Becoming a leader is not like investing in the stock market. Putting money in once and then waiting and hoping it will pay off someday is an approach doomed to fail. Leadership ability develops day by day, over a long period of time. The continuous development and steady use of one's own gifts and abilities lead to an indispensable growth in one's leadership capacity.
It happens that some people are born with more leadership talent than others. But all the skills important for leadership can be learned. It just doesn't happen overnight - it takes time. Leadership has so many facets: respect, experience, emotional strength, working with people, discipline, vision, momentum, the right timing, and so on. The list is long, and that is exactly why leaders need so much time to become effective.
The good news is that leadership ability, no matter where it starts from, can be learned.
Joseph and the Law of Process
Joseph was a conceited boy, too arrogant for his own good. It wasn't enough for him to be his father's favorite, the child who received special treatment, the son of old Jacob. No - he also had to rub it in their faces.
When God gave Joseph a dream and revealed to him that he would one day lead his entire family, he told everyone about it. Twice, in fact. And it wasn't just about his brothers, but also about his parents. His father rebuked him for it. But his brothers wanted to pay him back. And they did.
At the beginning of his life, Joseph did not know how to work well with others. He lacked experience, wisdom, and humility - three qualities of leadership that can only be developed over time. Joseph's life documents this process and is an outstanding example of the Law of Process. The following points help to understand how time and experience worked together to shape Joseph's leadership ability.
Phase 1: I don't know what I don't know
Everyone starts at some point from a place of ignorance. That was also the point where Joseph started. He did not understand the dynamics within his family. Just as little could he anticipate how his brothers would feel when he told them about his dream. Or he simply didn't care. The Bible says his brothers already despised him. But their contempt and hatred grew even greater when he told them about his dream. Joseph did and said things without understanding what he would trigger within his brothers and his family by doing so. His ignorance cost him more than 20 years of his life with his family.
Phase 2: I know what I don't know
It took a life-changing moment for Joseph's attention to fall on his gifting and for him to turn onto the road of change. Because of his enslavement in Egypt, he began to understand how much he still did not know. Leadership was far more than what he had understood it to be up to that point. Over the years, Joseph had to endure quite a lot and, in the process, learned life's hard lessons about human nature, relationships, and leadership. This process worked in him, on his character, and grew patience and humility in him. He began to understand that God is the source of his blessings and power.
Phase 3: I know what I know, and it grows and shows
Leaders who display their abilities and achieve success can only do so because they have paid the price of preparation for it. When Pharaoh summoned Joseph to his court, he delivered an outstanding and excellent performance that had its roots in great wisdom. He did not have this success because he suddenly became a leader at 30. He had this success because he paid the price of preparation for 13 years. The wisdom and judgment he gained during that time made him the second man in Egypt, at that time the most powerful nation in the world.
Phase 4: I simply move forward because I know
During the seven years of abundance, Joseph meticulously carried out his plan. He filled the storehouses of Egypt and prepared the land for a seven-year period of drought. But just how much his leadership qualities had grown can only be seen from what he did in the lean years that followed. While he had focused on making sure the Egyptian people had enough, his plan worked so well that he was also able to supply other countries. In doing so, he brought immeasurable money, livestock, and land into the possession of his lords. And with that, the prophecy from his youth was fulfilled.
Every effective leader needs time to develop. But time alone cannot make anyone an effective leader. Some will never claim the Law of Process for themselves, will take no steps of development, and will remain on stage one their whole lives.
Fortunately for the Israelites, Joseph did not remain on stage 1. He made it from the pit to the palace. It took 23 years until the family was reunited and he saw his dream fulfilled. In the end, Joseph recognized that God had been leading him the whole time and had developed the spoiled boy into a great leader.
By the time his father died, Joseph had learned to see things from God's perspective. When his brothers feared for their lives, Joseph reassured them and said to them:
Genesis 50:19-21 Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.
Joseph recognized God's hand over his life and his path. He understood that God has long-term plans for people that help them become the person God already sees in them today.