You can be a leader who possesses an amazing, God-inspired call and at the same time, trip over a hidden flaw in your approach to leading.

In Exodus 18 we observe this in Moses. He and the Israelites were just getting started on their mission to reach The Promised Land. In this chapter we discover one of Moses’ daily activities was “holding court” for the people. The Israelites would crowd around him from morning until evening so he could help them settle disputes. Sound familiar?

In Exodus 18:17 Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, said to him: “What you are doing is not good. You and these people will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you, you cannot handle it alone.”

In today’s post, I’d like us to explore this idea of becoming a leader of leaders instead of remaining a one-man or one-woman show.

Moses was already a capable leader. but this part of his leadership style was flawed. His father-in-law called him out: “Hey son-in-law, what are you doing? You are setting yourself up for burnout, and the people who crowd around you every day aren’t receiving proper attention either. Everybody will lose unless you change how you lead.”

It doesn’t require much maturity to point out a leader’s mistakes. It requires much more maturity for someone to discreetly/respectfully share their perspective, produce a possible solution, and offer to help implement said solution.  Jethro was that someone in Moses’s life.

Isn’t it nice to have a father-in-law who doesn’t just point out your mistakes? Instead, Jethro offered a workable solution. In Exodus 18:19-23 he told Moses: “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 —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.”

Jethro’s solution to achieve better leadership results and stay mentally and emotionally fit at the same time was: “Become a leader of leaders.”  Here is a 3-part behavioral pathway to leading leaders that Jethro outlined for Moses: Scout, Develop, Release.

Scout

When I worked in the marketplace, we had an acronym – ABS – Always Be Selling. May I suggest an ABS acronym for pastors? ABS . . . Always Be Scouting.

Becoming a leader of leaders starts with a growing awareness of the giftedness that already exists around you and follows with an invitation to join the effort. More than a few pastors have reported to us that they “just don’t have enough people serving on teams. A full team starts with scouting . . . and it stays full with ongoing scouting.

We are blessed to have twenty-six people on the CC team, but we’re always looking for our next potential teammate. We are consistently building a bench.

Pastor, allow God to bring into your line of sight the giftedness that may be right under your nose. And then invite that person to explore the opportunity with you. Don’t say no for them.

Develop

It’s one thing to assemble a team . . . it’s quite another to develop that team. Developing means creating conditions for your team to grow their inner life. Their emotional intelligence. It includes helping them grow in their leadership role.

It also includes fitting them into the right slots. And lastly, we develop our team by providing clarity around vision, values, expectations, desired outcomes, as well as regular, honest facetime with you.

Release

This step may scare you a bit, but don’t wait until conditions are perfect before you let the baby birds fly! They will make mistakes (just like you did and still do). They will have growing pains. But the release stage is the fun part of this 3-step process. Releasing your team to step up and produce is rewarding.

Paul told his protege Timothy, “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.”

Perhaps you’re protesting: “I don’t have any leaders, nor any potential leaders.” That may be true. But is it possible you’re not slowing down enough to see them? It would be a good idea to get on your knees and ask God to reveal who in your line of sight has potential. Who He shows you may surprise you. Jesus took a group of the least likely men and turned them into world-changers.

Moses followed Jethro’s script to the letter with impressive results. He still oversaw the most difficult cases, but the emerging leaders he scouted, developed, and released took care of the rest. This seismic shift in leadership style enabled Moses to lead with excellence for an additional 40 years. My prayer is you will make the necessary shifts to lead better, lead longer, and enjoy it more.

Rooting and praying for you,

John