Julie Vasquez
Journey to authentic Biblical leadership with me.
Long before Forbes published articles on toxic workplace culture, King David had to deal with his own organizational challenges. We love to talk about the mighty men who wrestled lions and defeated enemies. But we forget that he had to deal with rivalry, jealousy, unbridled ambition, and resentment in his ranks.
David was a leader who rose to power by standing up to giants and winning battles against all odds. Yet, he needed advisors who could hold him accountable, not just those who could do battle on his behalf.
A technique in art is to look at the “negative space” around an object so that you can draw it more clearly. In this space, we look at the successes and failures of the men who surrounded King David and apply them to modern life. Their struggles and conflicts are similar to the ones we face today. Together, we can learn from them to become better leaders and team members.
Julie Vasquez
Journey to authentic Biblical leadership with me.
Long before Forbes published articles on toxic workplace culture, King David had to deal with his own organizational challenges. We love to talk about the mighty men who wrestled lions and defeated enemies. But we forget that he had to deal with rivalry, jealousy, unbridled ambition, and resentment in his ranks.
David was a leader who rose to power by standing up to giants and winning battles against all odds. Yet, he needed advisors who could hold him accountable, not just those who could do battle on his behalf.
A technique in art is to look at the “negative space” around an object so that you can draw it more clearly. In this space, we look at the successes and failures of the men who surrounded King David and apply them to modern life. Their struggles and conflicts are similar to the ones we face today. Together, we can learn from them to become better leaders and team members.
My Personal Journey
From Non-Profit to Product Marketing
Non-Profit
Have you ever found yourself puzzled at the dynamics of the modern workplace? That’s where I found myself several years ago while working at a faith-based nonprofit, which started out of a local megachurch.
Exploring
That’s when I started exploring (and teaching about) the stories of the men who surrounded King David. Like us, they are often well-intended, but still fallible. Like us, they wrestle with how to get things done while honoring people. Like us, they are alternately inspired by and disappointed in their leaders and — more often — in themselves.
MBA
I left the nonprofit, faith-based world of work to get an MBA at Thunderbird School of Global Management, now part of Arizona State University (ASU).
Product Marketing
From there, I went on to work as a strategic marketing consultant in Aerospace and Defense; traveled the world as a product manager in high-tech manufacturing and software; and am now a product marketer at a fast-growing software-as-a-service company.
My Personal Journey
Non-Profit
Have you ever found yourself puzzled at the dynamics of the modern workplace? That’s where I found myself several years ago while working at a faith-based nonprofit, which started out of a local megachurch.
Explore
That’s when I started exploring the stories of the men who surrounded King David. Like us, they are often well-intended, but still fallible. Like us, they wrestle with how to get things done while honoring people. Like us, they are alternately inspired by and disappointed in their leaders and — more often — in themselves.
MBA
I left the nonprofit, faith-based world of work to get an MBA at Thunderbird School of Global Management, now part of Arizona State University (ASU).
Product Marketing
From there, I went on to work as a strategic marketing consultant in Aerospace and Defense; traveled the world as a product manager in high-tech manufacturing and software; and am now a product marketer at a fast-growing software-as-a-service company.
This wide range of experiences showed me: context matters for leadership. Like celebrity A-lists, leadership rock stars change over time, and the perception of their effectiveness evolves. Think Jack Welch, who was a revered CEO, but now people question whether he set up GE for long-term success. Or Elon Musk -- is he brilliant or foolhardy? Decisive or toxic? And should we really think of Jesus as a CEO (don’t get me started...)?
It seems to me that it’s far better for us to get the insights we need to develop strong character than to just try to emulate the leaders who may fall out of favor later. There is a plumb line of time-honored principles - one for nearly every modern dilemma- in these ancient stories. They provide our constant in a sea of variables.
Context matters for leadership. Like celebrity A-lists, leadership rock stars change over time, and perception of their effectiveness evolves. Think Jack Welch, who was a revered CEO, but now people question whether he set up GE for long-term success. Or Elon Musk -- is he brilliant or foolhardy? Decisive or toxic? And should we really think of Jesus as a CEO (don’t get me started...)?
It seems to me that it’s far better for us to get the insights we need to develop strong character than to just try to emulate the leaders who may fall out of favor later. There is a plumb line of time-honored principles - one for nearly every modern dilemma- in these ancient stories. They provide our constant in a sea of variables.
Let's do this together.
To get started, I recommend that you check out the Cast of Characters of the King’s Men. The blog posts will usually refer to one of them as an archetype. As a bonus, I’m including write-ups of books and relating them back to the concepts we discuss here.