Leadership is a journey, or as I describe in the "Personal Leadership Pilgrimage" workshop, an actual pilgrimage! One ancient leader's growth as a leader is an excellent example of such a "pilgrimage" in personal excellence.

Thousands of years ago, Moses about wore himself out as he "sat to judge the people...from morning until the evening;" which he did, day after day, month after month; after all, he was called to be the leader of his people, it was his responsibility to do the job, he was accountable for all of these people, who else could do it?!

When his father-in-law (Jethro) saw how Moses was shouldering all the burden of leading his people, he asked Moses "what is this thing that thou doest to the people, why sittest thou alone?" Notice that his father-in-law not only was concerned about Moses (after all, he was an old man), he was just as, or more concerned about the impact Moses' go-it-along leadership style would have on the people! He taught Moses the power of delegation, so that, as Jethro put it, Moses "and this people that is with thee" would not "wear away." He went on to explain that the go-it-alone approach to leadership "is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone."

It is true that Moses was called to lead his people, and he was the figure head which the people looked to for inspiration and guidance. We are reminded of this when his people were fighting a battle against an enemy. During the heat of the battle, his people and troops looked to him for inspiration. Moses stood on the hill and lifted his staff above his head. Seeing him and the staff was an inspiration to his people, a reminder of how Moses had lead them out of slavery against all odds and a reminder that they would overcome their current enemy as well, and that Moses would lead them to a promised land full of "milk and honey" where they would live as a free people. However, it is important to note, that even though his people were looking to him and him alone for inspiration, Moses did not do this alone. As the author of Exodus tells us, Moses' "...hands were heavy" so his counselors sat him down on a stone and each supported his arms, "the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun" when the battle was won.

Moses learned to share his leadership burden by naming trusted confidants as counselors and "rulers of thousands...and hundreds...and fifties...and tens." He may have been the figure head that people recognized as their leader, but he shared his leadership role, and sought council, support, help, guidance and shared accountability from others in order to share the burden and improve results.

If having more than one person "in charge" of making the tough decisions was good then, it certainly is sound advice today. Organizational and market changes are happening at an ever increasing rate. Challenges faced by leaders today are perhaps more complex and difficult than ever before. It is naïve to believe that one individual is capable of knowing enough about the market, the products, the processes, etc., to be held responsible for consistently making the best decisions regarding the myriad of challenges facing an organization today. To be successful, today's leaders, just like Moses in ancient times, must learn to look for support, council, guidance and trusted members of their organization to share accountability and responsibly, not only because it is easier on them as leaders, but as Jethro pointed out to Moses, it is also better for all the stakeholders involved.  

While a team, department, division or organization may have identified one individual as the "leader" (figurehead), a leader truly accountable for the results of his/her organization, will recognize the need to seek out and rely upon trusted counselors, committees, cross-functional teams, individual contributors and others to support them in gathering intelligence, examining challenges, and providing possible solutions.