21 Qualities of Leaders in the Bible by John C. Maxwell [Summary] Pt2

Main Summary: This second part of this book review focuses on listening, passion, attitude, problem-solving, relationships, responsibility, security, self-discipline, servanthood, teachability, and vision. It transforms biblical examples into actionable leadership principles for everyday influence.

Lessons You’ll Learn From This Post 

• The Quality of Listening 
• The Quality of Passion
• The Quality of Positive Attitude
• The Quality of Problem Solving
• The Quality of Relating Well With Others
• The Quality of Being Responsible
• The Quality of Personal Security 
• The Quality of Self-Discipline 
• The Quality of Servanthood
• The Quality of Being Teachable
• The Quality of Being a Visionary

Also read 21 Qualities of Leaders in the Bible by John C. Maxwell [Summary] Pt1 

When you make listening a priority, you understand people better. You know their desires and concerns. That makes it possible for you to meet those needs.

The Quality of Listening 

• Communication is a two-way street—it must include both talking and listening for people to connect
• Leaders touch a heart before they ask for a hand
• Before leaders can touch a person’s heart, they have to know what’s in it
• Intentional listening communicates to others that their feelings and input matter
• Listening encourages learning—wise leaders know they can always learn something from others
• Listen to followers, the people your organization serves (especially complainers), and mentors
• “Unhappy customers are always a concern. They’re also your greatest opportunity.” — Bill Gates

—

• As a boy serving under Eli, Samuel heard a voice calling him three times
• Each time he runs to Eli, thinking the old priest called him
• Eli finally realizes the Lord is calling the boy and tells Samuel to say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”
• God speaks to Samuel, and later “let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground”—all Israel recognizes him as a prophet. 

—

• Amaziah became king of Judah and did what was right, but not wholeheartedly. 
• Hires Israelite troops, but a man of God warns him not to use them
• Dismisses the troops but worships the gods of Edom after defeating them
• Ignores a prophet’s warning, challenges Israel’s king, and is captured—his refusal to listen led to his downfall

—

• At twelve years old, Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem after the Passover festival
• His parents find him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions
• Everyone who hears him is amazed at his understanding and his answers
• Returns to Nazareth and grows in wisdom and stature, in favor with God and man

You can never effectively lead something you don’t care passionately about. You can’t start or sustain a fire in your organization unless one is first burning within you.

The Quality of Passion

• Talent is not enough—passion is a difference-maker
• A leader who shows passion passes it on to followers
• Passionate leaders attract new followers who already share their passion
• Passion is a spark that lights a fire within; it is fuel for the will
• Passion is more powerful than circumstances, plowing through seeming impossibilities
• You can never effectively lead something you don’t care passionately about
• You can’t start or sustain a fire in your organization unless one is first burning within you

—

• John the Baptist received the word of God in the wilderness and went into all the country around the Jordan
• Preaches a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins with bold, confrontational language
• Calls the crowds “You brood of vipers!” and warns that “the ax is already at the root of the trees.”
• The people wait expectantly, wondering if he might be the Messiah—but John points to one greater than himself

—

• Paul urged believers in Colossi to set their hearts and minds on things above, not earthly things
• Instructs them to clothe themselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience
• Commands, “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
• Adds, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.”

—

• The book of Hebrews lists heroes of faith: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, David, Samuel, and the prophets
• Describes how, through faith, they conquered kingdoms, shut lions’ mouths, quenched flames, and escaped the sword
• Urges readers to “throw off everything that hinders” and “run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
• Calls believers to fix their eyes on Jesus, who, for the joy set before Him, endured the cross

Also read The Laws of Prayer by Peter Tan [Summary] 

Attitude is contagious. Cultivate the right one, and that positivity will spread, taking you and your people as far as you can imagine going. 

The Quality of Positive Attitude

• People prefer to follow someone who believes they can reach the goal, especially when the road is challenging. 
• A positive leader communicates confidence, hope, and excitement
• Your attitude as a leader is a choice, and it significantly impacts your followers’ attitudes and actions. 
• Positive leaders intentionally steer their focus, beliefs, and assumptions in a positive direction
• They focus on gratitude rather than complaints, believe outcomes will be positive, and assume the best motives in others
• Attitude is contagious—cultivate the right one, and positivity spreads

—

• Moses sends twelve spies to explore the land of Canaan
• All twelve see the same land—large clusters of grapes, fortified cities, and giant descendants of Anak. 
• Ten spies give a negative report: “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are. We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes.”
• Caleb and Joshua give a positive report: “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”
• The people believe the negative report, grumble against Moses, and God condemns that entire generation to die in the wilderness

—

• Jesus taught His followers to ask, seek, and knock—promising that everyone who asks receives
• Asks, “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?”
• Declares that even evil people know how to give good gifts to their children
• Asserts that God the Father gives good gifts to those who ask Him

Every problem introduces you to yourself. It reveals how you think and what you’re made of. Do you stop or turn back when confronted with an obstacle? Or find a way over, under, or around it?

The Quality of Problem Solving

• “In this world you will have trouble,” said Jesus. “But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
• Problems are unavoidable, but they don’t have to be insurmountable
• “Inside of every problem lies an opportunity.” — Robert Kiyosaki
• Leaders must help their people solve problems quickly and effectively
• Expect the best but plan for the worst—leaders can handle anything when they anticipate and prepare
• Effective leaders look past problems and keep their minds on the goal and the big picture
• Every problem introduces you to yourself—it reveals how you think and what you’re made of

—

• Haman’s plot to destroy the Jews has been exposed, and Haman was executed
• The original decree ordering the Jews’ destruction cannot be revoked—it is sealed with the king’s ring
• Esther weeps and pleads with the king again; Xerxes gives Mordecai authority to write a new decree
• The new edict grants Jews the right to assemble, protect themselves, and destroy any armed men who attack them

—

• The woman who suffered from bleeding for twelve years spent all her money on doctors, and her condition only grew worse
• She hears about Jesus and decides, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”
• She pushes through a large crowd, touches Jesus’ cloak, and is immediately healed
• Jesus stops, asks who touched Him, and tells her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”

Also read Gifts of the Spirit by Peter Tan [Summary]

If you order people around without attempting to connect with them, they might meet the job requirements, but they will not contribute more than the bare minimum.

The Quality of Relating Well With Others

• With a boss, people follow because they have to. With a good leader, people follow because they want to.
• Good relationships are the foundation of leadership that works
• People truly want to go along with those they get along with
• Leaders develop people skills by using their head, having a heart, and extending a hand
• Using your head means getting to know people and what motivates them
• Having a heart means treating people as individuals, not just team members
• Extending a hand means giving first because you care about your people

—

• Rebekah overheared Isaac planning to bless Esau, the older twin
• She schemes with Jacob to deceive Isaac by dressing Jacob in goatskins to mimic Esau’s hairy skin
• Jacob lies to his blind father, saying, “I am Esau, your firstborn,” and receives the blessing
• Esau vows to kill Jacob; the family fractures, and Jacob flees for his life

—

• The Queen of Sheba travelled to Jerusalem with a very large caravan to test Solomon with hard questions
• Solomon answers every question—nothing is too hard for him to explain
• The queen is overwhelmed by his wisdom, palace, food, officials, and offerings
• She declares, “Not even half was told me,” gives him 120 talents of gold, and received all she desired in return. 

—

• Paul commands believers to love sincerely, hate evil, and cling to good
• Instructs them to be devoted to one another and honor others above themselves
• Tells them to bless those who persecute them, rejoice with those who rejoice, and mourn with those who mourn
• Urges, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

People who embrace responsibility are known for getting things done. They pursue their goals wholeheartedly and never quit.

The Quality of Being Responsible

• People who embrace responsibility are known for getting things done
• Responsible leaders begin by taking ownership of their own roles and tasks
• They hold themselves accountable first and have very high standards
• They pursue goals with tenacity and do everything in their power to finish what they start
• When responsible leaders fail, they admit it, apologize, learn from mistakes, and move forward
• They never make excuses or blame others
• Good leaders never embrace a victim mentality—who and where they are is their responsibility

—

• Satan incited David to take a census of Israel, a command that is evil in God’s sight
• Joab warns against it, but David overrules him
• David immediately confesses to God: “I have sinned greatly by doing this. I have done a very foolish thing.”
• When given three choices of punishment, David says, “Let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is very great.”
• After 70,000 men die from plague, David begs God, “I, the shepherd, have sinned… let your hand fall on my family and me.”

—

• God commanded Jonah to go to Nineveh; instead, Jonah ran away toward Tarshish
• A violent storm threatens to break up the ship; sailors cast lots, and the lot falls on Jonah
• Jonah admits, “I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”
• Tells the sailors to throw him overboard; God provides a great fish to swallow him
• After repenting, God gives Jonah a second chance, and he obeys

No one will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit for doing it. — Andrew Carnegie

The Quality of Personal Security 

• Effective leadership requires transitioning from doer to leader, which demands personal security
• Secure leaders embrace their role and define their success based on the team’s success
• They value collaboration over competition and don’t feel threatened by their people’s accomplishments
• Secure leaders give more credit than they take and accept more blame than they give
• A leadership position amplifies personal flaws
• Insecure leaders hoard power, undermine their people, and claim all the credit

—

• Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of his Cushite wife, asking, “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?”
• The Scripture notes that Moses was “more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.”
• God summons all three to the tent of meeting and strikes Miriam with leprosy
• Moses immediately cries out to God, “Please, God, heal her!”—showing his security and humility

—

• David killed Goliath, and the women sing, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.”
• Saul became very angry, thinking, “What more can he get but the kingdom?”
• From that time on, Saul keeps a close eye on David, hurls a spear at him, and tries to pin him to the wall
• Saul is afraid of David because the Lord is with David, but has departed from Saul

—

• The Lord sent Nathan to confront David about his sin with Bathsheba and Uriah
• Nathan tells a parable of a rich man who steals a poor man’s only lamb
• David burns with anger and declares the rich man must die
• Nathan says, “You are the man!” and David immediately repents: “I have sinned against the Lord.”

Only leaders who lead themselves consistently through a lifestyle of self-discipline can achieve their long-term goals in the long run. This empowers their followers to reach their potential in the long run, too.

The Quality of Self-Discipline 

• The hardest person to lead is always yourself
• Leaders must lead themselves first before they can effectively influence anyone else
• It is extremely challenging to follow an undisciplined leader
• Self-discipline is a regular, consistent, ongoing practice of activities that produce long-term benefit
• It is a lifestyle or habit, not a one-time promise or event
• Disciplined leaders know what is important and why; they have determined their highest priorities
• They create routines and systems and hold themselves accountable for sticking to them
• Self-discipline is the key to sustained success in leadership

—

• The Psalmist in Psalm 119 prayed for steadfastness in obeying God’s decrees
• Asked, “How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.”
• Declares, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
• Rejoices in following God’s statutes “as one rejoices in great riches” and delights in His decrees

—

• Jesus, led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness, where He fasted for forty days and was tempted by the devil
• The devil tempts Him three times: to turn stone to bread, to worship for all kingdoms of the world, and to test God by throwing Himself from the temple
• Each time Jesus responds, “It is written,” quoting Scripture to resist temptation
• Returns to Galilee in the power of the Spirit and begins His public ministry

—

• Paul compared the disciplined life to a runner in a race: “Run in such a way as to get the prize.”
• Says, “I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave,” so he will not be disqualified
• Reminds us that Israel’s ancestors ate spiritual food and drank spiritual drink, yet fell in the wilderness
• Promises, “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. When you are tempted, he will also provide a way out.”

Servanthood is not about position, status, or skill. In fact, Jesus made that clear when he taught that the greatest must become the least. The org chart really should be turned upside-down. The higher the leaders, the more they should serve.

The Quality of Servanthood

• Servanthood is not about position, status, or skill—Jesus taught that the greatest must become the least
• The higher the leaders, the more they should serve
• Servanthood means intentionally learning about people’s needs, valuing those needs above your own, and taking concrete action to meet them
• True servant leaders are motivated by love and unselfishness, AND not manipulation or self-promotion
• Insecurity is the enemy of servanthood—leaders who think they are too important to serve are essentially insecure
• How we treat others reflects how we think about ourselves
• Servant leaders see the need, seize the opportunity, and serve without expecting anything in return

—

• Amalekites raid Ziklag, burn it, and take captive all the women and children
• David’s men are so bitter that they talk of stoning him, but David finds strength in the Lord
• Two hundred of his six hundred men are too exhausted to cross the Besor Valley
• After recovering everything, David insists the men who stayed with the supplies receive an equal share of the plunder—”All will share alike.”
• David also sends gifts from the plunder to the elders of Judah

—

• An expert in the law tests Jesus by asking, “Who is my neighbor?”
• Jesus tells of a man robbed, beaten, and left half dead on the Jericho road
• A priest sees him and passes by on the other side; a Levite does the same
• A Samaritan—despised by Jews—takes pity, bandages his wounds, puts him on his own donkey, and pays an innkeeper to care for him
• Jesus concludes, “Go and do likewise.”

—

• The night before His crucifixion, Jesus knew the Father had put all things under His power
• He gets up from the meal, takes off His outer clothing, wraps a towel around His waist, and pours water into a basin
• Jesus washes His disciples’ feet—a task reserved for the lowest servant
• He tells them, “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example.”

Learning anything ‘from scratch’ can be intimidating and hard on a person’s pride. But it’s impossible to grow without feeling foolish and making mistakes.

The Quality of Being Teachable

• Whatever made you a leader will not necessarily keep you a leader
• To keep leading, you must keep learning
• Your growth determines who you are; who you are determines who you attract; who you attract determines your organization’s success
• Never give in to “destination disease”—you never truly arrive at a finish line in life
• Past success is no predictor of future success
• The skills that got you where you are won’t necessarily keep you there
• To be teachable, you must not only accept the discomfort of learning—you must seek it
• Ask yourself: When was the last time you tried something for the first time?

—

• King Nebuchadnezzar had a terrifying dream of a great tree being cut down to a stump
• Daniel interprets it: the king will be driven from people to live like a wild animal for seven years
• Daniel advises, “Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed.”
• Nebuchadnezzar ignores the advice for twelve months, boasts about his own greatness, and immediately loses his sanity
• After seven years, he raises his eyes toward heaven, his sanity returns, and he praises God—learning humility the hard way

—

• Naaman, a great Aramean commander and valiant soldier, but he has leprosy
• A young Israelite slave girl tells him the prophet in Samaria can heal him
• Naaman travels to Israel with gold, silver, and clothing, expecting Elisha to perform a dramatic healing
• Elisha simply sends a messenger saying, “Go wash yourself seven times in the Jordan.”
• Naaman becomes angry and almost leaves, but his servants persuade him to obey—he dips seven times, and his flesh is restored like a young boy’s

—

• A man runs up to Jesus, kneels, and asks, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
• He claims to have kept all the commandments since he was a boy
• Jesus looks at him and loves him, then says, “One thing you lack. Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, then come, follow me.”
• The man’s face falls, and he walks away sad because he has great wealth
• Jesus says to His disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

Leaders without vision take their team nowhere worth going. At best, they’re traveling in circles. But when leaders have the right vision, they know where to go, and they inspire their people to enthusiastically join them.

The Quality of Being Visionary

• Vision is utterly indispensable in leadership—it leads the leader
• Vision paints the target, sparks and fuels the fire within, and draws leaders forward
• Leaders without vision take their team nowhere worth going
• No vision can be seized until it is first seen by a leader
• A vision from God aligns with Scripture, serves people, and makes a positive difference in the world
• Every vision is unique to the leader, drawing on their specific gifts, talents, and experiences
• A God-sized vision acts like a magnet—attracting, challenging, and uniting people
• The greater the vision, the more followers and resources it attracts; the more challenging it is, the harder people fight to achieve it

—

• God told Abram, “Go from your country, your people, and your father’s household to the land I will show you.”
• Promises to make him into a great nation, bless him, and make his name great
• Abram obeys and sets out at seventy-five years old, not knowing where he is going
• God later shows Abram the stars and promises descendants as numerous as them; Abram believes God, and it is credited to him as righteousness
• God makes a covenant, giving Abram’s descendants the land from the Wadi of Egypt to the Euphrates River

—

• God gives Moses and Aaron detailed instructions for the first Passover
• Each family must take a lamb without defect, slaughter it at twilight, and put its blood on the doorframes
• The instructions include how to eat—cloak tucked in, sandals on, staff in hand, in haste
• God establishes Passover as “a lasting ordinance for the generations to come” so children will always ask, “What does this ceremony mean to you?”
• The Israelites follow the instructions exactly, and the Lord strikes down every firstborn in Egypt while passing over their homes

—

• After His resurrection, Jesus meets the eleven disciples on a mountain in Galilee
• He declares, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
• Gives the Great Commission: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
• Promises, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

You’ve seen eleven more qualities from Scripture. Now it’s your move. Listen more. Serve first. Stay teachable. Keep your vision clear. Choose one quality today, take one action tomorrow, and watch your leadership transform from the inside out.

Finally, here is a question we’d love you to answer.

When was the last time you tried something for the first time as a leader—or has “destination disease” made you stop learning?

We would love to hear from you. Please leave your answer and comment in the comment box below.

This book is available to buy or read in various online bookstores or from your local bookshop.

If you have yet to SUBSCRIBE to our blog, please do that NOW. So you don’t miss any inspirational book summaries coming next.

Also, do well by liking and sharing this post with your friends and loved ones. Let’s spread the word together.

God bless you