Yesterday, we looked at leaders becoming winners by winning the internal battle. Effective leaders know that it is not enough for them to win the inside battle; they know their team also must win that battle for the organization to go to another level. Read 2 Chronicles 34 and 35.

Josiah is remembered as a king of Judah that “…walked in the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left” (34:2b). His legacy is that of an effective leader and godly king. No leader can leave this kind of legacy without a quality team surrounding them. Josiah’s reforms affected the whole nation because his beliefs and core values became the beliefs and core values of those that surrounded him in leadership.

Effective leaders see a better future for their organization and act upon that vision. They demonstrate courage based on conviction and make the hard decisions needed to bring about change. Read 2 Chronicles 34.

“Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did – with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the law of Moses” (2 Kings 23:25). Josiah “walked in the ways of his father David, not turning to the right or to the left” (2 Chronicles 34:2). Now that is a legacy every Christian leader would love to have.

There are times when a leader can get a new understanding of their character and the core values they have consciously or unconsciously chosen. There comes a point when leaders realize that everything they have given their life to has little or no lasting value; they see their legacy as God sees it and they know they need to change. Read 2 Chronicles 33:1-20.

Manasseh became king of Judah when he was 12 years old. He ruled in Judah for 55 years. His spiritual legacy, based on the majority of his leadership life is described in 33:2, “He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.” During the early years of his reign, Manasseh rebuilt the altars to false gods; he was involved in witchcraft, sorcery, astrology, consulted spiritualists and mediums and even killed his own children for religious purposes, burning them alive because of his superstitions. Manasseh led the people of Judah totally away from the God of his forefathers. Even when the Lord spoke to Manasseh and the people they totally ignored Him so He withdrew His protection from Judah, and the Assyrians captured Judah and made Manasseh a prisoner.

It is a common saying that “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” As success increases for a leader and influence expands so does the potential pitfalls that accompany success. Successful leaders face their own bank of temptations that test character. Read 2 Chronicles 26:11-23.

Uzziah became king in Judah when he was sixteen and ruled 52 years. An entire generation living in Judah knew only Uzziah’s leadership. Uzziah’s reign mirrored that of Asa, Joash and Amaziah – it began strong and ended in disgrace. In the early years Uzziah displayed godly leadership skills. He implemented a system for developing Judah’s natural resources; he developed an elaborate military defense including a well trained army, special fortifications in key cities, and “machines designed by skillful men…to shoot arrows and hurl large stones” (26:15). During his early years, “He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God” (26:5).

It is possible for a leader to have most areas of their leadership life squared away, be successful in virtually everything they touch and still have one area continually out of control. Wise leaders understand that even allowing one area to be out of control will influence their legacy. Read 2 Chronicles 17-20.

King Jehoshaphat was 35 years old when he became king of Judah and reigned in Jerusalem for 25 years. For the most part Jehoshaphat was an outstanding godly leader. Second Chronicles tells us that Jehoshaphat sought the Lord in virtually all areas of his life, had great wealth and honor, became more and more powerful and even the arch enemy of Judah, the Philistines, brought Jehoshaphat gifts and were at peace with him.