2 THE BIBLE ON LEADERSHIP
to your values, people won’t follow you too far. They may follow you
to a point, but when the going gets tough, they’ll start to hang back or
look around for another leader. You may tell followers that despite the
obstacles, the goal is achievable and that you will back them up 100
percent. But if you have failed to back them up in the past (or even if
you simply lack a track record of trust and honesty), no one is going to
line up to follow you through a deep mud puddle, let alone the Red
Sea.
Lately, managers and leaders across the world have often left us want-
ing in this key area. Richard Nixon hired people to break into the
headquarters of the opposing political party, then lied and claimed he
had nothing to do with it. Bill Clinton had an affair with a White House
intern a few years older than his daughter, then promptly denied that
he had ever participated in any sexual activity with her.
Morton Thiokol, the aerospace company, failed to listen to a scien-
tist’s warnings that theChallengerspacecraft was unsafe, causing the en-
tire crew to go crashing to a fiery death just minutes after the launch.
Executives at Texaco engaged in a systematic pattern of discrimination
against minority employees and tried to hide it, but audiotapes provided
incontrovertible evidence of their actions.
The leaders in the Bible were cut from a different cloth. Even when
their visions seemed unrealistic, people followed them because of their
integrity and honesty. The Bible is full of examples of individuals who
kept their words despite incredible natural and human obstacles, and of
leaders who risked loss of power, money, and even their lives to keep
their integrity intact. Noah was selected and rewarded for his integrity;
Lot was saved from the hellfire and ashes of Sodom and Gomorrah for
his honesty.
Moses, who brought God’s warnings against lying, stealing, and cov-
eting to his followers in dramatic fashion, was a man of great integrity
himself. The Ten Commandments are very explicit: ‘‘Thou shalt not
steal.’’ ‘‘Thou shalt not murder.’’ ‘‘Thou shalt not give false testimony
against thy neighbor.’’ ‘‘Thou shalt not covet they neighbor’s house...
wife... manservant or maidservant... or anything belonging to thy
neighbor.’’ That’s four commandments out of ten that deal directly with
integrity and honesty.