Lessons from the Wilderness - Week 5

“Lessons about Leadership”

Exodus 18

I. Leadership Traps 

Trap #1 – An overly inflated sense of self-importance.

Exodus 18:14 – “When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, ‘What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone...’”

Point: Leaders do well to remember that Leadership is a group activity.

Andrew Carnegie – “No Man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or to get all the credit for doing it.”

Trap #2 – Poor use of available resources.

Exodus 18:14 – “When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, ‘What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, while all the people stand around you from morning until evening?’”

Point: Have you ever noticed that Leaders usually fail with unspent “capital” at their disposal?

Trap #3 – Enslavement to the immediate.

Exodus 18:15-16 – “Moses said to his father-in-law, ‘Because the people come to me to inquire of God. When they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make known to them the statutes and instructions of God.’”

Point: Excuses for poor leadership are just that...Excuses.

Trap #4 – Unrestricted acceptance of responsibilities when workload increases.

Exodus 18:17-18 – “Moses’ father-in-law said to him, ‘What you are doing is not good. You will surely wear yourself out, both you and these people with you. For the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone.’”

Point: Overworking is not a sign of competence.

II. Lessons About Effective Leadership 

Lesson #1 – Train others in sound principles.

Exodus 18:19 – Jethro said to Moses, “You should represent the people before God, and you should bring their cases before God; teach them the statutes and instructions and make known to them the way they are to go and the things they are to do.”

Point: Effective leaders replicate through mentoring.

Lesson #2 – Be alert to the potential of others.

Exodus 18:21 – “You should also look for able men among all the people, men who fear God, are trustworthy, and hate dishonest gain; set such men over them as officers over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.

Point: Effective leaders see another’s potential before they see it.

Lesson #3 – Refuse to do too much.

Exodus 18:22 – “Let them sit as judges for the people at all times; let them bring every important case to you, but decide every minor case themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you.”

Note: Moses had forgotten a basic principle of Effective Leadership: Setting Boundaries. Point: Effective leaders know their calling and limits...then stick to them.

** Harry Truman on Leadership:

“I wonder how far Moses would have gone if he’d taken a poll in Egypt?

What would Jesus Christ have preached if he’d taken a poll in Israel?

Where would the Reformation have gone if Martin Luther had taken a poll?

It isn’t the polls or public opinion of the moment that count.

It is right and wrong and leadership that makes epochs in the history of the world.”

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