Moses on Management: 50 Leadership Lessons from the Greatest Manager of All Time - Hardcover

Baron, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0671032593 ISBN 13: 9780671032593

Publisher: Atria, 1999

Synopsis

In today's rapidly changing global business arena, undaunted leadership seems as fleeting as yesterday's software. Yet the wisdom of one reluctant leader -- Moses -- has grown more relevant with each passing millennium. A bold and courageous leader in a time of great uncertainty, Moses overcame staggering odds to mold a ragtag band of former slaves into a cohesive nation. He lived three thousand years ago, but the wisdom with which he undertook his monumental challenges offers powerful lessons for the present, in both leadership and life. In Moses On Management, Rabbi David Baron -- a nationally renowned spiritual leader who has founded and operated two successful businesses using the teachings of Moses as his guide -- draws surprising parallels between the world of Moses and our own, and illuminates areas of particular relevance for today's business managers. Through Bible passages, anecdotes of modern business, interviews with some of today's most visionary leaders, and his own revealing and often humorous insights into the dynamics of leadership, Rabbi Baron conveys fifty wise lessons for the modern business environment, including: How to bring your staff out of the slave mentality Why negotiating face-to-face brings optimum results Why symbols of strength inspire extraordinary effort Why crises are an open door to change -- and empowerment How to use the willing minority to motivate others Why it's essential to make your staff into believers How to balance zero tolerance with 100% compassion In a time of downsizing, mergers, and increasing uncertainty in the marketplace, Moses On Management is an invaluable resource for finding and sustaining a deeply satisfying balance between life and livelihood.

About this title

About the Author

Rabbi David Baron is the founder of Temple Shalom for the Arts, a unique Beverly Hills synagogue of more than two thousand congregants which blends religion with music, drama, art, and dance. Rabbi Baron is also the founder of two successful businesses, a highly sought-after lecturer and commentator for radio and television, and is active in a number of charitable organizations, including the Jewish National Fund, where he is a member of the board of directors. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, son, and daughters.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter One: Allow Others to Recognize Your Strengths and Recognize the Strengths in Others

"No really great man ever thought himself so" wrote the nineteenth-century English essayist William Hazlitt. Moses, the man who would lead the Israelites out of Egypt and create a new nation, was not a glory seeker. He would have been happy to stay in the desert wilderness of Midian and live out his life raising his family and minding his father-in-law's sheep. When destiny called, he was none too pleased.

"Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?" was Moses' first reaction to God's offer. "Don't worry," replied the Lord, "I will be with you." Moses tried a different approach: "What if they do not believe me and do not listen to me?" No problem, replied God -- He would put enough miracles in Moses' hand that everyone would respect his authority as God's messenger. Next, Moses resorted to his lack of job skills: "Please, O Lord, I have never been a man of words...I am slow of speech and tongue...Make somebody else Your agent!" But God knew He had chosen the right man. "Okay, already," He said. "There is your brother, Aaron...He shall speak for you to the people." Finally, having run out of excuses, Moses accepted the job.

Many of us can relate to Moses' terror of being placed in a high position. We know that the higher our position, the farther we have to fall. Sometimes it's easier to make excuses about our inadequacies than it is to take on the challenge. Even if we don't verbalize our ambivalence to the person offering us the job, we may still be plagued by self-doubt. Like Moses, we may worry that people will laugh when they see us in a position of authority. We may fret that we don't have the right skills for the job. Sometimes, if we're lucky, our boss -- or our destiny -- will be so implacable that we'll have no choice but to step up to bat and rise to the challenge.

An ancient legend tells us that God actually chose Moses to lead the Hebrew people because of an incident that occurred while he was minding the herd. A kid was separated from the herd and had become lost. Moses ran after it for a long time until he finally found it, exhausted and hungry. He found water for the animal, then hoisted it on his shoulders and returned it to the flock. Seeing this, the Lord thought, "If he shows so much compassion to one lost kid, how much more will he show to the people!" So when Moses claimed he wasn't good enough for the job, God knew otherwise.

We are seldom aware of the criteria higher-ups use when selecting us for positions of leadership. Moses thought speaking skills would be crucial to any great leader, but God disagreed. The attributes God was looking for were strength of character and compassion, and those Moses possessed in abundance. In his management classic Leaders, Warren Bennis says that of the leadership qualities most organizations look for, "judgment and character...are the most difficult to identify, measure, or develop. We certainly don't know how to teach them," he says. "Business schools barely try....Although a lot of executives are derailed (or plateaued) for lack of character or judgment, we've never observed a premature career ending for lack of technical competence." Technical competence can be learned or deepened on the job.

As a manager, you are often in a position to encourage people to take on new challenges. When you see potential in others that they do not yet see in themselves, it can be just as difficult to broaden their views as it was to broaden your own. Yet that is part of your job. When God was persuading Moses, He helped Moses make the leap. When Moses said he felt unworthy, God said, "Don't worry, I will be with you." As a manager, you will find it necessary to assure others that although they'll be venturing into new territory, you'll be there for them when they need you. That kind of support is the greatest gift you can give as a manager. When Moses expressed his fear that his authority would not be recognized, God gave him tangible symbols of authority, such as the shepherd's staff that could generate miracles. Similarly, if you put a person into a position of authority, you may have to provide some symbols of that authority -- an office with a view, a preferred parking space -- so that others in your organization can see that this person really does have new power. Finally, when Moses complained that he lacked a certain skill he thought he needed for the job, God arranged to have Aaron support him in his weak area. You may also have to give the new manager loyal lieutenants.

Like any successful leader, God discerned the traits of leadership in Moses before Moses himself was aware of them. He didn't just give Moses the job assignment and send him on his way. He supported and reassured him, and gave him the tools he needed to succeed. The Sapient Corporation, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is an example of a company that has shown remarkable skill at developing leaders. By maintaining its outstanding staff, Sapient has built a reputation for excellence in client service and technological smarts. Jon Frey, a director at Sapient, lists five core values the company looks for when it selects and grooms its leaders: "One of those is client focus: How well does this person make clients happy by understanding and solving their business problems?" Sapient's second core value is leadership, which they measure by how well a person inspires the team and creates a shared vision. They also focus on how well a person motivates people and understands what they need, both personally and professionally, to be happy as people. Finally, they consider openness a core value: How well does the person communicate with others? How approachable and forthright is he or she?

Technical skill is certainly an essential element at Sapient, but in grooming its leaders, the company puts immense emphasis on a person's ability to see potential in others and help them maximize it. Of his stint as a manager on one of Sapient's larger projects, Frey says, "My role was one hundred percent keeping the team happy and supporting them."

God could have brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt any way He wanted to. He could have beamed them up or put them on a magic carpet flying straight to the Promised Land. But He didn't do that. Even with the advantage of His omnipotence, He chose to cultivate leadership talent in Moses and Aaron, and then made sure that they cultivated leadership among the elders of the Israelites.

By seeing the core character traits that lay at the heart of leadership -- honesty, integrity, compassion, and courage -- and by challenging people to manifest those qualities within themselves, God set in motion more than the Exodus from Egypt. He set in motion a concept of leadership that allowed powerful, universal laws of life to be transmitted to others.

Copyright © 1999 by Rabbi David Baron

Edition details

• Publisher: Atria
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0671032593
• ISBN 13: 9780671032593
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320