Current Leadership Styles

Introduction to Modern Leadership 

Merida (2015), in his book, Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Kings gives interesting insights in the leadership styles used by several kings in the Bible. 1 and 2 Kings are books, which give an account about the succession of David, the rule of Solomon, the two kingdoms, and lastly, the very last years of the Kingdom of Judah. The leadership styles exemplified in this in Merida’s book are very much present and applicable in the modern world. The type of leadership style in society is mostly determined by the temperament of the people that any particular leader is leading, alongside the image that the leader can portray on any form of media profile. As such, the type of leadership style practised by any leadership personality today consists of both the image that they can cultivate and the opinions of the people under whom they serve. That notwithstanding, several prevalent leadership styles have always come through in society from generation to generation. 

Leadership style is generally how a person tends to provide direction for their team. The flavour of leadership provided by any person would depend on their personality type, the type of team that they are leading and the particular circumstance surrounding the leadership scenario. Every leader is different. The same organizational culture or project being executed would yield different leadership styles. However, there are general types of leadership that have been noted to be practised the world over, generation to generation. These leadership styles have most commonly been displayed at the workplace and in the execution of various mandates and projects. 

The most common leadership styles are; coaching leadership, visionary leadership, servant leadership, autocratic leadership, bureaucratic leadership, transactional leadership, transformational leadership, pacesetter leadership, laissez-fare leadership and democratic leadership. Each of these leadership types bears unique characteristics and typical results. It worth noting, however, that the same leader, throughout their leadership experience, may oscillate between one, two or three leadership styles depending on what their particular situation calls for at any specific time. No leader is bound to one leadership type for the duration of their tenure. Many leaders have, however, due to their prevailing personality, often been recognized by a single leadership style, perhaps in recognition of which style they are most remembered for practising. 

Examples of these leadership styles in action may be observed in both the Bible and in the current world. The consultative leadership style was exemplified by the former American president, Barack Obama. His eight terms in office were marked by hours upon hours of consultation with administrative and constitutional experts, so as to reach the best way forward for the country. The autocratic leadership style may be seen in the country of North Korea, were all the political and administrative power is concentrated on one figurehead, Kim Jong Un. Servant leadership, on the other hand has been perfectly exemplified by the example of the Pope, who does everything in his power and jurisdiction to serve all humans as diligently as possible. These are some of the real life examples of current leadership styles in action today. 

Leadership Style Examples from the Bible 

The Holy Bible is rife with exemplary illustrations of practising leaders. Major historical events were underlined by the grade of characters and their contemporaries as these past events took place. Although mostly God-appointed, leaders in the Bible range from wonderful heroes and servants of God to murderous villains who let power get in their heads. This paper will focus on the brands of leadership displayed in the Old Testament, in the Books of 1 st and 2 nd Kings. Various types of leadership shall be dissected and examined, as demonstrated in these two books of the Bible, through which several kings had their chance to show leadership. 

The beginning of 1 st Kings sees the end of the reign of David as King. He is in feeble condition, and a fight ensues about who should ascend to the throne. Adonijah is eligible for the throne, as is Solomon. The fact that this fight happened lends the view into King David’s leadership style, at least towards the end of his reign (Gunn, 2013). It appears here that his leadership weakened as the end approached. He may have adopted a laissez-fare leadership style, perhaps owing to his declining health and loss of his faculties. Be that as it may, he appears to have lost control of his Kingdom and his sons, towards the end of his reign. 

Most monarchs will adopt an autocratic leadership style in the course of their mandate. This is often in an attempt to practice and impose absolute power on the subjects. This was no different from the reign of King David, whom everyone agreed obtained divine authority from God Almighty. This is further illustrated when, on finding out the Adonijah planned to take over the Kingdom, he appointed Solomon as his co-regent, from which point they ruled together until the day of David’s death. This way, Solomon, the preferred heir, was able to consolidate all the monarchical and military power in the Kingdom, with the steady guiding hand of his old father. In this way, we may argue that David practices and autocratic leadership style. 

King Solomon’s Leadership Style 

After the establishment of Solomon's rule through the symbolic swearing-in by a priest, his tenure began. The 40 years of Solomon’s rule are considered to be the most successful ever experienced by the Israelite nation. It was during this period also that Israel’s boundaries became the biggest. The nation spanned the extent between the Euphrates River and the red sea. Riches and wealth flowed throughout the country. Like God had promised Abraham many years before; indeed, his sons and daughters would be blessed. The full extent of God’s promises to Abraham is argued to have been experienced during the reign of Solomon. 

Solomon is also widely regarded as the wisest man to ever walk the earth. At the beginning of his reign, he made a covenant with God Almighty to always walk in the ways of the righteous and full obedience of the laws of God (Talshir, 2018). As a result, he was blesses with a peaceful, prosperous nation. He was also blessed with immense wealth and wisdom. Leaders and kings from all over the King visited him for his wise counsel and material assistance. Within his own Kingdom, Solomon was positively regarded by his people, always considered a wise and fair ruler. 

At the beginning of his tenure as the third king of Israel, God appeared to Solomon and asked him what he would like for God to provide him with. In a stroke of precocious wisdom, and in cognizance of the fact that his leadership skills were as yet green, the twenty-year-old King asked God for 'wisdom, a discerning heart to lead and the ability to distinguish between right and wrong.' This is at the very least, an indication that Solomon would be a visionary and transformational leader who would take his Kingdom to new heights. Besides, Solomon is seen to be a servant leader, to work both for God and the people of Israel. 

Servant leadership indicates a willingness to be of maximal use to the establishment for which one rules over. First and foremost, Solomon stated a desire to be a servant to God. In biblical passages, among the things that Solomon asks for are a heart that can differentiate between right and wrong. This indicates a willingness to serve God. Servant leadership is further demonstrated when he embarks first on a project to build a temple for God then later on a project to develop a palace for the Kingdom. This palace ends up serving as a symbol of unity for the people of Israel, while God's Temple signifies the central role that God plays within Israelite culture and religion. 

In addition to God's Temple and the King's palace, Solomon’s servant leadership resulted in the technological advancement of Israel of that age, as indicated by archaeological evidence. The Israelite nation went through a prosperous period where ships were built; terraces were erected, as well as defensive walls in areas where the land might not have been sufficiently secure (Frisch, 2017). Agriculturally, Solomon ensured that the food baskets all over the country were overflowing. The Israelites were all gainfully engaged, and the nation generally experienced a protracted period of success and abundance. This is indicative of Solomon’s propensity to practise servant leadership. 

Solomon’s servant leadership resulted in the nation of Israel blossoming into a significant regional and industrial hub in the 10 th century. As the Bronze Age came to an end and the Iron Age dawned, Israel emerged as an iron powerhouse, mainly on the prompting of King Solomon's leadership. International trade was also a significant undertaking for nations and kingdoms around this period, during which historical and archaeological records show that Israel was a significant beneficiary. He also created a vast military establishment for the Kingdom of Israel, complete with numerous horses, chariots and recruited soldiers to defend the borders of Israel. 

In summary, Solomon practised a visionary leadership style. He was a wise man, a dreamer, an organized leader, an administrator, a builder, a diplomat, a merchant and an entrepreneur. His achievements have fortified his position as among the world’s most influential leaders. He also ended up reinforcing the position of Canaan, Israel and Jerusalem as trading, military and spiritual centres of the world in his time. Finally, his wisdom caused him to contribute to the works of the Old Testament such as the Songs of Solomon, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. An autocratic leadership style would have served the Kingdom better, especially in terms of stopping the tribes from worshipping foreign idols. 

King Rehoboam’s Leadership Style 

After the death of King Solomon, Rehoboam his son ascended into the throne of Canaan and Israel. Following his father’s lavish and extravagant rule, Rehoboam was confronted by an overtaxed, tired population who wanted a solution to their dwindling fortune and heavy taxes which had kept the previous regime running. He was therefore forced to seek counsel from two sets of advisors, which demonstrates a consultative leadership style mixed in with a transactional and democratic style of leadership. This is further confirmed when Rehoboam ended up adopting the advice recommended by one of the groups whose help he sought. 

At first glance, Rehoboam appears to be from an autocratic leadership style. He decided to take the advice of his younger council of advisors, which advised him to adopt an iron-fist rule against his people. His rule was unsympathetic to his people and harsh towards anyone deemed to stand in the way of his control. As a result of his strict leadership style, the nation of Israel was always on the brink of a rebellion. His preferred modus operandi was to threaten his subjects rather than inspire them using kind words and encouragement. Given his leadership style, which bordered on the dictatorial, the Kingdom of Israel ended up splitting along tribal lines. Sympathizers of Jeroboam developed and after that broke off to form another kingdom. 

The disconnect between Rehoboam and his subjects allowed for the previously peaceful and united Kingdom to split into the northern Kingdom and the southern Kingdom (Parker, 2014). The Southern Kingdom of Judah consisted of the tribes of Benjamin and Judah, while the Northern Kingdom consisted of the remaining ten tribes of Israel. Already, these ten tribes adopted the practice of idol worship, to avoid walking to Jerusalem, where the two united kingdoms had their Temple. The practice of idol worship, therefore, can be assumed to have propagated through the nation of Israel owing to the weak leadership offered by Rehoboam and jeroboam. This is because soon enough, the people of Judah had also started the worshipping of idols. 

The two kings’ weak leadership also resulted in the deterioration of the military, which saw a penetration of the borders of the Israelite nation, and ultimately Jerusalem, by foreign forces. King Shishak of Egypt, for instance, was able to invade the central city of Jerusalem, where he stole valuable metals and other wares from both the Temple of God and the King's palace. Gradually, the riches that had been steadily acquired by his father and predecessor, King Solomon, were stolen, ending up in the hands of foreign nations. The ten tribes in the north also got penetrated by the Assyrians, which led to the subsequent assimilation or disappearance of the ten tribes of Israel as a result of the invasion. 

The disintegration of the tribes of Israel due to the invasion by Assyrians may also be attributed to the weakening rule of Solomon. Scholars have opined that King Solomon gradually deviated from being a King after God’s own heart, like his father, into a King who was more focused on worldly pleasures and material wealth. He also married brides from foreign nations that practised idolatry, which had been prevented by the commandments of Moses. This resulted in the introduction of foreign gods into the Kingdom of Israel, which then caused the people to be distracted from the purpose of serving their one true God. A consultative and servant leadership style would have helped the Kingdom better, as this would mean that the King would become dedicated to both God and the people whom he serves. 

King Hezekiah’s Leadership Style 

The Kingdom of Judah to the north, despite having disintegrated from the joint Kingdom of Israel, was however fortunate to experience kings that were somewhat more godly, especially held in comparison with the kings that ruled in the southern Kingdom. Among these good kings was Hezekiah. During Hezekiah’s rule, part of the Kingdom was driven back to the Lord in prayer. For instance, a whole war was stopped under the jurisdiction of Hezekiah as a result of the religious nature of King Hezekiah. The leadership style most associated with King Hezekiah is therefore thought to be mostly that of the consultative leadership style. 

Hezekiah ruled with a renewed zeal to serve God and to go after the heart of God such as had been seen only during the reign of David and during the early days of the reign of Solomon. Hezekiah showed great humility throughout his rule, coupled with great respect for the dictates of God (Borowski, 2015). He was a servant leader who also acknowledges the role of God in the prosperity of Israel. As a result of this, Israel began to be more united and prosperous under his rule. Being a servant leader to God, he went ahead to destroy all the pagan idols as soon as he ascended to the throne. Then he set about to repair and restore the neglected Temple of God, intending to restore the habit of temple worship throughout the Kingdom of Judah. 

It could be argued that Hezekiah was a results-oriented president, as he drove to carry out all these activities at once within a relatively short period. For instance, he wanted to clean out the Temple and rid of of all the idols within a short period of 16 days, in time for the Passover celebrations. This was all done with due consideration for his people, and with his heart fully dedicated to the works and servanthood of God. He was an obedient, consultative king, both to the prophets of God, and to the commandments of God himself. He held fast to the will of God, despite the challenges that came with being the King of being a predominantly Pagan nation. As a result, he was blessed abundantly by God, even being granted victory against the philistines who threatened to invade. 

Hezekiah was a consultative leader who sought the advice of the prophets of God. He was also a prayerful king who often found the will of God through prayer and fasting. This premeditation and prayerfulness allowed him to defeat the Assyrians for example, who planned to lay siege on the city of Jerusalem. The same prayerfulness also caused God to add fifteen extra years to the life of Hezekiah, who was already ill and near death. The biggest lesson that we get from the reign of Hezekiah is to be humble and prayerful before God. Also, it helps to be passionately repentant before God and to genuinely seek the heart of God, as both King David and King Hezekiah did. 

Annotated Bibliography 

Borowski, O. (2015). Hezekiah's Reforms and the Revolt against Assyria.  The Biblical Archaeologist ,  58 (3), 148-155. 

King Hezekiah is much credited with a lot of the religious reforms that took place in the Kingdom of Judah shortly after he ascended to the throne. His main agenda going into the throne was to return the Kingdom to the glory days of King Solomon and King David. He figured that the only real way to achieve that would be to return the people of Israel to the ways of the Lord. As such, he waged war against foreign idols and restored the Temple in Jerusalem to its former glory. King Hezekiah was relatively successful, as the Kingdom of Judah was able to go back to its Christian, righteous ways. As a result, the blessings of God came upon both the Kingdom and its King, even resulting in the King winning a few wars against bitter enemies along the way. Chief among these enemies were the Assyrians, whom the King was able to revolt against and maintain the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Judah. 

This reference is of high quality since it has been published by a renowned institution, which has also published several other famous Christian publications. The author of this article is called Oded Borowski, who has been able to elucidate the leadership styles and the achievements of King Hezekiah, arguably the third most successful King of Judah after both King Solomon and kind David. 

Frisch, A. (2017). Structure and its significance: The narrative of Solomon's reign (1 Kings 1-12.24).  Journal for the Study of the Old Testament ,  16 (51), 3-14. 

Amos Frisch presents a compelling case for the successes that came about as a result of King Solomon’s reign. In this volume, he outlines the achievements that came about in the course of his rule, as well as the challenges and later failings that resulted from the 40-year rule of one of the most successful Israelite royals. Frisch takes a structural approach towards analyzing the reign of King Solomon, often returning to the Bible to take reference before making any substantive conclusions. As a result, this work stands out as a well-researched volume worthy of mention and general study. 

In a demonstration of this fact, it has been published in the renowned journal for the study of the Old Testament to contribute to the studies therein. This is a reputable journal that has several other such well-researched, structured articles and works of research. 

Gunn, D. M. (2013).  The story of King David: genre and interpretation  (Vol. 6). A&C Black. 

David gun provides a well-researched account of the life of King David and all his contemporaries. Using references straight from the Old Testament, Gunn sheds light on the dynamics of succession between King David and King Solomon, eventually describing both kingdoms and how they differed from each other. This publication lends a stronger focus, however on the life of King David, starting from birth to his years as King, as well as to his ultimate ears as an old king. This account has been given in a reputable volume published by a known publisher and which may be referenced accordingly by any students or researchers willing to use the information therein. 

Parker, K. I. (2014). The Limits to Solomon's Reign: A Response to Amos Frisch.  Journal for the Study of the Old Testament ,  16 (51), 15-21. 

In response to Frisch’s article mentioned above, Kim Ian Parker puts together a report that highlights the failures of the reign of King Solomon. The critical points in this article lay around the fact that King Solomon, in his quest for material trappings, power and influence, drifted away from the will of Yahweh. As a result, his plans and those of God continually grew apart, eventually resulting first in a pagan nation and second disunited peoples. It was as a result of the misdemeanours of the reign of King Solomon that the Kingdom of Judah and the Kingdom of Israel were not able to hold together after the death of King Solomon. 

The fact that King Solomon also married numerous wives and had several concubines also added to the dilution of the will of God. These wives introduced the culture of idol worship into the reign of King Solomon, which eventually led to a disintegration of the culture of worshipping only one God, Yahweh. This article was published in a reputable journal in the year 1991, called the journal of the study of the Old Testament. Other journals also contribute to this on-going topic, often making reference to this anchor journal, owing to the masterful way in which it was put together by Kim Ian Parker. 

Talshir, Z. (2018). The Reign of Solomon in the Making: Pseudo-Connections between 3 Kingdoms and Chronicles.  Vetus Testamentum ,  50 (2), 233-249. 

In this volume, Zipora Talshir sheds further light into the reign of King Solomon. This volume both compares the period of this reign to the period preceding it; that of the Septuagint, and that immediately succeeding it; that of the chronicles. Zipora Tashir draws parallels between kingdoms in these two periods and compares them to the reign of King Solomon. It is in this volume that she also brings the question to whether the accounts recorded in the books of Kings are accurate, held in comparison with similar statements made in the writings of chronicles and the Torah respectively. 

References  

Borowski, O. (2015). Hezekiah's Reforms and the Revolt against Assyria.  The Biblical Archaeologist ,  58 (3), 148-155. 

Frisch, A. (2017). Structure and its significance: The narrative of Solomon's reign (1 Kings 1-12.24).  Journal for the Study of the Old Testament ,  16 (51), 3-14. 

Gunn, D. M. (2013).  The story of King David: genre and interpretation  (Vol. 6). A&C Black. 

Merida, T. (2015).  Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Kings . B&H Publishing Group. 

Parker, K. I. (2014). The Limits to Solomon's Reign: A Response to Amos Frisch.  Journal for the Study of the Old Testament ,  16 (51), 15-21. 

Talshir, Z. (2018). The Reign of Solomon in the Making: Pseudo-Connections between 3 Kingdoms and Chronicles.  Vetus Testamentum ,  50 (2), 233-249.