July 22, 2026

Business by the Book

I Chronicles 12:31  And of the half tribe of Manasseh eighteen thousand, which were expressed by name, to come and make David king.

The fifth leadership trait that we see in the men who assembled to make David the King of Israel is that they knew they were doing what they were appointed to do.

Vagueness, ambiguity, uncertainty, and doubt are enemies of success. It is the responsibility of leaders to provide clearly defined boundaries for followers. In return, followers become leaders in that area of responsibility. When leaders fail to delineate responsibilities for those they lead misunderstandings, mix-ups, and mistakes will occur undermining success.

There is nothing more powerful than a person performing the duties that they know they have been appointed to do. This provides a certain confidence which is the soil from which success grows. Without sure and certain boundaries confidence is eroded.

I once heard about a CEO that hired a new employee. This was an excellent manager and influential leader in his chosen industry. On the first day of employment the new employee spent a lot of the working day with this top manager of the organization. The entire organization was reviewed, individual responsibility highlighted, and many of the pertinent areas of specific accountabilities discussed. Toward the end of this meeting the CEO drew a bunch of circles on a piece of paper and put the names of the various tasks that work together for the overall success of the organization. The circles that belonged to the new employee were pointed out clearly. Then the CEO said, “If you stay within your circles and take full responsibility for them things will go well. If you put your toes in circles not belonging to you I will cut your toes off.”  

The hyperbole aside, the CEO was very effective in appointing certain portions of the overall success of the organization to the new employee. The authority the new man needed was given to him, a warning to stay within the boundary of his responsibility was issued, and the new employee started work knowing exactly what was expected of him. That employee was very effective and worked for that CEO for many years, both experiencing much personal and organizational success.

This CEO knew that employees needed to know what they were personally appointed to do by understanding the boundaries associated with that task. This attribute of leadership permeated the entire organization at all levels. Leadership appoints specific tasks to followers who in turn become leaders in their own right by appointing specific tasks to their followers.

Dr. William Howe