Daily Encouragement: Year 1, Day 24
Adapted from Handbook to Leadership
Personal Development: Humility
Perks and privileges usually accompany successful leadership. Many leaders enjoy being in charge, making decisions that affect the organization, delegating implementation of those decisions to others, occupying a corner office, “running the show,” having others defer to them in meetings, and the like. As one gets ahead, it’s hard not to get a big head.
As a leader, King Solomon enjoyed all these perks and much more. Like few leaders before or since, he had wealth, power, wisdom, and plenty of servants. Other rulers traveled long distances to listen to his wisdom, and other entrepreneurs came to marvel at his wealth. Yet from this lofty position Solomon cautioned against seeking our own honor. Doing so is like eating too much honey. Sweet as it is, and healthy as it is in proper amounts, too much of this good thing will make you sick—and sick of it.
Honor accompanies a job well done. If a leader is effective, he or she will get all the honor he or she can stand. But a person who has to go looking for honor has his or her hand in the wrong hive. Solomon learned that focusing on a job well done is the way to earn honor. Focusing on honor cuts into the time and energy needed to do the job well.