3 Times Real Leaders Emerge

1. When other leaders lack courage to fulfill their responsibilities.

“To be able to lead others, a man must be willing to go forward alone,” said Harry Truman. Real leaders emerge at a time when no one else is willing to step forward. The giant Goliath singlehandedly harassed and immobilized Israel’s great leader. As the Commander in Chief and the tallest Israelite, King Saul was the obvious choice to respond to Goliath’s challenge of winner-take-all combat. Yet, day after day he did nothing other than offer a reward for someone else to do the job [1 Samuel 17:25]. Fear sidelined the established leader, but provided the stage for a new leader named David to emerge.

2. When the risk is greatest.

The glory-hungry and the pretenders seek to lead when the stakes are low. Many are those eager to contribute direction and solutions when failure costs little. But when the risk is life or death for an organization or even people, the real leaders emerge. As Kouzes and Posner put it, “Challenge calls forth leadership.” The challenge issued by the champion of the Philistines was a great risk. It meant life or death for the challenger, and victory or loss for the nation. Martin Luther King said, “If a man hasn’t found something he is willing to die for, he isn’t fit to live.” David was the only one who assessed the situation as something for which he was willing to die [1 Samuel 17:32]. The real leader risked.

3. When no one else recognizes the essential problem.

Saul and the armies of Israel were viewing Goliath’s threat only through the lens of human victory and defeat. David was the only one who identified the true issue. Goliath was defying God himself [1 Samuel 17:36, 45-47]. When the majority are not able to identify the issue of ultimate importance that is the time a real leader emerges.