One | All leadership originates on the inside of a man.
Notice that before the Psalmist speaks of David's able leadership, he says that David led his people out of the overflow and integrity of his "upright heart." David understood that a leader's action and behavior are developed in private before they become public to others. And so our leadership is formed from our hidden convictions, beliefs, loyalties, and motives and exposed publically as we live them out, and this is where our integrity comes into play. When we lack consistency between the values we proclaim, our hearts true motive, and the way we lead, people recognize this lack of integrity as a definitive leadership weakness. And therein lies the first leadership lesson we learn from King David; our first arena of leadership responsibility is learning to lead self.

In addition, the best leaders cultivate a deep relationship with God and think deeply about who they are and what they believe. They know the difference between leadership by ambition and leadership by empowerment because they have become genuinely aware of their own motivations and the tensions between their purity and impurity. They aim for consistency in their inner lives that matches with the truth of God. I believe this is why David's is still known to be one of the great leaders of all time.

Two | Skillful leadership is a learned ability.
Great leaders not only develop their inner lives but they intentionally develop leadership skills. Without a "skillful hand," leaders can unintentionally hurt others and misdirect the organizations they lead. Many leaders assume because they have a passion to lead that they are qualified to lead - and this is inaccurate. While young leaders may have a few natural abilities such as marketing savvy, management insight, or financial wisdom a few natural abilities do not make a leader. I have found that most young leaders, while they need to be given opportunities to lead, overestimate their leadership ability and underestimate their leadership deficits and need for leadership experience. Unfortunately, this is something only understood over time and is the building of leadership muscle.

Intentional development of leadership skills is a lifelong endeavor. We will learn from others, learn from success, but most of all we'll learn from failure. Success causes us to believe in ourselves, whereas failure causes us to evaluate, grow, and change. Enjoy leadership success, but go to school on failure. David did!

Three | Leadership is not about being the boss.
Notice the Psalmist says that David "shepherded them." He understood that leadership is a stewardship and just as a shepherd was responsible for the welfare of his flock, so he was responsible for the welfare of his people. Too many leaders see their position as a place where they can meet their own personal aspirations rather than help others be successful and reach their aspirations. Leadership is not about us but about others: Always! And so shepherd, or steward, the opportunities God gives to you.

Lead on.