What are the qualifications for a great leader? Psalm 78-80

What are the qualities of a good leader?   That is a question I have been asked so many, many times.   As an executive leadership coach and someone who works with organizations in regard to leadership, it would be good for me to have an answer to the question rather than a blank stare.   Today, in our reading I think I found a very good answer to the question - one that actually fits appropriately in today's world, even though it was written years and  years ago.  In Psalm 78 the writer is outlining for us the salvation and then the fall of Israel.   The writer let's us know that God did not abandon them. In fact, God sent them the best leader He could find and here is what God states were that leader's (David) qualifications:

Psalms 78:72 -So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, And guided them with his skillful hands.

God tells us that David had two things that made him the appropriate and qualified leader for Israel, His chosen people:  Integrity on the inside and skill-sets on the outside.  That may sound to general for some but think about the implications of what God is telling us.  Great leadership begins on the inside and then develops the necessary skills on the outside.   God uses our circumstances in life and our early development to develop those skill sets.  God is not looking for degreed people.  He is looking for obedient people.   In the preceding verses we read that God took David from the sheepherding union (v. 71).   We are so caught up in the formal education people have to have to be a qualification of great leadership.   God shows that He can train someone to have the skill sets from any walk of life (see Amos' story).   But, when we have integrity in our hearts we can do anything with our minds and our bodies.   God had David's heart.  That is the only piece He needed.   He gave David all the leadership training he needed with those "few" sheep.   If you are not yet a great leader realize that God is making you one with the sheep He gives you to tend.   He only needs your heart to make you a great leader.