Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. Teach them the decrees and laws, and show them the way to live and the duties they are to perform. But select capable men from all the people-men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain-ami 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.”
Character Check In my leadership roles, am I doing what only I can do?
In Business Terms Jethro suggested to his son-in-law Moses that he work smarter, not harder. When Jethro saw that Moses was on the brink of burnout, Jethro acted as a consultant and passed on a workable strategy. He first counseled Moses to concentrate on working in his area of strength. For Moses, that meant he needed to focus on his teaching and mentoring role.
Next, Jethro counseled Moses to build a capable team to handle most of the day-to-day decisions and duties. Jethro advised Moses to deal with only those issues that required his expertise. If someone else could handle it, someone else should do it.
A friend of mine invented a machine that cleans computer hard drives. Then, as ceo of his high-tech company, his workload grew to crushing proportions. As a result, Eric was forced to
make some hard decisions. He chose to concentrate his time in an area in which he is most skilled-research and development. The process was painful at times, but the restructuring freed him up to do what he does best.
Such decisions require strong leadership. But God is honored, the leader does what only he or she can do, and people end up better served.
—Steven D. Mathewson
Something to Think About Choose that employment or calling in which you may be most serviceable to God. Choose not that in which you may be most rich or honorable in the world; but that in which you may do the most good, and best escape sinning. – Richard Baxter
