An uncommitted leader is actually a danger to their team. Read Zechariah 10:1-3.

Teams take on the attitude and behavior of their leader. The Lord held the leaders among the returned exiles accountable for their treatment of the people. He says, “My anger burns against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders; for the Lord Almighty will care for His flock…” (v. 3). Through my leadership life I have found a lot of individuals who wanted to be a leader but didn’t want to do the work of or accept the responsibility of a leader. Accepting a leadership role requires committing to leadership responsibility.

When leaders stop learning their leadership becomes less effective. Read Zechariah 1:2-6.

Like Haggai, his older contemporary, Zechariah was a post exilic prophet who led the people from 520-480 B.C. Zechariah gave the people many visions but he had only one priority and that was for the people to finish the temple. Concerned about the exiles’ apathetic response to finishing the temple, Zechariah shared his visions to encourage the people in their rebuilding project and give them hope in a future King and His eternal kingdom.

God has high standards and high expectations for those who accept leadership positions. Read Zephaniah 3:1-4.

Through His prophet Zephaniah God condemned Jerusalem for her sin and arrogance. The cities leaders were singled out in verse 4 when it says, “Her prophets are arrogant; they are treacherous men. Her priests profane the sanctuary and do violence to the law.” These leaders are indicted because their character failed and they violated the trust of their offices. When unqualified leaders have control, the whole organization can be ruined.

Wise leaders understand that a team’s attitude must change from the inside out. Read Zephaniah 2:1-3.

Zephaniah lived during the period of religious reform demanded by King Josiah. Josiah was a godly king of Judah who destroyed idol worship and revived obedience to God, but the outcomes of Josiah’s efforts were incomplete. The people responded to Josiah’s reforms outwardly out of respect for his leadership, but they never acknowledged their own sinfulness and made changes of the heart. Zephaniah knew transformation happens from the inside out.

God-honoring leaders learn to embrace the lesson God teaches during the “waiting” process. Read Habakkuk 2:1-20.

Habakkuk wrote his prophecy in approximately 607 B. C. The Babylonian army captured and destroyed Jerusalem and exiled the residents in 586 B. C. Between the prophecy and the capture of Jerusalem the evil heaped on the people by the leaders in Judah continued unabated. Habakkuk teaches us that leaders must learn to trust God and cherish the waiting time before they get their answers. It was during the years of waiting that God did a work in Habakkuk’s heart. He changed him from a man with questions about God’s character to a faithful leader that could say, “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord” 3:17-18a.