I tried to manage my home finances after I married my wife. I did a pretty good job as a single man, right? However, after watching my wife's diligence and detail to managing money, I realized she was better suited for this task. I released the home finances into her capable hands and have not looked back. I also have a greater peace knowing that she will get it done efficiently.
A challenge for many leaders is to recognize and release the help you have been sent to give your organization strength and support. Some leaders struggle with insecurity derived from past relationships in which such autonomy failed. They don't know who to trust for fear that their business may be taken from them. Subsequently, they try to do everything, want to be involved in everything, micromanage everything to the tune of nothing getting accomplished.
In Exodus chapter 18, Moses's father-in-law Jethro came to visit him. One morning he saw Moses trying to hear and judge cases of the people by himself. His father told him he was making a mistake and would exhaust himself if he continued in that manner. He gave him the following advice to ease his burden:
1) He reminded Moses that he was the visionary leader of the people and it was not his responsibility to do all the work. 2) He told Moses that his primary responsibility was to provide instruction to the people on order and behavior and let God handle their obedience or disobedience. 3) He told Moses to appoint capable leaders of integrity, faith and wisdom to judge the people. 4) He organized those leadership groups in order of size from largest to smallest, understanding the capacity of the leaders to handle such cases. 5) He told Moses to judge only the most difficult cases and for the other leaders to judge the majority of the cases. This process was not to change - ever. 6) He advised Moses that this process would make his burden lighter. 7) He affirmed that if Moses listened to his advice, all the people would be satisfied with the results.
Moses listened to Jethro's advise, applied it and guest what? It worked! Good leaders know how to delegate responsibility, authority and let it go. Had Moses not listened to wisdom, he would still be sitting at a table alone, trying to manage thousands of people at a time.
Some leaders seek help, but when it arrives, fail to properly implement it because that help does not come in the form they expected.
Good help will never agree with foolishness or disorder. Help comes to bring clarity, wisdom, balance and strength. Many leaders lose the help they desperately need because they restrict the help from flowing or operating in its strength. Once that help realizes that it is not wanted, it will disappear. That leader will be left with the same problem(s), unaddressed and unsolved because they did not listen to wisdom.
if you are in a leadership position of any business or organization, stop and look at the help that is around you. Get out of the way and let those people do their job. You don't have to be at every meeting, on every call, copied on every email. Trust the people you have assigned and appointed and let them do what they do best. Your organization will be healthy and its people satisfied with your leadership.
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