks the entire boat! This is the reason it will seem that leaders don’t listen to advice.