Leadership intuition is one of the main differences between outstanding and merely good leaders. Some people are born with great leadership intuition; others have to work hard to develop and refine it. However it develops, the result is a combination of natural giftedness and learned skill. This seasoned intuition makes a leader aware of decisive issues and enables them to grasp intangible factors, understand them, and work with them to achieve leadership goals.
Successful leaders see every situation in terms of the available resources — money, raw materials, technology, and above all people. Intuitive leaders sense what is going on with their people and almost instantly know their hopes, fears, and worries. Leaders also have the ability to step back from events and see not only where they and their people have developed, but also where they could develop when the scent of change is in the air.
Every person has some kind of intuition, especially in the area of their gifts and strengths. If the gift is compassion, leaders can sense when someone needs comfort and how to offer it. If the gift is serving, the leader instinctively knows when and how to help the needy. And if the leader has a natural gift for leading, they see and evaluate everything through the lens of leadership.
The Difference Between Moses and Jethro
Moses was a good leader, but not a born leader. When he met Jethro, he had not been their leader for very long. The people of Israel had only just left Egypt. But because of his upbringing in Egypt and the long time spent in the wilderness, Moses' intuition had developed.
Jethro, on the other hand, was a born leader. Why? Because faced with a situation he had never encountered before, he knew exactly what to do. It was intuitively clear to him how to lead more than a million angry, displaced former slaves in the wilderness. Who he was determined what he saw. Jethro saw everything from the perspective of leadership.
Of all the principles, the Law of Intuition may be said to be the hardest to teach. Reading people and situations best describes what is meant by it.
Jethro Reads the Situation of Moses and the People
Reflecting on the story of Jethro and his ability to read Moses' situation leads to the following insights. Intuitive leaders read the following things:
1. The situation
An intuitive leader can assess a situation very quickly. Jethro watched Moses for one day and reacted immediately. Jethro did not have to hire a consultant or carry out intensive research and analysis. He saw the problem at once. Not every intuitive leader may have a solution ready as quickly as Jethro did. But they sense that a situation needs their attention.
2. The trends
An intuitive leader sees what is currently happening and understands where the organization stands. Jethro saw that Moses would run into trouble. He said to his son-in-law: "Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone." (Exodus 18:18)
Perhaps Moses was able to judge disputes effectively. Perhaps not. But even if he did it well, the sheer number of cases would eventually have become too much for him to handle, since there were more of them every day. Jethro saw the dynamic and its consequences if Moses changed nothing.
3. The resources
Intuitive leaders know how to obtain the resources needed to implement their vision. They take nothing for granted and use everything available to them to reach their goals. Jethro identified Israel's greatest assets: the heart of Moses, the favor of God, and the people. He advised Moses to seek God's counsel, to teach the people God's laws, and to enable them to carry the burden together. Jethro's plan made use of everything of value the people possessed.
4. The people
The ability to deal with people is probably the greatest skill of an intuitive leader. Some understand what it means to lead; others simply do it. Jethro understood people and leadership well enough to know how he could support Moses, even though Moses had not yet gained the experience. Jethro knew that leadership cannot be permanently based on position, but only on the ability to lead. He knew instinctively that the right people are able to lead thousands, hundreds, fifty, or ten people. They only need to be put to use.
5. Themselves
An intuitive leader observes themselves. They understand their strengths, their weaknesses, and their general and individual calling. Jethro had not only recognized and understood Moses' leadership challenge, but also knew that he himself could not be the man for the job. So he made use of Moses' leadership ability and planned accordingly.
Every leader in the Bible endowed with strong intuition could read the situation. When Nehemiah heard about Jerusalem, he knew what to do. When Joseph understood Pharaoh's dream, he knew what to do.
Intuition, whether inborn or developed, helps a good leader on the way to becoming a great leader.
Exodus 18
Jethro's Visit to Moses
1 When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father in law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, and that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt;
2 Then Jethro, Moses' father in law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back,
3 And her two sons; of which the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land:
4 And the name of the other was Eliezer; for the God of my father, said he, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh:
5 And Jethro, Moses' father in law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God:
6 And he said unto Moses, I thy father in law Jethro am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her.
7 And Moses went out to meet his father in law, and did obeisance, and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare; and they came into the tent.
8 And Moses told his father in law all that the LORD had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, and all the travail that had come upon them by the way, and how the LORD delivered them.
9 And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.
10 And Jethro said, Blessed be the LORD, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.
12 And Jethro, Moses' father in law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father in law before God.
The Appointment of Judges
13 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening.
14 And when Moses' father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even?
15 And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to enquire of God:
16 When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.
17 And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good.
18 Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.
19 Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God:
20 And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.
21 Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:
22 And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.
23 If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.
24 So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said.
25 And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
26 And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
27 And Moses let his father in law depart; and he went his way into his own land.