S31:E25🎙️ LIVE AWLL From Proverbs — Chapter 25 (Multi Tracks Audio)

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Hello everyone, welcome to this, uh, very special edition of the Leadership and Success Podcast. Today we are going to be studying Proverbs chapter 25. And today is January 25th, so this entire month we are going through one chapter of the book of Proverbs every day. Today we're going to do chapter 25, tomorrow chapter 26, until we complete all 31 books at the end of the month. This is not a religious podcast, but this is about ancient wisdom and leadership lesson from the book of Proverbs, a book written more than 2,000 years ago. And those leadership principles, I believe, still apply today in the 21st century, in the age of artificial intelligence. So, uh, please let us know where you are joining from, uh, what city, what state, And if outside of the US, which country? And also let me know what you are grateful for today. As a matter of fact, as we start each show, we want to just spend one moment to be grateful. And I am really optimistic today and I am so grateful for a lot of things. But one thing that really touched my heart today, this morning on LinkedIn, I saw a post from Rashawn Copeland and it was about a Syracuse police officer who found a woman sleeping in a cemetery and he raised over $12,000 to help her start over. The officer is white and the woman black. And this is very inspiring. This is what I believe America is all about. This is the America I joined the US Navy 21 years ago to support and to defend. That is really truly who we are. So it really keeps my spirit high and I am inspired about the goodness of people. How somebody who's not related to you can just be so generous. And I believe we do have that spirit of generosity here in America more than any other country I know. So I guess I would like to call on all of us to really be the very best that we can be. Okay. Because I know America can go very, very dark too. And I have seen that side of America too, which I absolutely do not like. And that's not who we are as a nation and as a country. So let's be our very best and let's help one another. All right, uh, first let me review, uh, Proverbs chapter 24, which we did yesterday, January 24th, and I shared, uh, 7 lessons about, uh, Proverbs 24. The first one was, uh, guard your heart from envy and shortcut. That was based on verses 1 and 2. Envy will corrode leadership judgment. And leaders who admire unethical success risk internalizing destructive methods. Doing so, what we admire eventually shapes how we lead. So that was the first lesson. Lesson number 2, build before the battle. That's verses 3 and 4. So organizations don't fail in crisis, they fail in preparation. So wisdom Build structure, understanding, sustain culture, and knowledge fills the detail. So build before the battle. Leadership lesson number 3, strength is revealed under pressure, based on verses 5 and 6. So true strength is humility, the willingness to seek counsel and adapt. Lone wolf leadership is brittle leadership. It's not gonna last very long. All right, leadership lesson number 4, yesterday we talked about courage requires action, not silence. Based on verses 10, 11, and 12. Silence in moments of injustice is a leadership failure, but leaders are accountable not only for what they do, but for what they refuse to confront. Alright, leadership lesson number 5: Justice must be consistent and impartial. Based on verses 23, 24, 25, and 26. Favoritism will erode trust faster than incompetence, and leaders must apply standards evenly or lose credibility entirely. And lesson number 6, yesterday we talked about prepare your field before you build your house, Proverbs 24:27. So vision without execution discipline is fantasy. Leaders sequence wisely, laying groundwork before expansion. And then on leadership lesson number 7, we talked about the righteous rise again and again. For a just man falls 7 times and rise up again. Wow, that is so powerful. Leadership is about consistency, trying over and over and over again until you find the proper solution. Never give up, never give in, because failure is not fatal, but refusal to rise is fatal. So resilient leaders, they recover, they learn, and they return stronger. Wow. And by the way, I am working on my next book. It's going to be about resilient leadership. I think it's something we need now, probably more than ever before, because things are not always going to go your way. And sometimes you're gonna face a lot of challenges. Sometimes they might even feel overwhelming, but you have to be a leader, you have to be resilient, and you have to get through it. Sometimes you succeed and sometimes you learn, right? And while you are going through challenges, learn what you need to learn, but keep moving forward. All right, so that was Proverbs chapter 24. So today we're going to start with Proverbs chapter 25. Again, I'm going to share my 7 lessons from this chapter. And if there are any verses I didn't highlight and you would like to share your feedback on those, please do so in the comment. And also, out of the 7 lessons I'm going to share, let me know which one means the most to you and provide your comments on what I'm going to be sharing in just a moment. So Proverbs chapter 25, this chapter teaches us that leaders, as leaders, influence is sustained not by position or power, but by restraint, discernment, and emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is so important to leadership. So this chapter contrasts impulsive leadership with wise leadership, revealing that timing, tone, humility, self-control are strategic assets, right? The strongest leaders are not those who speak first or assert most loudly, but those who know when to to act, how to respond, and what to restrain. That's leadership. So measured leadership, right? That's the theme of Proverbs 25: the power of wisdom, restraint, and right timing. All right, our first lesson, lesson number 1: Honor is revealed, not self-promoted. Based on verses 2, 6, and 7, honor is revealed. Let's go there.

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter. Do not exalt yourself in the presence of the king, and do not stand in the place of the great, for it is better that he say to you, 'Come up here,' than that you should be put lower in the presence of the prince. Whom your eyes have seen.

Wow, this is pretty profound, right? Honor is revealed, not self-promoted. Wow. Great leaders, they seek truth, not applause. Self-promotion erodes credibility, but humility invites trust. Authority grows when leaders let others elevate them. So let your work speak for you. Let your work speak for itself.

Wow.

So how do we apply this? So ask better questions before making decisions. Resist the urge to prove yourself in public forums and let performance not posturing, establish your reputation. Your reputation is really what people say when you are not in the room. Will your work stand the test? The test of time. Will your work stand the test? So where might you be seeking visibility instead of value? And are you searching for truth or defending your position? So leadership is not claimed, it is confirmed over time through wisdom and humility. Alright, Leadership Lesson #2 today: Timing is a leadership skill. That's going to be based on verse 11. Let's listen to that.

11. A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.

A word fitly spoken. Timing is a leadership skill. Truth delivered poorly can damage trust, but timing determines whether feedback heals or harms. And emotional intelligence implies leadership effectiveness, knowing when to say what you need to say and how to say it. So how do we apply this? Pause before responding in conflict. Think first, right? Choose when to speak as carefully as what to say. So you have to know the timing. When should I? And then what am I going to say? And then how am I going to say it? And also why? What is my motivation? Why do I need to say it? I think all of those things are important. So align your feedback with readiness, not frustration. So have you confused urgency with importance? I really love the Einstein matrix, right? That's where it shows what's important and what's urgent. For example, I think things that we should prioritize as leaders are things that are both important and urgent. It's urgent because I have to do it right now. It's important because it's an important thing to do. It's better than doing something that is not as important. So anything that's important and urgent, you definitely need to focus on that as a leader. But what if something is urgent, but it's not important, maybe a phone call or email or something like that? Well, those type of things you need to delegate to someone, right? Somebody who works for you can take care of everything that's urgent. It needs to be taken care of right now, but it doesn't have to be taken care of by you, right? You get paid the big bucks, so you focus on what's important and urgent while members of your team can focus on what is urgent, but maybe not important. And then I think the next thing you need to focus on from the Eisenhower Matrix is what is important, but not urgent. After you take care of what's important and urgent that you absolutely have to take care of right now, then take care of what is still important, but maybe not urgent. Now it may have to do with your health, maybe with working out, or maybe you're writing your book or whatever it might be. You have a project, you have work that you need to do, but you have time to do it. And it's not urgent. It's not like you have to do it right now, but it is something that is important. So that's what you definitely need to focus your time on as a leader after you've taken care of what is important and urgent. And then there is also this last category of thing, which is not important and not urgent. Well, if it's not important and it's not urgent, I believe what you need to do is completely remove it from your list. Nobody needs to do it. Don't delegate it. Don't do it and just scrap it from your list to do. This way, on what you have to do as a leader, first and foremost, what's important and urgent, and then what is important but not urgent. Take care of those and delegate what is urgent and not important and get rid of everything that is not important and not urgent. All right. So do you speak to be right or do you speak to be effective? Because I must tell you, if you don't have to be right all the time, you're going to have a much easier life. People are going to like you a lot more because you are focusing on the issues and not trying to assert blame. Oh, I am right and you guys are wrong. No, no, no. We have this problem. Let's work together in order to solve it. Let me add value, right? That's what leadership, I believe, is really all about. So the right word at the wrong time can undo years of credibility. So it's not just what you say, but how you say it and why you say it. And also, you know, the tone that you are using and how you come across, those are very important too, right? Emotional intelligence, not just logic, not just IQ. All right, leadership lesson number 3: self-control is a strategic power. Self-control is strategic power. Verses 16 and 28, let's listen to that.

Have you found honey? Eat only as much as you need, lest you be filled with it and vomit.

Let's go to verse 28.

For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will reward you. No, 28. Who has snow in summer and rain in harvest? Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down without walls.

Whoever has no rule over his or her own spirit is like a city broken down without walls. So you need to rule your own spirit. Self-control is strategic power. Uh, unrestrained leaders are vulnerable leaders. Emotional discipline protects your authority. Overindulgence of ego, emotion, or impulse will weaken your command. So regulate emotional responses under pressure. Really, I think the true character of a leader is shown, in my experience, when you are under pressure, when you are under stress. When everything is going very well, the way you intend things to go well, you can pretend to be something or someone that you are not. But when the pressure is on, when you go through the fire, you cannot fake it. That's when your character really shows up. So would you restrain your emotion? Okay, because you have to regulate your emotional response under pressure. Don't just emotionally react to what's happening to you. Create a space, take the time to think, come up with a plan, and then respond, not react. Okay, get the emotion out of it. Keep your emotion in check and do the right thing that is going to, uh, you know, face whatever challenge that you are facing right now. Uh, yesterday I was, I was talking to my, uh, mastermind, uh, and I I told them something that really made me think. I used to get upset or, I don't know, frustrated when people would say things to me that weren't true, or when they would just say mean, bad things. Not many people do that, but a few people have throughout my life, and I'm sure many people have that experience. You get offended when people don't speak well of you, or when you know that they are really mean and they wish you harm. So they criticize you, but really with all of that meanness, and they just cannot stand you for whatever reason. So when I was growing up, I really used to get troubled and upset and frustrated and offended by that. But as I got older and wiser, I realized, well, I have to ask myself a couple of questions. First and foremost, is this person qualified to even speak whatever it is they are speaking? If they are qualified, I need to listen. But if they are not qualified, then no, I don't even have to listen to what they say. It just comes through my right ear and goes off my left ear. So it doesn't matter. Now, if they are qualified to say what they say, I listen. And now what they are saying, then I ask myself, is that true? Is it false? If it's false, I don't have to worry about it. You are falsely accusing me of something and I don't do it. That has nothing to do with me. Thank you for sharing, but no, I will pass. But now what if what they're saying is actually true? And that's happened to me quite a few times. Someone who doesn't like you, someone who hates you, someone who wants to hurt you, and then they criticize you and they bring up something that is actually true. You may not be technical enough, or you might be slow, or whatever the case might be. In the military, during physical exercise, you may not do enough push-ups or you are doing it using the wrong form or whatever it might be. Look at it again, no emotions involved. Just use your logic, use your head. Okay, this is true. I am not able to meet the standard in this area. Then what does that do to me? It helps me get better. Then I find a way to improve. So basically, even though they wanted to hurt me, But by telling me the truth, even though they didn't say it the right way, even though they really meant evil toward me, but what they said is true. So basically I'm looking for the gold in all of the dirt, right? Because even though they don't like me and they just throw out a whole bunch of dirt toward me, that's okay. I would get rid of all of the dirt, but I'm going to be looking for gold. And if I can find that gold, I'm going to use it. And then I'm going to use it to improve myself. And then I'm going to get better at whatever it is that I wasn't good at. Then I'm going to meet or exceed the standard. I'm going to work at it. It is going to become a personal objective of mine. I'm going to prove them wrong by getting better. And that's really what I have done throughout most of my adult life. Being able to receive feedback, even feedback that you don't want to hear, feedback you may not like, but you're gonna sit down and listen to it and then evaluate it, and then you make up your own mind. But at least you need to evaluate what they are saying because, no, one, again, they may not be qualified to speak about the subject, but if they are, listen to what they have to say. And even though there is a lot of dirt in what they say, there might be some gold. So evaluate, is what they're saying true or false? If it's false, it has nothing to do with you, forget about it. But if it's true, then you do need to change, you do need to improve, you do need to work. Towards improving that portion of your life. And that's really part of the reason why I got better at some of the things that I wasn't very good at before, because people did criticize me and what they said was absolutely true and I needed to get better at it. And eventually I became an expert in that field or whatever it might have been. Okay? So I think that is wisdom. Okay, regulate emotional response under pressure. All right, build habits that reinforce discipline and focus. And lead yourself before you can lead others, because leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less. And I think the first person you need to influence is yourself. All right, all right, again, everybody who's listening to me right now, please let me know where you are joining us from, what city, what state, I'd like to know, and which country, if outside of the US, and also what you are grateful for today. And if you have any insight about any of the verses from Proverbs 25, which is our subject today, please let me know as well. Or if you have any feedback about what I am teaching right now. All right, so how do we apply this principle? Again, we are talking about self-control is strategic power. So what emotion most often derails your leadership? Because we tend to be creatures of habit, what we do, we tend to continue to do all the time, right? So think about the emotion that most often derails your leadership and how are you going to be able to improve on that. All right, where do you need stronger personal boundaries. The anchor reflection here is self-mastery is the foundation of sustained leadership. You have to learn to master yourself. What leadership lesson number 4: conflict requires wisdom, not escalation. We're gonna read verses 8, 9, and 10. Conflict requires wisdom. All right, verses 8, 9, and 10. Here we go.

As snow in summer and rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool. Like one who binds a stone in a sling is he who gives honor to a fool. Like a thorn that goes into the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of fools. The great God who formed everything gives the fool his hire and the transgressor his wages.

All right, go not forth hastily to strive. Public dispute damage trust and authority. Whenever you can, try to have peace with everyone if possible. It's not always possible, but if it is possible as a leader, that's really what you need to go, go the high road, right? I think it was Michelle Obama. Let me see where she, I thought I had her book here somewhere. Oh yeah, up there. Michelle Obama, she used to say, right? When they go low, we go high. That's really leadership, right? You treat people better than they treat you. You avoid public dispute if at all possible because they really damage trust and authority. So wise leaders, they address conflict privately and proportionally, right? Praise in public, but if you need to challenge, correct someone, do it in private, right? Because escalation often signals insecurity, not strength. So how do we apply this? So resolve issues directly, before widening the audience. And I think you need to resolve the issue as soon as they appear, as soon as you become aware of them. I think that's the way I have learned as a father. I cannot correct my child for something she did 2 weeks ago. It needs to be in the moment that she did it. That is how children get corrected. Same thing with pets also. And in life, I think when you see something, you need to immediately take action with love, with care, but directly address the issue so it doesn't happen again. And when I became a commanding officer, I reached out to all of my mentors, and one of my mentors told me, hey, whatever your standards are, if you see something that is out of standard, you need to take action immediately. Because if you don't, as a commanding officer, that becomes your new standard. Because if a boss sees something that clearly doesn't meet the standard he says we were supposed to all work by, then that becomes the new standard, right? So they should— you, as a commanding officer, as a leader, as a boss, you need to be fair and you need to be consistent, right? And the rules apply to everybody, including you. No one, right, is above the law, the rules, or the regulation. And that fairness, I think, really builds trust, even if your standard may be very high. And mine are pretty high. And the best, uh, commanding officer that I've had throughout my Navy career, I've had very, very high standards, but they are fair. You know exactly where they stand and they are consistent. All right, so resolve issues directly. That's very important, at the lowest level possible. Okay, slow down before reacting to perceived offenses. Okay, take a minute, pause. Do not react but respond. All right, protect relationship while pursuing resolution. So focus on the problem, not the people. Don't focus on blaming people. Who's responsible? No, no, no. What's happening now, we need to fix it, right? It's not time to find out who is at fault. We have to save the house. We have to solve this problem. So focus on the problem and fix, fix it by trying to protect all of your relationships. You can always find out later on if anybody is to blame for anything, but in the middle of it, you really have to to be solution-oriented. Here's the problem, and this is what I can do to add value to the team in order to fix the problem. All right, so do you seek resolution or do you seek vindication? Hopefully resolution is what you are seeking. And have you escalated something that required discretion? As a leader, you really have to learn to be discreet as well. Not everything that is going on in your life needs to be a public record. Not everybody needs to know everything that's happening. One thing I love in the military, even when you have the highest security clearance, you still have the need to know, do you need to know this piece of information in order for you to do your job? If you do, yeah, you are going to be invited, you're going to get to know. But if it's not something that you need in order to do what you are doing, then we don't need to tell you. Discretion is very important as a leader. People need to be able to come to you and divulge their deepest secret while knowing that you are not going to be telling everybody else and the brothers about what somebody works for, for yourself, someone you know who really came under the protection of confidence. Because the first time you are going to do that, you're going to tell everybody else about somebody else's problem, they will never, never come to you again. Okay. That's how you destroy trust. Trust is very, very difficult to really build, to earn, but it's so easy to lose. So every day you wake up, it's like, am I going to be trustworthy today? And I think as a leader, it's a decision you have to make every single day. During my podcast, Leadership and Success podcast, usually toward the end, I ask my illustrious guests, you know, what is one thing that leaders need to ask themselves over and over again frequently? And I think one of those questions is Am I going to be trustworthy today? And that's the decision you have to make every single day. All right, all right. So the anchor reflection here is, uh, the strongest leaders de-escalate before they dominate, right? So always defuse the situation and, uh, try to protect all relationships, focus on the problem, and really make people feel comfortable to come to you if they have any issues and if you can help, right? You want to be known as a problem solver, an agent of peace. Okay, have peace with everyone if at all possible. Again, I understand there are times where some people, it's just not possible. That is fine. But with a great majority of the people out there, I think it's really great to be reconciliatory. Okay, try to bring people together and not divide. All right, next lesson, leadership lesson number 5: Influence outperforms force. So that's going to be verse 15. Influence will outperform force.

The lazy man buries his hand in the bowl, it wearies him to bring it back to his mouth.

Influence will outperform force. So patience persuades where power fails. Patience. Influence flows from consistency and trust. You have to be trustworthy and you have to be consistent day after day after day after day. Consistent. You have to be coherent, right? Your values, what you believe, what you think, how you feel, and more importantly, what you do is consistent with who you are. And if there is a gap, then you want to work really hard to close that gap. Okay, your people need to know exactly who you are, where you stand every day. All right, you shouldn't be going back and forth. You need to be consistent, persistent, fair. People need to know exactly what you value and where you stand at any time. That really builds trust in a team. So quiet persistence often outlasts loud authority. So practice patience in negotiation and change effort. Be patient, build influence through reliability and integrity. You have to be reliable. You have to be a person of integrity. You have to be trustworthy. You have to be consistent. You have to be persistent. What you say and what you do should be aligned. You have to be coherent. If you say one thing but you do something completely different, then, uh, I talked to the highest-ranked Muslim chaplain in the U.S., uh, military history a couple of days ago, uh, Colonel Shabazz, Khalid Shabazz, and, uh, he's the second person who told me that, uh, I think I also talked to CSM Aldrich, Williams Aldrich. They both said the same thing. It must be an Army thing because I've never heard it in the 21 years I have been in the Navy. But basically what they were saying is, uh, they are listening to the tape but the audio isn't matching, uh, what you are saying, right? They are listening to you, but what you are doing is not what you are saying. There is no cohesion, there is no integrity, right? The audio doesn't match. I've never quite got an expression like that. So if you have a chance, listen to the full interview with CSM William Aldridge and Colonel Khalid Shebaz. It's quite an impactful image, I think, of leadership, the audio has to match, right? What you say, what you do have to match. That's leadership, that's consistency, that's integrity. All right, so, uh, choose persuasion over positional force, right? So where could patience yield better outcome than pressure? And are you leading by influence or intimidation? And remember, the best leadership definition— there are many ways you can define leadership, but the one I really like the best, right, the one from my mentor, the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, where he says leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less. So the anchor reflection here is: lasting influence is earned, not enforced. Because you want people to follow you not because they have to, but because they want to. That's leadership. And I also love, uh, this book, The Five Levels of Leadership, where it talks about the first level is positional leadership. Just because of your title, because of your position, you are a leader. So people are going to follow you and they're going to do whatever you say because they want a paycheck, not necessarily because they want to follow what you're saying, but it's because they feel like they have to because of your title, because of your position. But where you really wanna take them is to the next level where you build relationship with them, where they follow you not because they have to, but because they want to, because they like you, right? Because you inspire them, because you are worthy to be followed. And you prove that every day by the way you act, by what you say and what you do, right? When the audio matches the tape, right? And then the level after that, that level number 3, you become productive, you are competent, you are getting the job done because you are leading people and people are following you. And then together you guys are working at a much higher level. There is a synergy and a performance that is much higher than the performance of each member of your team individually. So you're starting to get things done, you are successful and success is attractive and people want to follow you because you are successful and they want to be successful too. So that's level number 3. And then at level number 4 is when you start forming other leaders, because the leader isn't just the one who has a lot of followers. That might make you a social media influencer, but that doesn't make you a leader at all. You are a leader because you build other leaders. You become a leader of leaders. And then at level number 5, which is the pinnacle, it takes time to get there, but that's when the leaders that you have formed, you have developed, then they start developing other leaders too. Right? So it's like you are a leader and followed by other leaders that you've developed, and those leaders develop other leaders after you. Then you build legacy long after you are gone. You still have a great, great impact. All right. So lasting influence is earned, not enforced.

Okay.

Leadership lesson 6: Integrity is tested in absence. Let's read Proverbs 25:19.

Is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, I was only joking.

We're talking about integrity here. It's tested in absence. Reliability defines trust. Are you reliable? Can I count on you? Are you trustworthy? Are you a person of integrity? Do you do what you say? Do you say what you do? Does your word mean anything? So leaders are judged most during crisis, but inconsistency will fracture a team. Showing favoritism, that's going to fracture the team. Being inconsistent, saying one thing and doing something completely different, or having the rule only apply to some people but not to other people, that is going to bring division. Die vision, two separate vision, and that is not good. So how do we apply this? Do what you commit to. If you make a commitment, you have to keep it, especially when inconvenient. And again, that's part of the reason why I really never make commitment. I don't make any promises. I may tell people, hey, this is my intent, this is what I want to do. Everything works my way, no, this is, uh, what I am trying to accomplish here. But I don't say I will do this, because once you make a commitment like that, then you have to keep your word no matter what, even if it costs you, even if it's very inconvenient. And children will never forget. They're like, oh, Dad, you promised you would take me to the store, you promised you would do this, you would do that, and then you didn't do it. Well, that doesn't build trust. Okay, so I really learned that from my daughters. So don't make commitment. You can talk about your intention, but don't promise you're gonna do anything. But if you do, you better make sure you're gonna move heaven and hell to make it happen no matter what. But again, I understand sometimes things just happen and it's impossible to keep your commitment. Then you have to communicate, you have to let people know. All right, so build trust through follow-through. Okay, the power of a follow-through, that's another one I think is really a master key of success, right? Because sometimes what happens is, you know, things are happening, but then people, they just don't follow through, they just drop the ball. But it's like, okay, where are we? What are our next steps? What are we doing next? Following through is a great skill to have. I think those who follow through are a lot more successful than people who do not. Okay, even when you go for a job interview or whatever, okay, I interviewed last week, what is the status now? What are the next steps? Follow. Follow through, very, very important. So be dependable, especially under pressure. So how do others experience your reliability? Are you reliable? Do you show up strongest when it matters the most? And I think when it comes to leadership, in my opinion, the most important, the most critical dimension of leadership is the human portion of that. Right? Human-to-human relationship. You caring for the people who report to you at a personal level, not just about the work, not just about the mission of the organization, not just about the performance, but about the individual themselves. And I think your people will know if you care about them or if you don't, or if you just pretend to. But building those relationships, I think, is really key. So trust is built quietly, but lost loudly. All right, the final lesson today, leadership lesson number 7: Wisdom discerns when silence speaks. Okay, wisdom discerns when silence speaks. Let's read verses 17 and 20.

He who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a dog by the ear.

Okay, let's go to verse 20.

As charcoal is to burning coals, where there is no wood, the fire goes out. And where there is no talebearer, strife ceases.

That is so powerful. There is no wood, the fire will eventually go out. Wow. So overexposure will weaken influence. Discernment protects relationships. Not every moment requires your presence or your opinion. You need to learn how to keep your mouth shut. So how do we apply this? Know when to step back and know when to speak. Respect emotional and relational boundaries. Lead with discernment, not intrusion. I'm sure if you are like me, nobody really likes to have a manager who's always breathing down your neck. They tell you to do something and then they wanna watch every step that you are doing. Nobody likes that. People, if they are professional, you have to trust them and tell them what your standards are, what you need accomplished, and then let them figure out a way how to do it. Now, if they come to you and ask for feedback, whatever, that is fine, but you don't wanna be hands-on. Manager, right? You want to tell them, okay, this is what needs to be done, guys. Now you go and you do it. Now you, you do check on the, uh, on the progress because the buck stops with you, but you don't want to micromanage. Nobody wants to be micromanaged. All right, so how do you apply this? Again, know when to step back, respect emotional and relational boundaries, and then lead with discernment, not intrusion. So where might less presence Create more respect? And do you mistake access for entitlement? So the anchor here for the last lesson, lesson number 7, which is wisdom, discern when silence speaks. Silence does speak. I know it's kind of uncomfortable. Even sometimes when I do some of these interviews, I have to teach myself, just be quiet, be silent, and then my guest is gonna say a lot more. Or maybe you can ask a probing question, not just a yes or no question, but one that's going to get them to really think about what they're talking about and dig deeper. Silence is quite powerful. You don't have to hear yourself all the time. Sometimes you can just be silent. And that's strategic leadership right there. Okay. So wise leaders know when absence strengthens authority. All right, last thing I'm gonna say about that. When I became an ensign in the US Navy, I was in 2007, my primary mentor told me, really, the test of leadership is what happened to your organization when you go away for like a couple of weeks on vacation or whatever. If everything falls apart, you are a bad leader. But if your people know exactly what to do and how to do it, and keep meeting the goals of the organization and accomplishing the mission of the organization without you being around, without you overseeing anything, everything just goes as normal, then you are a great leader. Because part of leadership is pretty much working yourself out of a job, making sure that your people know as much as you do about your organization and the priorities and that they take care of business whether you are there or not. That's leadership. All right, so as a closing statement for Proverbs chapter 25, so this chapter reminds us that greatness is revealed through restraint, wisdom, and emotional discipline. I can't overstate the importance of emotional intelligence. IQ is fine and you have to be intelligent, but you also have to develop those emotional intelligence skills. All right, in a world that rewards immediacy and volume, This chapter calls leaders to patience, humility, and discernment. Those who master timing, tone, and self-control build trust that endures and influence that lasts. Okay, that's today's lesson. I'm gonna be back tomorrow, uh, January 26th, with, uh, Proverbs chapter 26. Again, ancient wisdom mentoring from the book of Proverbs. We're going to be focusing on ancient wisdom and leadership lesson from the book of Proverbs. Tomorrow we're going to do Proverbs chapter 26, and we're going to end on the 31st. We're going to read the last chapter of Proverbs. Now I want to remind you guys that on Wednesday I have a great, great privilege of speaking with— hold on, let me get it. I thought I had it here. Alison Walsh is going to be here, and I so look forward to speaking with her. I think you are all really going to love her. She has so much to teach. Now, she focuses on women. She has written this best-selling book, She Believed She Could: Show Up, Shine Bright, and Achieve Abundant Success. You see, it is all pink. Women are going to love that. But she also has an additional book. It's a devotion. Let me see. I should have it here. Okay. Yeah, here it is. She has a devotion. She believes she could win a 30-day devotional for pageant contestants by Alison Walsh and Madison Walsh. So she's going to be here on Wednesday. She's a transformational brand builder, a growth strategist, a best-selling author, a serial best-selling author. She believes she could— it's going to be a masterclass in women's leadership. But again, Men can be there too, because I believe what applies to women will apply to men as well. But I hope to see you there. And thanks again for watching today. And hopefully you're going to be back tomorrow for Proverbs chapter 26, about ancient wisdom and leadership lesson from the book of Proverbs. Okay, bye for now.

Thank you for tuning in to the Leadership and Success Podcast with your host, Coach BZ. If today's episode added value to your leadership journey, be sure to subscribe, share, and join us again for more wisdom nuggets on how to lead better and achieve greater success. Remember, leadership is the most critical skill of our time. The world will always need leaders to inspire others, drive innovation, and execute meaningful strategy. So why not count yourself among the bold leaders shaping the 21st century. Until next time, stay inspired, stay committed, and keep leading with excellence.