Running Head: NEGATIVE LEADERSHIP 1
Negative Leadership of Three Kings
Robert Forto
School of Business, Liberty University
BMAL 700
Dr. John Johnson
May 31, 2020
NEGATIVE LEADERSHIP
Introduction
The scholarly study of leadership is a rather recent phenomenon, but we can go back
millennia to see how negative or ineffective leadership traits or activities contributed to history.
In fact, King’s Solomon, Rehoboam and Ahab in the books 1 and 2 Kings show myriad examples
of poor leadership. In today’s society, the Bible still has a profound effect on countless numbers
of people and the examination of the deeds and misdeeds of Biblical leaders can be useful in
understanding the importance of ethical behavior (Friedman & Friedman, 2019) The concepts of
servant leadership (Greenleaf, 1991; Greenleaf, 1993; as cited in Friedman & Friedman, 2019),
covenantal leadership (Pava, 2003; as cited in Friedman & Friedman, 2019), and spiritual
leadership all have their roots in the traditions of the Bible. Merida (2015) provides excellent
commentary in examining 1 & 2 Kings and the focus of this paper is to scrutinize how negative
or ineffective leadership effected the direction of Solomon, Rehoboam and Ahab.
Solomon and the Lack of Conceptualization
Friedman & Friedman (2019) argue that Solomon’s blunder began when he lost
connection with the basic tenants of ethical leadership. As the story goes Solomon was the wisest
of all people and he used that great wisdom to ensure that there was peace in the world.
(Friedman & Friedman, 2019) But that peace came at a substantial cost. Solomon amassed
extraordinary wealth. Friedman & Friedman (2019) state that this wealth is difficult to determine
