Ruth 2:4 “Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, “May the Lord be with you.” And they said to him, “May the Lord bless you.”
Is it not so amazing how you can read the word of God many times and depending on your circumstances the spirit reveals something new and fresh that you have never seen before? I was studying Ruth this week and was so impressed by this one verse.
Ruth 2:4 Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, “May the Lord be with you” and they said to him, May the Lord bless you.”
Such a simple verse that I would normally pass it by, but in my current situation I was impacted by the leadership demonstrated by Boaz and inspired to be different. I will highlight three evidences of the leadership style of Boaz that are foundation principles in every company and directly contributed to his great success. These can also be applied to establishing and nurturing core values and harmony in your family.
Culture – The cornerstone of any company is their culture. Culture is established and nurtured by the leader. Notice the way that Boaz establishes and supports his culture by his greeting to his staff. “May the Lord be with you.” The greeting suggests that he sees great value in his relationship with the Lord and puts his own trust for his well-being and the well-being of his staff with the Lord. Don’t miss the insight in the staff’s reply. “May the Lord Bless you.” Not only does this acknowledge the trust in the Lord, but also supports the culture Boaz has established. In our culture it so commonplace for the workers to be critical and cynical of management or ownership. With Boaz’s staff they pray that Boaz would be blessed by the Lord. As leaders in our organizations we need the prayer and support of our staff.
Leadership – The leader must not only internalize his vision and feelings, but must actively verbalize his convictions to influence his team. Boaz had conviction in his faith and trust in God. He could have kept his faith to himself not wanting to offend those from other tribes or beliefs. However Boaz verbalizes his convictions to his staff with encouragement and promotes the culture of trust in God and God’s involvement in our lives. He was not proselytizing his staff, but was simply living out his faith and praying that the Lord be with his staff. As leaders seeking to promote a culture in our organization it is our responsibility to speak our convictions and share our perspective.
Management –The story tells us that Boaz was a man of great wealth and owned the field they were harvesting. He could have been at the house and let the servants do the work, but he was in the fields with the workers. He could have called his field supervisors to his office and give them instruction, but he went out to the field where the work was being done. By going in the fields he could observe the situation, see how the reapers were reaping, he could hear directly from more people and be in a better position to make good decisions, and build good will with his servants by going out to them. Popularized by management styles at Hewlett Packard and written about by Tom Peters, MBWA (Management By Walking Around) has been taught for decades as a way to build rapport by “wandering” around. The idea is that random sampling of events and informal discussions facilitates improvements and morale.
List the actions you can take today to promote your culture, leadership and management of your business or family.
