{"id":25807,"date":"2017-09-15T03:45:19","date_gmt":"2017-09-15T10:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=25807"},"modified":"2017-09-14T22:29:49","modified_gmt":"2017-09-15T05:29:49","slug":"leadership-tips-from-moses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2017\/09\/15\/leadership-tips-from-moses\/","title":{"rendered":"Leadership tips from Moses"},"content":{"rendered":"

Much has been written about Moses as a leader \u2013 a Google search for \u201cMoses leader\u201d yields more than 16 million results. However, in Religion and Contemporary Management: Moses as a Model for Effective Leadership<\/em>, local community member Dr. Arthur Wolak not only explores what contemporary leaders (at least in title if not in fact) could learn from the man who led the Israelites out of slavery, but also examines how Moses\u2019 traits and actions fit into different theories of leadership. Readers will learn as much about leadership in general as they will about Moses and, of course, will take away some pointers on how to improve their skills in this area.<\/p>\n

It may or may not come as a surprise, but being a good leader is an awfully hard task, requiring a wide-ranging multitude of abilities. Add to that the importance of a person\u2019s character, and it seems nigh impossible. There are no guarantees. Even if you master the top attributes of a good leader, you may not become one. Sure, you might be innovative, original, empathetic, humble, tenacious, attentive, ethical, patient and have a clear vision \u2013 that doesn\u2019t mean people will necessarily follow you.<\/p>\n

But there is hope to be found in reluctant, flawed Moses, even if he didn\u2019t really exist. Whether or not one believes there was ever such a person in the world, Wolak notes, \u201cthere is still no denying Moses\u2019 influence on Jewish identity, group leadership and Western civilization as a whole.\u201d In addition to being the greatest prophet in Jewish tradition, Moses is a respected figure in Christianity and Islam, Wolak points out.<\/p>\n

\"book<\/a>In the first few chapters of Religion and Contemporary Management<\/em>, Wolak discusses the different types of leadership, how leadership and management differ, and the benefits and drawbacks of charisma. The next chapters focus on Moses and the ways in which he displayed empathy, possessed humility and was a visionary leader. He also knew his limitations and how to delegate. For example, explains Wolak, when Moses first objects to God choosing him to lead the Israelites, Moses says it\u2019s because he is \u201cslow of speech,\u201d but God brings him round, assuring him that his brother, Aaron, speaks well and can be Moses\u2019 spokesman.<\/p>\n

Wolak puts some fun \u2013 and educational \u2013 twists on things, such as proposing that the Ten Commandments were God\u2019s mission statement to the Jewish people and that Moses \u201cassumed the role of biblical CEO, of sorts, because he became a leader entrusted with transforming God\u2019s mission statement into a viable entity\u2026.\u201d Wolak is also very clear that, despite his use of Moses as the model leader and the patriarchal aspects of the Torah and Judaism (and all religion, pretty much), excelling at leadership \u201cis not gender based but built on good character and leadership abilities,\u201d and that \u201cthere have been effective female leaders since biblical times.\u201d He gives several examples of such women from the Tanakh and the modern era.<\/p>\n

Another part of Wolak\u2019s book that will particularly interest today\u2019s readers is a nine-page section called \u201cModesty and Holiness,\u201d which mainly contrasts real estate developer rivals Paul Reichmann and Donald Trump, who was not yet president when Wolak was writing his book.<\/p>\n

While academic in style, Religion and Contemporary Management is accessible to lay readers. It is well researched and the analysis is well supported with evidence from religious texts, academics, theoreticians and a range of other voices, from Maimonides to Sigmund Freud and Winston Churchill. Published by Anthem Press (2016), the hardcover has an academic text price, at more than $100, but the Kindle version is only $30.50.<\/p>\n

As Wolak concludes, \u201canyone who wishes to learn how to lead, and to learn what characteristics are beneficial for effective leadership, would do well to study the example of Moses.\u201d Then all you need to find is the energy and wherewithal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Much has been written about Moses as a leader \u2013 a Google search for \u201cMoses leader\u201d yields more than 16 million results. However, in Religion and Contemporary Management: Moses as a Model for Effective Leadership, local community member Dr. Arthur Wolak not only explores what contemporary leaders (at least in title if not in fact) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25808,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[784],"tags":[7383,5563,970],"class_list":["post-25807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","tag-arthur-wolak","tag-leadership","tag-moses"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25807"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25807\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}