"But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied."
Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.
Exodus 18:21-24 NIV
Moses did a couple of things here that anyone in leadership should pay attention to. First, he listened and second he empowered. Two characteristics you will find in good leaders and notice they are lacking in poor leaders.
First of all, Moses listened to his father-in-law. He could of ignored him or resisted the advice on grounds that Jethro wasn't a "prophet" or didn't say something like "thus saith the Lord". Moses listened to his father-in-law's advice and discerned that it was from God, so he listened and did everything Jethro said.
Secondly, by taking Jethro's advice he empowered others. Notice that he didn't just delegate responsibility, he delegated authority. This is really where great leaders set themselves apart from simple dumping delegators. Many leaders delegate, then try to micro-manage those they delegate. Then they get frustrated because things don't work out or that they have to manage what they "delegated" so much. I call that dumping, not delegating. Think about Jesus, he didn't just delegated jobs to the disciples, he empowered them with authority to drive out demons, heal in His Name, and proclaim the Kingdom of God (Matthew10:1, Luke 9:1-2). Moses learned to not just delegate but to empower capable men to make decisions. That's empowering leadership.
Final thoughts: Listen and empower. Who do you need to listen to? Who can you empower? Also, how is Christ empowering you?
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