S31:E26🎙️ LIVE AWLL From Proverbs — Chapter 26

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Hello everyone and welcome to another very special edition of the, uh, Leadership and Success Podcast. Today we're going to be studying the book of Proverbs, chapter 26. Today is January 26th, and tomorrow we will do chapter 27 and 28, and at the end of the month on the 31st, we will study the last chapter. Chapter 31. So this here is not a religious podcast, it's just about the ancient wisdom and the leadership lesson from the Book of Proverbs. First, let's start with our moment of gratitude. Believe this morning earlier, I had the great privilege of speaking with Daniel Young, Daniel D. Young, and we talked a lot about what he calls the honor mode. Pretty fascinating discussion. But this morning I was saying that I was grateful for America. America is really an idea, a country I believe that is absolutely worth fighting for. Sometimes it seems like things are changing pretty quickly. And I almost do not recognize my own country, the country I took the oath 21 years ago when I joined the Navy, right, to support and to defend its Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. But I think we need to keep hope in America. I am grateful for it. There is a lot of things happening right now around the country, but I want my fellow citizens to keep the faith and really stand on your core values. And the core values I've learned in the U.S. Navy are three, right? Honor, courage, and commitment. That's really what I always fall back to. That's who I am. That's what I stand for, no matter what. And treat each other with respect and dignity. And I know we are gonna get through this. Especially what's happening in Minneapolis is really breaking my heart. Two people now have been killed by our own government. I can't believe it. But I know the best is still yet to come. I guess I do want to take just a moment of silence to acknowledge them, because these are human beings. And, um, our own government executed the two of them within the space of, what, a couple of weeks? That's not the America I know. Not the America I know. I think we are better than that. 37-year-old Renee Nicole Goode, a spouse, a mother of 3 children, age 15, 12, and 6 years old. She was born April 2nd, 1988, so she's, uh, Gen Y, and she was murdered January 7th, 2026. And then a few days later, Alex Jeffrey Pretty, 37-year-old devoted U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs intensive care unit nurse, born November 9, 1988. Just a young man, and he was murdered January 24, 2026, just a few days ago, both in Minnesota. All right, uh, it is sad, uh, it breaks my heart. But I know America is better than this. All right, let's get to, uh, Proverbs chapter 26. Let's get some wisdom and focus on leadership. I, I do want to hear what you guys are grateful for because I'm sure there's going to be light at the end of the tunnel. The sun will shine again. The storm is almost gone. That's my hope, that's my faith. And again, I believe America is a country absolutely worth fighting for. All right, um, let's review quickly Proverbs chapter 25. So yesterday we had 7 lessons. Lesson number 1 was, uh, honor is revealed, not self-promoted. And that was based on verses 2 6 and 7. The leadership insight there was great leaders, they seek truth, not applause. Self-promotion erodes credibility, but humility invites trust. And authority grows when leaders let others elevate them. All right, so that was our first lesson. And our second lesson yesterday, we talked about timing being a leadership skill based on verse 11, right? Truth delivered poorly can damage trust, but timing will determine whether feedback heals or harms, right? So emotional intelligence amplifies leadership effectiveness. Lesson number 3, we talked about self-control being strategic power based on verses 16 and 28. Unrestrained leaders are vulnerable leaders, but emotional discipline will protect authority. So overindulgence, whether of ego, emotion, or impulse, will we can command. All right, I mean, leadership lesson number 4, we talked about conflict requires wisdom, not escalation, okay, based on verses 8, 9, and 10. So public dispute will damage trust and authority, but wise leaders address conflict privately and proportionally, and they do it in a timely manner too, right? If you have a conflict now that you notice, don't wait until next month or next year. No, take care of it immediately. All right, because escalation will often signal insecurity, not strength. Okay, leadership lesson number 5, out of the book of Proverbs chapter 25, verse 15. We talked about influence will outperform force. Well, patience persuades where power fails. Influence flows from consistency and trust. You've got to build trust as a leader. You trust your people, your people trust you, because quiet persistence often outlasts loud authority. All right, and lesson number 6. Yesterday we talked about integrity is tested in absence. That's based on verse 19. So reliability defines trust, leaders are judged most during crisis, and inconsistency fractures teams. And the last lesson we did yesterday, Lesson 7, was Wisdom Discerns When Silence Speaks, based on verses 17 and 20. Withdraw your foot from your neighbor's house. Wisdom discerns when silence speaks. So overexposure weakens influence. Discernment protects relationship. Not every moment requires your presence or your opinion. So we have to use wisdom. So that was yesterday. So let's get to today's lesson, Proverbs chapter 26. I also would like to know where you are joining us from, what city, what state within the US, or which country if outside of the US, and also what your insights are about Proverbs chapter 26, especially the verses I will not highlight today. So, uh, what's the big idea with this chapter? So this chapter, Proverbs 26, It's really a sober warning for leaders about discernment in relationships and restraint in response. Use discernment and restrain. This chapter exposes the destructive power of foolishness, gossip, pride, and unnecessary conflict while calling leaders to exercise wisdom, self-control, strategic silence. It reminds us that not every voice deserves a platform, and not every argument deserves engagement, and not every opportunity is worth the cost of credibility. So the theme here is discernment, restraint, and the high cost of foolish leadership. So our first lesson today, leadership lesson number 1: Honor misplaced is leadership corrupted. That's based on verses 1 and 2. Let's listen to that. Honor is not fitting for a fool. Promoting, okay, promoting or empowering unqualified individuals destabilizes teams or erodes trust. Honor must be aligned with character and competence, not favoritism or convenience. So promote the right people. So you want the right people on the bus, And then you want the right people on each seat, right? Do not honor the fool. So how do we apply this? Establish clear standards for responsibility, for promotion, and for influence, and reward wisdom, not noise. Okay, so who have you elevated without verifying their readiness? And where has misplaced trust cost your organization momentum? Somebody says, right, hire for character and then train for skills. I think it was Branson who said that, hire for character, train for skills. Because wise leaders protect the integrity of roles by aligning authority with accountability. Everybody within the organization has to be accountable. All right, this is Ship Lesson Number 2: Foolish voices require boundaries, not platform. So verses 3, 4, and 5.

Lest you also be like him, and answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.

Do not answer a fool. So leaders must discern when to respond and when silence is the wiser answer. Engaging foolish argument can legitimize dysfunction. You do not have to answer to every single argument. Use wisdom. So how do we apply this? Set communication norms. Not every email, not every post or provocation requires a reply. So are you responding to add clarity or to satisfy ego? You don't have to be right all the time. And it makes absolutely no sense to argue with a foolish person. It's a big waste of time, big waste of energy. You have to live your life on purpose as a leader. Where would silence strengthen your leadership posture? So discernment is knowing when engagement clarifies and when it corrupts. You don't have to be engaged with everything that's going on around you. Get rid of the distraction and focus on your purpose. All right, leadership lesson number 3: delegation without discernment will create risk. Delegation without discernment will create risk. Verses 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. Let's go.

Like the legs of the men that hang limp is a proverb in the mouth of fools. 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.

That is quite fascinating. Entrusting critical tasks to unreliable people will damage outcome and credibility. Do not trust a fool with your critical task. Leadership is stewardship of responsibility. So, match assignment to proven reliability. And coach before you delegate, not after failure. All right, so who are you trusting beyond their demonstrated maturity? And have you confused potential with readiness? Because delegation is not abdication, it is intentional placement of trust. Because as a commanding officer, or as a leader, as a boss, whenever you delegate, you are still responsible for the mission. Okay, it's still up to you if the mission fails. No, you are the boss, you are responsible for the failure. So you have to trust, but you didn't need to verify, and you have to ensure that the people that you are delegating to are actually able to do the work. All right, so next lesson, leadership lesson number 4: repetition without learning signals stagnation. So let's go to verse 11. See, I think one big difference between a fool and a wise person is the wise person learns from their mistake, but The fool, they keep repeating their folly over and over again. They do the same thing over and over again, but they expect different result, right? That being crazy, that is foolishness, that's insanity. I think Einstein is the one who said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and over again, but expecting different result. So repeated mistakes reveal and address character issues, not skill gaps. Because leaders who refuse correction, they stall progress. So how do we apply this? Create a feedback loop and consequence clarity, right? Growth requires humility. If you want to lead, you have to be humble. So what pattern keeps repeating under your leadership? And are you coachable? Or merely experience? Are you teachable? Because experience without reflection hardens into foolishness. You don't want to be a fool, you want to be a wise person. All right, leadership lesson number 5: self-deception is the leader's blind spot. Let's go to verse 12. Don't be wise in your own eyes. Don't be puffed up. Don't be arrogant. Walk in humility, because overconfidence closes the door to learning. But leaders who think they already know, they stop growing and start failing quietly. How many times— no, I've, I've been studying this leadership principles for a very long time. I was like 17 years old. I'm in my mid-40s now. And really, these principles are very, very simple, right? They're not easy, but they are simple. And sometimes when you teach these principles, people are like, "Oh, I already know that." Well, the truth is, if you knew it, you would be doing it. But since you don't do it, then you don't know it. You may have a theoretical knowledge of those principles, but really knowing something is actually putting it into practice. It's when you do it, is when you prove that you know it. If you don't do it yet, then you don't know it at all. You need to sit down, listen, and then practice, put it to work. All right, because overconfidence will close the door to learning. Once you say, "I already know that," you stop listening, you stop hearing, and you stop learning. Okay, so how do we apply that? Invite dissent, right? Don't just form a team of people who are yes people, who are going to say yes to everything. You say you want people who are going to challenge you too, and you need to listen to that because everybody has a blind spot, right? Invite mentors, coaches, and external perspective always. So where might your certainty be limiting wisdom? And who challenges your assumption regularly? I think if you are going to really lead at the high level, you need to have a group of people who have permission to speak to you freely, plainly, and tell you exactly what they think. Again, you don't have to do everything they say, but you do have to take the time to sit down and listen to what they say, consider it, and then you decide what your response is going to be, what your actions are going to be. But you do have to listen, and you need the mouth of two or three witnesses. You need to listen to outside counsel. Because if you tell yourself, I know everything there is to know, well, that's not true. You are deceiving yourself. Okay, have an open mind and be willing to learn from anyone. All right, because humility is the gateway to sustainable leadership. All right, leadership lesson number 6: laziness disguised as caution kills momentum. Let's read verses 13, 14, 15, and 16.

The lazy man says, there is a lion in the road, a fierce lion is in the streets. As the dog turns on its hinges, so does the lazy man on his bed. The lazy man buries his hand in the cold, it wearies him to bring it back to his mouth. The lazy man is wiser in his own eyes.

Wow. You do not want to be lazy because laziness disguised as caution kills momentum. Excuses, they often masquerade as risk management. Don't make excuses. That's one thing I really love about the military. They teach us pretty early not to make any excuses, right? Full ownership. Extreme ownership. You own your outcome. No excuses, sir. No excuses, man. I will get the job done. That's really the attitude you should have as a leader. Don't be blaming everybody, but look at yourself, the man in the mirror, and take some responsibility and decide what you're going to do and take no excuses. Just get it done. That's what leadership, I believe, is really all about. Extreme ownership. And responsibility and getting things done. No excuses.

Wow.

Because sometimes if you are looking to really accomplish something, you can allow almost any excuse to prevent you from getting the job done. So are you gonna let an excuse prevent you from achieving your goal? No excuses. Because leaders must distinguish legitimate caution from fear-driven inertia, which paralyzes you, right? Paralysis by analysis. So how do we apply this? Clarify expectation and timeliness and reward initiative and ownership. Follow through. Where are you tolerating delay disguised as prudence? And what decision are you postponing out of comfort? Reminds me of another principle from General Colin Powell, right? He talks about VMP 45/70, because most of the time as a leader, you will never get 100% of the data you need in order to make a good decision. You may get 45% of the data, 50, 60, 70% of the data. By that time, you really need to make a decision. Because if you wait to get 100% of the data and you are paralyzed, just by the amount of data and what you need to make a decision, you are going to miss the loop, the time you needed to make that decision. You will be too late. And if you do it before you even get 45% of the data, that might be too early. But between 45% and 70%, that's when General Colin Powell says, "Yeah, you have enough data. Go ahead and make a decision then." And make the very best decision you can with the data you have. And then as you monitor the progress of your project. You can make adjustments as you get more and more data, but you are the boss, you are in charge. That's why you get paid the big bucks. So you have to be decisive, you have to make a decision, right? No excuses. Don't blame people who work for you, don't blame your subordinate. It's you, it's you, it's you, the man in the mirror, the woman in the mirror. It's up to you. If it's going to be, it is up to you. That's actually a good mantra. Brian Tracy is the one who taught that to me. If it's going to be, it's up to me. And that forces me to go ahead and take action and get it done. Let's not just be talking about something, but let's actually take action and make it happen. If it's going to be, it is up to me. All right, so leadership requires action. Action, action, even when certainty is incomplete. Sometimes it's even better to take the wrong action and then learn from your mistake and take another action until you eventually take the right action than to do absolutely nothing. Because if you do absolutely nothing, for sure you are going to fail. But if you take an action, there is a chance that you might just succeed. And I believe the more action you take, the more you increase your chances of success. Because a lot of the entrepreneurs who've had great fortune, who've really made it big, many of them, they really failed miserably at first. They kept trying things over and over and over again. They didn't get discouraged until eventually they hit the jackpot, right? Now they became an overnight sensation, overnight success. But the truth is, for the great majority of them, that's why I love to read biographies, you really learn what they go through, how much they actually failed before they were able to actually find that success formula that made them great, famous, and wealthy. So take action. Always have a bias for action, even if it may not be, again, the best action. A good action is better than no action at all, in my opinion. All right. Leadership lesson number 7: Gossip and conflict thrive without discipline. So that's going to be verses 17 through 28. Here we go.

Arrows of death is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, I was only joking. Where there is no wood, fire goes out, and where there is no talebearer, strife ceases. As charcoal is to burning coals and wood to fire, so is a contentious man to kindle strife. The words of a talebearer are like tasty truffles, and they go down into the eater's body. Fervent lips with a wicked heart are like earthenware covered with shoe dross. Mm-hmm. He hides and disguises it with his lips and lays up deceit within himself. When he speaks kindly, it's pronounced as For there are 7 abominations in his heart. Though his hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness will be revealed.

Mhm.

Who digs a pit will fall into it, and he who rolls a stone will have it rolled back on him. A lying tongue eats those who are crushed with it, and a flattering mouth will A lying tongue hates those who are crushed by it.

Wow. Uncontrolled speech fuels division. Die vision, two vision. Therefore, you cannot move forward because you are fighting yourself.

Okay.

Gossip, flattery, and passive-aggressive behavior corrupt culture from within. You don't even need to have an enemy. You are doing it all by yourself. So how do we apply this? Model direct communication and shut down rumor cycle swiftly and fairly. Okay, if you have a problem with someone, I think the best thing for you to do is to go to that person, the two of you at the lowest level possible, you resolve it. Okay, you don't need to be speaking ill of someone to somebody else because somebody else cannot fix that for you. That's again another leadership lesson I've really learned in my 21-year career now in the U.S. Navy. You try to solve problem at the lowest level possible. If I am your commanding officer, I don't want to hear about all of your problems. You have a problem with another sailor, go to that sailor and you guys fix it. And then if you can't You need to work your way up the chain of command, and I'm going to be, as you see, the last person to hear it. If for some reason my executive officer or my senior enlisted leader cannot solve whatever issues, or my department head cannot solve it, then I will get involved. But, uh, that really allows your organization to keep moving forward, and you take care of issues as soon as they appear and at the lowest level possible. That's wisdom. Okay, so how do you respond when gossip surfaces? And does your communication build trust or tension? So the anchor reflection for lesson 7 is healthy cultures are built by leaders who guard both truth and tone. So what you say is important, that's the truth, but the tone, how you say it, is important as well. But I think also the intention, why you are saying what you are saying, What is your motivation? As a closing statement for Proverbs 26, this chapter teaches us that wisdom is not loud, reactive, or impulsive. Wisdom is discerning, restrained, and anchored in character. And again, earlier this morning, check it out, Season 5, Episode 26, I talked to Daniel Yong and we talked about character. So powerful. Because leaders who ignore foolishness, govern their words, and place trust carefully preserve not only their own authority but their legacy as well. In a noisy world, wisdom is revealed by what a leader chooses not to engage. You do not have to engage with everything. If you don't get anything else out of Proverbs 26, I think the main message is you have to use wisdom. Save your energy, save your strength, and focus on your purpose. Okay, that's all I have for you today. And tomorrow I will be back for Proverbs chapter 27. Tomorrow will be January 27th. We're gonna be again looking at Proverbs 27 for ancient wisdom and leadership lesson from a book written more than 2,000 years ago, but with leadership lesson I believe are still applicable today. All right, and, uh, on Wednesday I'm gonna have a great pleasure of speaking with Allison Walsh, best-selling author of She Believed She Could, a transformational brand builder, growth strategist, and she's also a former, uh, Miss Florida. So we're going to be talking about She Believed She Could, a masterclass in women's leadership. So you are welcome, and, uh, you can start typing your question in the LinkedIn event for Wednesday, and I'm absolutely looking forward to it. And thanks again for watching the Leadership and Success Podcast today. Until tomorrow, have a wonderful day, and let us know in the comments what are your 3 to 5 highlights for today's session, and also if you have any insight on any of the verses I didn't highlight today from Proverbs chapter 26. Until tomorrow, have a good day.

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