Unexpected leadership in the family business

Sixty years after Gideon, Israel is repeating the cycle of worshipping false gods, and is again in dire straits. In particular, the people living in Gilead are being ruled by the Ammonites, who use the location as a base to fight the other tribes of Israel. This is where we meet Jepthah, whose father also happens to be named Gilead:

Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. Gilead was the father of Jephthah. And Gilead’s wife also bore him sons. And when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, “You shall not have an inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.” Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob, and worthless fellows collected around Jephthah and went out with him. (Judges 11:1-3)

Like Gideon, Jepthah seems an unlikely choice for a Judge. He is the son of a prostitute, hated by his half-brothers, disowned by his family, living in another land, and hanging out with some bad dudes. He is everything his society might say a leader should not be. But as we’ll see next week, it is Jepthah, with his skills as a “mighty warrior,” and not any of his brothers, who is asked to lead the fight against the enemy.

In considering the future of the family business, a family member — perhaps a son, or maybe the oldest sibling — is often expected to be the leader. Ownership of business assets becomes confused or conflated with the ability to lead others. Simply being a son (or daughter) does not make someone a good leader. Wealth or pedigree may signify status or suggest an advantage, but when you are headed into battle, it’s leadership skills that count. Pick the wrong leader, even if they have the “right” last name, gender, or birth order, and both the family and business suffer.

Have you seen a situation where the family member in charge was the wrong leader? Do you know of any good leaders who have come from surprising or unexpected circumstances?