206 THE BIBLE ON LEADERSHIP
genealogies.’’ (1 Tim. 1:3–4) Anyone entrusted with such a difficult
assignment would need words of encouragement, which Paul added
soon after outlining the task: ‘‘Timothy, my son, I give you this instruc-
tion in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by
following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a
good conscience.’’ (1 Tim. 1:18–19)
Moses realized that if Joshua was to lead the nation of Israel, he
needed a series of progressively responsible developmental assignments.
One of these was to lead a reconnaissance mission to explore the Prom-
ised Land prior to invading it. He instructed Joshua to ‘‘see what the
land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak,
few or many... What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled
or fortified? How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor?’’ (Num. 13:18–20)
All Moses was asking of Joshua was that he perform a comprehensive
agricultural, political, military, and socioeconomic survey in unfamiliar
territory in the midst of a hostile enemy. How’s that for a developmental
assignment? It’s the type of mission that literally separates the men from
the boys, the fainthearted from the courageous. And Joshua was up to
the task; he was also one of the few who came back believing the Isra-
elites could successfully take over the land despite the strength of the
opposing forces. His leadership skills would be further developed as he
tried to convince the majority of the people that this task could be
accomplished and that they should not give up by returning to Egypt.
Daniel’s developmental assignments were to read the writing on the
wall and survive the lions’ den; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had
to undergo the fiery furnace. David’s developmental assignments in-
cluded an apprenticeship as a shepherd (an entry-level position in which
he honed his organizational skills and sharpened his combat skills by
killing lions who threatened his sheep) and a truly ‘‘stretch’’ assignment
for which he courageously volunteered: the killing of the combat
champion of the Philistines.
It is not surprising that the most successful modern organizations also
develop their leaders through action learning and developmental assign-
ments. In 1994, KPMG handpicked thirty-five initial participants (high-
potential partners) in their Leadership 2000 program, which was de-