The Jethro Principle
For my sins (and I am sure there are many) one of my real ‘guilty pleasures’ is the BBC TV Show ‘The Apprentice’ hosted by Sir Alan Sugar-if you haven’t seen it, it involves a group of young entrepreneurs who battle to be given £250,000 for their business idea. It is very hammy, very over the top, certainly not to be taken seriously -but great fun.
Anyway, a key skill these ‘young bucks’ tend to struggle with is the art of delegation – an art necessary if organisations, businesses, and churches are to succeed- something numerous Chief Executives will talk about in length, but in fact the origins of this skill can be traced back to the Bible and to one individual in particular-Jethro.
Jethro was Moses father-in-law through the marriage of his daughter Zipporah, which came about from Moses defending her and her sisters from being attacked from shepherds (Exodus 2:11-21). However, the point is that Moses was a real workaholic-he was doing everything for the Israelites especially acting as a judge to his people on all issues-whether they be trivial or important. Jethro could see this was not going to work telling Moses:
“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, and you cannot handle it alone….” (Exodus 18 :13-26)
What he said is now known as the ‘Jethro Principle’. He advised the following:
- Select capable and spiritually mature individuals from across the community and appoint them as officials over groups of people
- Have these people serve as judges for the people at all times but have them bring the difficult cases to you to decide (Moses)
- By doing this it 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.
Moses, like any good leader, took on board this advice, he enacted it which allowed him time with God, his family and the important work matters that were really his concern.
This guidance holds strong today. Often people tend to keep control of situations tightly to themselves, so they determine everything rather than share their responsibility/burden. It’s clear this kind of behaviour is not only unhealthy but doomed to failure because even if you are the finest leader around, you still can’t do it all on your own.
In my working and personal life, I have witnessed the real positive changes that can flow from someone handing over some of the reins to equally capable people to help them. This wisdom applies equally to our personal lives too-certain members of our families can end up doing most things -arranging trips to see friends and relatives, doing the shopping, managing the children, caring for relatives-and if you are not careful, it can lead to burnout or what they used to call a ‘nervous breakdown’. By allowing others to help you manage your load it can also empower them -so they feel they can contribute to things, rather than just watch the same person sort things out for them.
So, go delegate the Jethro way!
Tags: Jethro, Moses, The Apprentice, Alan Sugar, Delegation