Solomon is one of the most famous Israelite kings only coming second to his father David. Perhaps the reason why Solomon is such a famed king is his servant leadership approach. Solomon is also famed for his decision to choose wisdom over riches so that he could be in a better position to rule his followers, is a strong predictor of a servant leader. Though endowed with great wisdom that attracted loyalties and commoners from everywhere, Solomon was approachable. His followers looked up to him for guidance seeing that he had numerous accomplishments. Of importance, is the fact that he exuded the true characteristics of a leader as he allowed his followers to give their suggestions on how they would want to be ruled (Zhu & Wu, 2018) The initial years were successful owing to the fact that he followed in his father’s footsteps of being humble and God fearing. It is through these godly characters that Solomon managed to build a temple in Jerusalem, which David would have gladly, did were it not for God desiring Solomon to do so.
Solomon just like other kings after him was not able to maintain the servant leadership authority as pride became part of his life. Perhaps this explains why he spent many more years building his own palace where he ended bringing foreign wives. At this point, one can establish that his numerous followers who looked upon him for directions no longer viewed Solomon with admiration. Instead of being a good role model and an effective leader, Solomon became conceited following his selfish desires without considering their implications (Merida, 2015). It is true to say that, his followers changed their perspective regarding Solomon’s new leadership style. As opposed to the previous years when Solomon would seek counsel, Solomon was now doing as he pleased. The followers may have felt disappointed at this unfortunate turn of events. The post captures this new turn of events quite well in that his downfall began when he lost touch with the basic tenets of ethical leadership (Friedman & Friedman, 2019). If Solomon had upheld servant leadership to the end, the Israelites history would have been better and more promising
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References
Friedman, H., & Friedman, L. (2019). What went wrong? Lessons in leadership from Solomon, the Bible’s wisest and worst ruler. The Journal of Values-Based Leadership, 12 (1), 1-20.
Merida, T. (2015). Exalting Jesus in 1 and 2 Kings . Nashville: B & H Publishing Group.
Zhou, F., & Wu, Y. J. (2018). How humble leadership fosters employee innovation behavior: A two-way perspective on the leader-employee interaction. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 39 (3), 375-387.
