Book : 2 Corinthians
Principle: A great leader stands behind his or her team in success and defeat.
Key Verse: 2 Corinthians 1:7 (ESV): “Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.”
Explanation/Illustration of the principle: In his writing to the Corinthian church, Paul’s aim is to encourage and strengthen the believers. Paul realizes that there will be both easy and difficult times for the followers of Jesus Christ as they face strengthening persecution. To the church at Corinth, it was important to understand that they were not facing what was ahead alone. For this purpose, Paul expresses his own experiences as an authentication of how familiar is with suffering. In doing so, he is able to offer the church comfort. As one commentator writes, the comfort is not mediated directly to both parties, but given in the first instance to Paul, that he might “comfort” them. Likewise, a leader is in the position to convey the good and buffer the bad that will be coming his team’s way. By protecting those he or she leads from immediate impacts, he or she lets the team focus on execution and what they need to deliver, rather than exposing them directly to sometimes difficult political´ discussions that are being held at the top level of an organization. By freeing the team from needing to invest emotionally in topics that are possibly still undecided or that need refining, the leader sets his or her people free to keep driving towards delivery of plans that were put in place at a certain point in time. If these plans are ultimately changed, the leader can communicate this in a manner that is more refined and buffered.

Book: Galatians Principle: A good leader takes the necessary time to think through strategic next moves.
Key Verse: Galatians 1:15-17 (ESV): “But when he who had