The Heart of an Executive: Lessons on Leadership from the Life of King David, is a beneficial resource for leaders of all capacities and contexts. King David’s life offers a wealth of application that serves leaders in business, government, and the church.
Richard D. Phillips, CEO of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, earned an MBA from the Wharton school of business as well as an MDiv from Westminster Theological Seminary. He served in the military before serving in academia at West Point. Phillips draws on his own experience in examining David’s executive leadership. Phillips served in capacities in the military, business, and ministry. These skills give Phillips insight that connects David’s example with 21st-century leadership as Phillips breaks down the style of one of the Bible’s most prominent and influential personalities. Phillips follows David’s rise to power from humble beginnings, defining moments such as defeating Goliath and outmaneuvering Saul, and the leadership challenges that established his legacy. Phillips examines David’s life stages, including preparation, rise, achievement, and passing the torch. Each step provides insight into David’s growth as a leader and an evaluation of his style and decisions.
Philips is careful to balance King David’s successes with his failures. The Bible does not hide the faults of its leaders, providing lessons for future generations. Philips appropriately addresses these issues and leverages them to make his points. His inclusion of David’s sin gives insights into the way personal choices cause professional problems. For example, David’s affair with Bathsheba not only resulted in a murder and the death of his child, but the fallout of that decision also followed David for years. Philips argued that this moral failure played a role in his inability to punish his eldest son for his sexual exploits. This indecision not only humiliated Tamar, but it also set in motion the beginnings of rebellion from his son Absalom. These events not only threatened his position as king, but they even cost him the lives of two more sons. Phillips effectively conveys that no leader is immune from the consequences of his or her decisions. Poor choices made at the height of power can bring down a leader’s reputation, responsibilities, and family.
The events and exploits of King David’s life were well-documented. Generations of leaders gained inspiration from his rise from a lowly shepherd boy, his victory over Goliath, and his role as Israel’s most iconic king. This book’s most exceptional chapter, however, deals with his leadership succession to Solomon. While most pastors and scholars focus on his numerous accomplishments, Phillips points out that, without repentance and humility, David’s life and legacy could have ended broken and heirless. David’s parting words to Solomon in 1 Kings 2:1-4 focus on character issues and commitment to his faith. Phillips points out “Imagine all the advice David might have given: details regarding military tactics, financial secrets, pointers on handling neighboring kings. Instead, he pointed his son in the direction of true strength.” David finished well and bolstered his legacy while focusing his son on the aspects of leadership that matter. Godly character shapes the other areas of leadership and gives purpose to living a life of influence. This exchange with his son gave David peace in his final days. 1 Kings 2:10 says, “Then David rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David.” When leaders serve well, God rewards their faithfulness with feelings of peace and a legacy that lives past their reign.
The other strength of this text examines David’s role as an executive. Phillips’ unique perspective looks more at who David led, rather than at the usual accomplishments showcased in sermons and popular literature. Strategically leading and motivating people distinguishes executives from other leadership roles. David managed successfully in a variety of contexts in spite of professional and personal failures. David’s leadership style, coupled with his commitment to following God’s leading, rallied a nation. These circumstances allowed him to preside over one of the most prosperous and successful seasons in Israel’s history. His reign remains historically influential, and his rule still inspires leaders after thousands of years.
I have only a couple of minor critiques of this book. First, the title includes the description, “Lessons on Leadership from the Life of King David,” yet the first one-third of the book provides profiles of Samuel and King Saul. These profiles are good for context, but they delay the primary material and represent the only cumbersome section of an otherwise enjoyable read. Secondly, David’s patriarchal point of view offers limited application for women. While they can contextualize the examples cross-gender, King David remains a “man” after God’s own heart. The chapters that deal with his abuse of power and sexual misconduct may elicit different responses, depending on gender, life-stage, and upbringing. Little can be done to adapt Old Testament male-dominated settings to 21st century gender-neutral cultures, but it is worth noting that most of the applications for this book come from a masculine context.
This book balances the qualities of a comprehensive study of David’s life with an accessible leadership resource. Phillips’ writing is compelling, bringing the biblical text to life, rather than dryly extracting nuggets of wisdom into his argument. He balances respect for the source material with writing for a broad audience that might not exclusively be Christians. He conveys relevant business points while simultaneously honoring the text. Meanwhile, he limits devotional material that would alienate general business readers. Readers of this book, however, could gain curiosity and interest in reading the Bible. Seminaries and Christian colleges are a natural fit for this book. Furthermore, churches, denominational entities, and Christian organizations would benefit from Phillips’ insights. This work is scholarly and is written well enough for secular entities to include the book on their reading lists or supplemental source section of syllabi. Phillips’ skilled portrayal of David could present him as a historical case study, opening opportunities for the book to escape the Christian publishing niche.
Leaders of all situations and contexts could benefit from examining the life of David, Israel’s great king. Phillips is careful to include insights into the people who made David successful as well as his achievements. For the public, he ably introduces King David to those unfamiliar with the biblical text. He then lays out a case for David’s inclusion in the lexicon of great historical leaders. Phillips’s scholarly profile satisfies students of leadership theory while piquing the interest of those new to the study of the Old Testament. Leaders, however, do not have to come from a Christian context to appreciate and apply insights from this book.
For Christians, Phillips’ masterful rendering of David’s life and leadership concepts procides balance between biblical scholarship and application point for leaders. King David continues to inspire emerging generations to embrace biblical wisdom as they improve in their acumen and influence their communities for Christ. This book should be required reading for those who desire to pastor or to lead faith-based organizations.
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