When the right leader and the right moment come together, truly great things can happen.
Reading a situation and knowing what needs to be done and what does not is not enough to succeed as a leader. Success only comes when the right action is taken at the right time. Anything else comes at a high price.
Being an effective leader requires patience and the ability to tame the inner impulse toward immediate action. Like Esther, leaders must recognize that acting at the wrong time can have devastating consequences.
- Your fate will be the same as the crowd's.
Sometimes it's easy to believe that you are something very special and don't need to take the risks of previous generations in order to reach your goal. But that is a myth. If we take no risks, we cannot expect to be equal to the situation. Mordecai reminded Esther that she would end up exactly like the rest of her people if she did not go to the king.
- God will replace you with someone else.
Mordecai motivated Esther by reminding her that God will achieve his purpose even if she does not help him do it. For it is not necessarily the leader's ability that God needs in order to pour out his blessing on this world and achieve his purpose. Rather, it is the leader's willingness to go there at the right moment and do what was on God's heart.
- You will lose more than just an opportunity.
Mordecai reminded Esther that if she sits back and does nothing, she will lose more than just the chance to act in this case. She could also lose her life. Even though acting in the moment may seem risky, leaders always keep an eye on the long-term risk that arises if they fail to act.
- You could miss your life's calling.
Mordecai gave Esther the thought that failing at this task would amount to failing at the life calling God had given her. Esther would not be able to fulfill her calling if she remained passive in this moment. What paralyzes her? Fear? Loss of control? Loss of face? Imperfection? Disharmony? Regardless of what holds leaders back from acting, they will only succeed by making one decision after another. There is no zero-risk strategy for leaders. But when a leader decides to seize an opportunity despite the risk, momentum is built.
The question of the right timing is decisive for success.
The following aspects can help in recognizing the right moment:
- The needs and deficiencies of people.
When a leader has a finger on the pulse of the times and addresses the fundamental needs and deficiencies of people, finding options for leadership will not be difficult.
Esther understood the needs of her people. She understood not only what her people needed in general, but also what they specifically needed from her. She was in touch with people and their needs, and so should every other leader be. Questions like, "What is the mood?", "What do they want to achieve?" or "What do they need from me as a leader?" are helpful in taking stock of the situation.
- The opportunities along the way.
A leader finds opportunities when she keeps a lookout for them.
At the beginning of Esther's story, Mordecai kept watch over many opportunities. Whenever he saw one, he informed Esther of the opportunity and its small window of time. Esther learned from this, seized the opportunities, and informed the king. When leaders take the time to recognize the essential opportunities, they and their leadership will stand out from the crowd.
- The influence of people.
A leader recognizes which advisors and influencers significantly support her and builds an inner circle.
Esther valued Mordecai's advice so much that she made sure he was close to her during her time as queen. Before making important decisions, a leader seeks advice from her inner circle. In doing so, she asks herself questions like, "Do they see the same opportunity I do?" or "Do they also believe this is the right time?" To recognize the right timing, the feedback of the inner circle and the key people around a leader can be extremely valuable.
- The successes achieved.
Past experiences are practical advisors for future success, and that is why it is worth a leader's while to take time for reflection. "Have I experienced something like this before?" "Is it to be expected that this decision will lead to the same result as it did then?"
Mordecai had to convince Esther that the right moment had come to ask the king. When she succeeded, her confidence for future challenges grew. And that's not all. After a while, her influence had grown so much that she no longer had to go to the king — the king came to her to ask for advice.
- The courage present.
Leadership requires courage — the courage to take a risk and seize an opportunity by the horns. The word courage comes from the French word "courage" and means heart. Seizing an opportunity and drawing an advantage from it requires a strong heart.
Esther was a model of courage. Again and again. It takes a strong heart to stand before a king. Fear could have pulled her down, but instead it produced exactly the opposite and brought out the best in her. Leaders understand that great opportunities always come with risk and fear. But they move forward at the right moment, without hesitation.
Esther 4:6-17
6 So Hatach went forth to Mordecai unto the street of the city, which was before the king's gate.
7 And Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him, and of the sum of the money that Haman had promised to pay to the king's treasuries for the Jews, to destroy them.
8 Also he gave him the copy of the writing of the decree that was given at Shushan to destroy them, to shew it unto Esther, and to declare it unto her, and to charge her that she should go in unto the king, to make supplication unto him, and to make request before him for her people.
9 And Hatach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai.
10 Again Esther spake unto Hatach, and gave him commandment unto Mordecai;
11 All the king's servants, and the people of the king's provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days.
12 And they told to Mordecai Esther's words.
13 Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews.
14 For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
15 Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer,
16 Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.
17 So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him.