Equipping Others: A Leadership Call to Expand Kingdom CapacitySample

Wise Advice to Empower Others

“Teach (train) them his decrees and instructions, and show them (example) the way they are to live and how they are to behave. But select capable (assess and test) men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint (empower) them as officials over (organize) thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.” Exodus 18:20-21, NIV (Added words for learning purposes)

It is so uncomfortable when you are supposed to do something, but you know you have not been trained for it, right? In the verses we are exploring from Exodus 18:20-21, Jethro was telling Moses, his son-in-law, about how he should be more effective in his leadership role. Moses was taking the burden of giving counsel to all the people of Israel by himself. Jethro’s advice to Moses shows a progression of things that are essential as we equip people to take over team assignments, objectives, and purposes.

First, he teaches Moses that leaders cannot demand anything from people if they have not taught them how to do it (or confirmed that they know how to do it). Teaching implies not only transferring theories but also protocols for effectiveness, your own learnings, reflections, and thought processes, among other things.

After he told him to teach them God’s decrees and instructions, the second thing he told Moses was to show them the way they are to live. So basically, it was an invitation to be an example, at the behavior level, so the people could have a point of reference and a vivid personification of what it looked like to live out the instructions that were being taught. It was basically about sharing with them real-life and tangible applications.

The third recommendation is to “select capable men from all people”. Selecting capable men implies that the leader needs to know that they are capable, because the leader was able to assess them and test them, and they ended up being reliable and showing all the wanted characteristics (God-fearing, trustworthy, who hate dishonest gain). But not necessarily all of those who have been taught, shown, and assessed will end up being selected; so, the leader ends up selecting those who specifically hold those key capacities and appointing them (the fourth recommendation) within an order that keeps supervision in the scope of small numbers, where no one oversees directly more than five others.

Jethro’s advice to Moses provides, in this succinct leadership lesson, at least four recommendations for those who seek to delegate and empower others effectively.

For reflection: Am I intentionally teaching and modeling the principles and behaviors I expect from my team? How well do I assess the readiness and character of those I am delegating to? Have I structured leadership in a sustainable way, or am I carrying too much alone?