Jethro Sees What Moses Cannot

Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, watches Moses judge every case personally from morning until evening. Then he asks the question nobody else had asked: 'Why do you sit alone?' You're burning out. You're doing work that could be delegated. This will wear you down and wear out the people.

What moves me is that Jethro saw this immediately, but Moses didn't. Sometimes you're too close to your own systems to see them clearly. We need people in our lives with fresh perspective and no stake in how we've always done things.

I had a similar moment when a visiting church consultant asked why our staff meetings were four hours long. I said that's just how we did things - thorough, comprehensive. He said 'That's how you burn out staff without even realizing you're doing it.' That offhand observation changed how I lead.