NIV Leadership Bible Reading PlanНамуна

Accountability

Effective leaders use the same standards for themselves that they apply to others. They hold themselves accountable just like everyone else on the team. Maintaining such accountability involves seeking 360-degree honesty. Skilled leaders consistently receive feedback from those who work above them, beside them and for them. A failure to provide a structure for such accountability will lead to a crisis of character and leadership.

The tragedy of King David underscores what can happen when leaders fail to create a structure in which they are answerable for how they spend their private and professional time. Ultimately, God will hold every leader accountable as he did with David.

David was the kind who had it all. He enjoyed an intimate walk with God, a family, a stable political position and an unbroken string of military victories. The one thing he didn't have was Uriah's wife. And that was what he wanted. While the rest of his army was at war, he stayed at home. Apparently, nobody dared question the wisdom of his hiatus. With nobody to answer to he committed the acts of adultery and murder described in today's readings.

The most important verse in the chapter is verse 27. There Samuel informs us tersely, "But the thing David had done displeased the Lord." While David could hide his sins from his associates, he couldn't hide them from God. One day the prophet Nathan confronted David, and the kind discovered that even kings are accountable for their actions.

Wise leaders don't wait for a crisis to establish accountability. They establish structures and relationships that harness their sin and unleash their potential. Do you practice 360-degree honesty? Do you have someone to whom you are accountable for your private and professional life?