Here are several examples in the Bible of the three parts of leadership.
Jesus established the direction. He shared a clear and compelling vision with His disciples:
Jesus had already aligned His followers in that direction through what He had taught them:
Now He pointed them in the specific direction He wanted them to go and said, “Start moving …”:
Finally, Jesus motivated and inspired them to keep moving and to fulfill the vision:
Nehemiah was a mighty leader in the Old Testament who led the children of Israel to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. First, Nehemiah saw the vision. As he was serving King Artaxerxes as cupbearer, Nehemiah heard that the walls of the city of Jerusalem had been broken down and its gates had been burned (Nehemiah 1:3). Going before the Lord, Nehemiah wept and interceded for his people (1:4-11), and God gave him a vision to return to Judah and rebuild Jerusalem (2:5).
Now that Nehemiah had the vision, he began aligning the people with it. The first person who needed to own the vision was King Artaxerxes. As Nehemiah came before the king, he stated his case clearly and passionately. “And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ graves, that I may rebuild it” (2:5).
The king granted Nehemiah’s requests, sent letters of recommendation to the governors of the area, and gave him timber from the king’s forest as well as soldiers (2:7-9). King Artaxerxes had caught the vision! Once Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, he went before the people and shared his vision, explaining the damage to the city and the plan for rebuilding it (2:17-18). When the people heard him, they embraced the vision and began to work (2:18). The plan was in motion!
Then Nehemiah kept the people moving toward fulfilling the vision. Each family was given a portion to repair and soon the wall was “half its height, for the people had a mind to work” (4:6). There were some who sought to attack and destroy the city, but Nehemiah, undeterred, encouraged the people to continue laboring, half of them building and half of them bearing arms (4:15-18, 20; cf. 2:20). Despite setbacks and conspiracies against Nehemiah, he did not give up. “So we labored at the work, and half of them held the spears from the break of dawn until the stars came out” (4:21). Nehemiah’s leadership was effective. After only fifty-two days of work, the wall was completed (6:15) and God was glorified (6:16)!
In Exodus 3, Moses received the vision from God (Direction). Then he shared the vision with the people (Alignment). Finally, he led them out of Egypt and through the wilderness, overcoming many obstacles until they finally reached the Promised Land (Achievement).
In Joshua 3, Joshua had received the vision of crossing the Jordan and entering Canaan from Moses (Direction). Then he aligned the people with that vision in verses 2-4 (Alignment). Finally, he led them across the Jordan into Canaan in verses 5-17 (Achievement).
In Exodus 18, Jethro had a vision for a better system of government within Israel (Direction). He shared the vision with Moses, aligning him with it in verses 14-23 (Alignment). Then Moses, motivated by Jethro, implemented the vision in verses 24-26 (Achievement).
In 1 Chronicles 17, David received the vision from God to build the temple (Direction). He shared this vision with the people so effectively that they willingly brought everything necessary for its construction in 1 Chronicles 29 (Alignment). Then Solomon actually built the temple beginning in 2 Chronicles 3 (Achievement).
Once you learn this simple model of leadership, you will see it everywhere – in the Bible and all around you!