Questionable business leaders and leadership create an unsustainable work culture that eventually puts the enterprise in jeopardy. It is for this reason that there is pressure on business leaders to set the right tone for those who work beneath them. These things matter.
Many of us run solo practices or companies that have very few staff. And in some cases, these individuals are family members or close friends. Nevertheless, unity is required for the common goal - success - to be achieved.
Someone who got everyone beneath him to fall in line was King Hezekiah of the Kingdom of Judah. In 2 Chronicles, a scroll of the Laws of Moses was found in the Temple. It revealed that the entire nation had failed to observe God's instructions. The King, fearful and repentant for his nation's disobedience, called on his entire nation to return to the Lord and leave behind the idols and false gods that had taken up residence in the land and in the people's hearts. He also called for the observance of one of God's annual feasts as dictated in the Bible - Passover. Not only was the entire nation told to participate, he also invited his fellow descendants of Jacob living in the neighboring Kingdom of Israel.
The entire nation of Judah complied as illustrated in 2 Chronicles 30:12 - Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the LORD.
Why did the people comply with their king's edict? It wasn't because they wanted to have a good time. Instead, it was because the hand of the Lord was upon the people. When God's hand is on anything for good, that means His power and presence are evident. In this case, God had seen the king's desire to rectify his nation's failures and being pleased, He touched the hearts of the people resulting in them unifying.
It is foolhardy to think that because we are business owners, our staff will fall in line with our instructions. There are far too many accounts of malicious employees (whether justified or not) who leave their soon to be ex-employers with an unpleasant parting gift. Sure, the business can sue on the basis of breach of contract and fiduciary duty, but by that point, the very costly damage has been done.
Therefore, we need the sort of unity that the people of Judah had during the reign of Hezekiah. That unity did not stem from fear. It was the result of having a king who honored and revered God. A leader who knew he was responsible for those beneath him and took that responsibility seriously.
Likewise, we as the heads of our businesses have spiritual responsibilities in addition to our physical obligations to keep the venture going, ensure that staff get paid and other bills are settled. We must take the approach of Hezekiah to fear the Lord and live like those who do. We must know that our boss is God Almighty and we are accountable to Him for what our business does and fails to do. Let us keep in mind the sort of man King Hezekiah was according to 2 Kings 18:5-6 - Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses.
The result of this was that "... the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook..." (2 Kings 18:7). Plus, as we can see from 2 Chronicles 30:12, the Lord also rewarded him by ensuring that his entire nation fell in line when he followed the will and word of God.
We can have the same in our businesses and other parts of our lives, if we submit to the Lord and eliminate all idols and false gods from our environment. That, plus the blessed grace of God will see us through.
God bless you.