DailyLeadership: "Do you guard and guide those on the team you lead? (159-1)"

Do you guard and guide those on the team you lead? (159-1)

Written by Barry-Werner on January 31st, 2011. Posted in Courage/Risk-Taking, Exhortation, Jeremiah, Leadership Principles, Old Testament, Relationships.

Every effective leader will serve in the role of watchman at times and sound the alarm for their team when they see trouble ahead. Read Jeremiah 6:16-19.

Jeremiah was described in verse 17 as a watchman. By definition a watchman guards and patrols. The people of Judah had determined not to follow God’s laws or principles and Jeremiah sounded a warning to those living in error. Jeremiah illustrated the leader’s job as a watchman when God asked him to guard or patrol the covenant established between Him and the people.

Serving in the watchman role is not easy. There are no guaranteed results for watchmen. Jeremiah served well as a watchman, but he never convinced the masses to get on board with the right results. Jeremiah became an isolated leader and a lone voice for God’s standard. Leaders will always be faced with the temptation to forego doing what is right to retain members of their team.

Leaders serving in the role of watchman guard and guide those they lead. They guard against those that would change the vision. They monitor quality control to insure there is no slippage in quality to save cost or increase profit margins. They keep the team focused on the organization’s core values. They guide those they oversee insuring morale and relationships are what they need to be for success. They watch out for financial danger ahead and insure accurate budgets and accountability against the budget. They sound the alarm against those that would drift from the vision. Watchmen must possess strong moral fiber and must remain committed to a strong sense of what is right and wrong.

There are leaders whose primary role is serving as the watchman but every leader must develop and exercise some watchman skills. Do you willingly step up to the role of watchman when you see issues that call for correction or exhortation? Wise leaders understand the importance of this vital part of leadership.

Proverbs 27:23-24tlb “Riches can disappear fast. And the king’s crown doesn’t stay in his family forever – so watch your business interests closely. Know the state of your flocks and your herds.”