The 9 Leadership Principles of Moses
”They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.“
Exodus 18:26 NIV
Few figures stand as tall as Moses, a towering leader whose legacy reverberates through the ages. From parting the Red Sea to receiving the Ten Commandments, Moses epitomizes the qualities of a visionary and transformative leader. Yet, amidst the grandeur of his feats lies a wealth of timeless leadership principles that resonate with profound relevance for us today.
In the pages of Exodus, we uncover a treasure trove of leadership wisdom encapsulated in the sage counsel of Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law.
Through their exchange, we glean nine enduring principles that illuminate the path to effective leadership, drawing inspiration from the life and leadership of Moses himself.
Principle 1 — Trust your advisors
Moses was a solopreneur to begin with, doing everything himself, not delegating, wanting to be everything to everyone. As you can imagine, this didn’t work well.
He was getting worn out, overworked & underpaid, burnout, micro-managing
Tired from his service to his people, Moses could not hide his exhaustion from his father-in-law Jethro. He saw right through Moses’ dilemma.
Now, Moses, burdened by the weight of leadership, heeded the counsel of his father-in-law. He entrusted his father-in-law’s insight and wisdom, recognizing the value of seeking counsel from trusted advisors.
In doing so, Moses exemplified 3 things necessary to lead with discernment:
- Humility
- Dignity
- Wisdom
”When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?”“
Exodus 18:14 NIV
”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.“
Exodus 18:18 NIV
”Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.“
Exodus 18:24 NIV
Principle 2 — Build a Leadership team
Jethro was very clear in what Moses would have to change. He would have to share responsibility and build a leadership team that he would train on the principles of God so to empower them to make the small decisions. Hence, lifting of that weight off of Moses’ shoulders.
Recognizing the importance of shared responsibility, Moses appointed capable men to serve as leaders over the people. By assembling a diverse and capable leadership team, Moses distributed the burdens of leadership and fostered a culture of collaboration and collective empowerment.
”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.“
Exodus 18:21 NIV
Principle 3 — Train your Leadership team
Moses understood the significance of equipping his leaders with the knowledge and guidance needed to fulfill their roles effectively. Through instruction and example, he instilled in them the principles of justice, integrity, and righteousness, laying the foundation for ethical and principled leadership.
Continuous training is essential in every business and organization. Leadership has a priority to train their teams. Especially you as the entrepreneur and business owner are called upon to document and train your teams on new strategies, skills, changes in the market, or ideas to move the business forward.
”Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave.“
Exodus 18:20 NIV
Principle 4 — Trust your Leadership team
Empowered by Moses’ trust and confidence, his leadership team assumed responsibility for resolving disputes and administering justice among the people. Through delegation and shared authority, Moses lightened his own burden and empowered his team to fulfill their roles with integrity and wisdom.
Trusting your leadership team is not a matter of words, but a matter of action. The Bible says “Faith without deeds are worthless”. Your trust that you have in your team must show in your actions. Let them make mistakes. Even more so, encourage mistakes.
Only through mistakes will you move forward. Enable them to try new things so as to learn faster and help grow your business.
Moses’ father in law said: ”Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, […] the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you.“
Exodus 18:22 NIV
”He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.“
Exodus 18:25 NIV
Principle 5 — Be accessible and approachable
While delegating authority to his leadership team, Moses remained accessible and approachable to all, from the highest official to the lowliest servant. By maintaining an open-door policy and welcoming dialogue, Moses fostered a culture of inclusivity and transparency within his leadership. This helped him to focus on the main thing and his main responsibilities. Nobody was left behind, on the contrary, everybody was helped.
Lessons: Delegate authority to your leadership team but be accessible to the janitor if need be.
Exodus 18:26 says, “The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.”
Principle 6 — Do not micro manage
Moses recognized the importance of entrusting his leaders with autonomy and decision-making authority.
Micro-managing your teams only leads to frustration, silent quitting, underperformance, and more bottlenecks than your organization might be able to handle.
By allowing his team to handle simple matters independently, Moses avoided the pitfalls of micromanagement and empowered his leaders to exercise judgment and discretion.
You want to grow your business and that requires you to hand over the reigns to your leadership team.
Jeff Bezos was asked how he was able to manage Amazon that has 100,000 employees. His answer was simple “I only have 7 direct reports”.
Empower your team, empower your managers, your leadership team, and the organizational structures down to the janitor. Empowering means ‘Give Em Power’.
”the simple cases they can decide themselves.”
Exodus 18:22 NIV
Principle 7 — Focus on the major decisions
After he finally delegated his enormous tasks and built his leadership team, Moses prioritized his attention on major decisions and complex issues requiring his expertise and guidance.
By discerning between minor and major matters, Moses optimized his time and energy, ensuring effective leadership and stewardship of resources.
As an entrepreneur, especially in the early stages of your business, you will have to wear a lot of heads. You will be sales, marketing, customer service, despatch, and many more. Sometimes you probably feel like the Mad Hatter.
What changed for Moses when he realized that he — as the head of his organization — should focus on the major decisions? It freed up his time, and his mind. Focusing on major decisions means:
- You make fewer decisions
- The decisions have a bigger impact
- Nobody else can — and should — make these decisions in your business
- You free up your time to think (and listen to the Holy Spirit giving you hunches and inspiration)
- You give yourself rest from the 24/7 hustle & grind (God opposes this and has given us rest on the 7th day purposely)
Build your team. Train them. Trust them.
”…but have them bring every difficult case to you;“
Exodus 18:22 NIV
Principle 8 — Be humble
Moses is hailed as a shining example of humility, surpassing all others in his meekness and humility before God.
It was only through humility that Moses exemplified the essence of true leadership, rooted in reverence for God and service to others.
He served God by serving others. Yet, he served so many that he became overwhelmed with the requests he was receiving.
Only by staying humble and listening to his father-in-law — Jethro — was he able to build an organization that would serve even more people than before. All of this through humility, counsel, advice, and Faith.
Here is a great exercise:
If your team comes for advice, pray to your Father before every decision so as to make it God’s decision and not yours because yours can be influenced by worldly distractions and temptations.
Ask the Holy Spirit for guidance and allow Christ to work, speak, and act through you.
None of your decisions are your own. They are on loan to you from God…if you allow God to work through you.
”Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.“
Numbers 12:3 NIV
Principle 9 — Make the customer happy
At the heart of Moses’ leadership philosophy lay a commitment to the welfare and satisfaction of the people.
By striving to meet their needs and alleviate their burdens, Moses endeavored to ensure their well-being and contentment under his leadership.
We can even go beyond ‘customers’ on that note.
The Bible says ‘…all these people will go home satisfied’.
It does not specify that it’s referring only to all the people who came to Moses for advice.
We can assume that it also means your team, your leadership, your investors.
With Moses’ leadership principles you will be able to create a company culture that surpasses from inside your organization to the outside, touching customers, employees, investors, supporters alike.
Moses and his father-in-law Jethro have laid out leadership principles of delegation, empowerment, shared responsibility that still holds up today and is even more relevant than ever before.
”If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”
Exodus 18:22–23 NIV
May you lead with humility, wisdom, and integrity, guided by the enduring truths of Scripture and empowered by the grace of God.
In doing so, we honor the legacy of Moses and embody the essence of transformative leadership in our spheres of influence.
